It’s been a long week so we’re taking it back to the basics.
Well, as basic as a Blood Orange Margarita can get. I wanted to hustle and share this recipe with all of you because the end of blood orange season is rapidly approaching (waaaaahhhh), which makes this all the better cocktail to whip up this weekend since blood oranges should be super sweet and delicious right now. The other bonus? You probably already have all of the other ingredients on hand in your kitchen. Plus, I realize that my Recipe Index is seriously lacking in tequila-based drinks…Sorry to all my tequila-lovers out there!
Before I get to the recipe, let me tell you a little bit about what inspired it. These past few months (okay, maybe six months) have been more than a little hectic. Between traveling up to Northern California for wedding planning and other family duties, working full time, doing my best to get a workout in every day, saving money for, well #life, and trying to be more dedicated to this blog that I love, I have had to put a lot of little things on the back burner. Don’t get me wrong, I have LOVED making a more serious commitment to CaliGirl Cooking , but I don’t want to lie and make it sound easy. It’s hard work, but its work that I love.
Anyhow, I digress. One of these things that I have put on the back burner is (insert monkey covering eyes emoji here) going to the Farmer’s Market. Yes, something as simple as that. As a big proponent of recipes for a balanced life, I try to use as many fresh ingredients I can, but with the limited time I have to work on the blog and get out to purchase my ingredients, sadly my grocery-shopping window and Farmer’s Market times have not been jiving. This has been a huge disappointment to me since I LOVE going to Farmer’s Markets, checking out the local, in-season produce and supporting my local peeps.
BUT! But, but, but…I’m so happy to say that I made it to the Farmer’s Market not once, but twice this week already! Until this week I really hadn’t realized how much I’d been missing it. Maybe it’s just that this time of year is one of THE best times of the year for Farmer’s Markets (hello, spring!), but I soaked it all in, bought a lot of produce, and am definitely going to make more of an effort to get to at least one Farmer’s Market a week. We’re so lucky to live in Santa Barbara where there’s a market almost every day in a different location (year round! Sorry, had to rub that in) that this really should not be a hard goal for me to accomplish.
I have more posts scheduled to highlight some of the other delicious items I found on my forays to the Farmer’s Market, but amongst the bounty that I brought home this week was a lovely little pint of fresh-squeezed blood orange and tangerine juice from one of the local citrus vendors. Now, I know it is SUPER easy to make fresh-squeezed blood orange juice on your own, but I was a sucker for the sign on the table that said “Only for a limited time, when in season.” I know, I know, what great marketing. I figured if nothing else the juice would be a great addition to our morning mimosas. Who knew the rest of it would turn into Blood Orange Margaritas? I’ll tell ya, we do what we can to avoid any waste by turning any and all leftovers into a cocktail 😉
Now, I know you’re thinking, you just said you BOUGHT the blood orange-tangerine juice and didn’t make it yourself? But guys and gals, that’s the beauty of the Farmer’s Market, someone else (yes, a human, not a machine) made this juice with their own two hands. And it is fresh, and it is delicious, and by golly I am going to make something of it.
And make something of it I did. This Blood Orange Margarita is soooo simple and only requires four ingredients. That’s right, just four! (Well, five if you count ice.) We take white tequila, Cointreau, our fresh-squeezed blood orange juice, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Mix these all in a margarita glass (or whatever you have on hand) with ice and you are good to go!
Our Blood Orange Margarita has the perfect balance of tang and sweetness, and the white tequila comes through beautifully with every sip. As a huge fan of margaritas, that’s a definite win in my book. Even better, it takes only five minutes (or less) to make!
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to go raid all of our Farmer’s Markets, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods for the last of the blood oranges because I plan on making myself some Blood Orange Margaritas to sip on for as long as I can make them last. Care to join me?
Blood Orange Margarita
Ingredients
- 2 ounces white tequila
- 1 ounce Cointreau
- 2 ounces fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
- Squeeze of fresh lime juice about ¼ of a lime
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a margarita or rocks glass filled ¾ of the way with ice. Stir to combine and garnish with a lime wedge.
Nutrition
Tequilaaaaaaaaa!!!
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