Watermelon margaritas are a warm weather staple here.  Our signature party, Cinco de Mayo, is built around our serving the cocktail by the punchbowl to our closest three hundred or so friends and neighbors.

Thanks to the prep for this party, I know that watermelons can be juiced and the juice frozen until it’s needed.  So last fall, with friends and neighbors leaving mystery melons on our front porch a regular occurrence, I decided to juice some of those melons with the intent of freezing the juice to be used for watermelon margs in the midst of a cold snap this winter. I mentioned to neighbors that we have a tendancy to celebrate snow days with that I had a theme for the upcoming winter.  As I did this, it occurred to me that this is why the self described ‘preppers’ that frequent my canning classes (especially the pressure canning ones) think I’m one of them. It’s not that I’m preparing for the end of days, it’s just that I’m really uptight about knowing exactly where our food comes from, I like to cook from a well stocked pantry and I hate to waste things.  If that means I’m ready for the zombie apocalypse at all times, well then, that’s just an added bonus.

We finally got our first decent snow of the season yesterday, so that the world outside looked like this when I woke up this morning.

With highs not expected to get above freezing anytime soon, lows in the negatives being forecasted for later in the week, this is clearly the time to pull out all the watermelon marg fixings, pop open some of the salsas I made last summer and have a February Fiesta.

Which brings me to a recipe for my watermelon margaritas. I juice a melon and add it to my regular margaritas until it’s the right shade of pink. As to how I make my margs, I have to admit here that I am only capable of making them in mass quantity and I eyeball it rather than measure.  Start with a pitcher. Pour a few fingers of tequila into the bottom, add triple sec in about a thirty percent proportion, add a healthy splash of orange juice, fill with lime juice or limeade, then add watermelon juice until it is the right shade of pink. You’ll know it when you see it. Taste and adjust it as necessary. If you added a healthy amount of tequila and can’t taste it, then it’s perfect.  Cheers.