Anyway, in the conversation I'm referring to, I was describing what I made for dinner, and I guess I'd talked quite a bit up to that point about food - I did most of the cooking in the relationship with the woman I was with at that time. My coworker stopped me mid sentence and asked: Man, don't you ever just eat? Nothing elaborate or hard to make, just throw it together and eat without all that thought behind it??
My answer was, yes - I do. But those aren't meals that I talk about. I realized then that food can be something to get excited about. I'm a pretty fair cook, I wouldn't say I'm a chef - but I have had the pleasure of working in establishments that had/have great chefs and I have taken inspiration from every one of them. My thinking is, why simply "just eat", when you can enjoy? For me the whole process is therapeutic and usually relaxing - even if I'm only doing it for myself, which I usually am. It's almost like edible artwork - and sometimes it actually is, at least in my opinion.
I could make the most amazing meal, nail every step of preparation all the way up to plating the most visually appealing dish you could lay eyes on, but that doesn't make me a chef. Pulling off even the most amazing entree once is nothing compared to orchestrating a kitchen staff to turn out amazing food for the masses. It's like mustard on your hamburger, versus a 50 gallon drum of mustard. Whoah...I don't wanna think that big, but when you're a chef, you have to think like that.
Summer is at the halfway point, Having got a new grill a few weeks back, and food on the grill - despite a learning curve with the type of grill I upgraded to, is something to get excited about. I haven't been going out much and it's probably a combination of these uncertain times and the fact that I'm out when I'm working and in my off time, I want to put the gun down and relax at home. So pictured below, is what will be a typical evening off for me, and since I work a different 9 to 5, this seems to be around the time I'll usually eat - though I always hope it's earlier.
Boom. There's a few words about Summer and one of the things I love about the season. I edited this particular photo to enhance the color that was already in the original shot. I've taken quite a bit of shit for posting photos of my food right when it goes on the grill & midway through the cooking process - so be it to the haters. I happen to love photographing food and drink, and sometimes capturing the process is just as cool as the end result - not always, but sometimes.
Since this whole pandemic has surged, I haven't really been eating out. There's a Mexican place in town that I love going to, and that's about the only place I've gone recently. It's close, quick, relatively cheap and very good, considering the Northeast Ohio location for such food. I almost never drink alcohol when I go there though, because they don't pour a decent drink for a guy who prefers decent Tequila on the rocks. Great Margaritas, but much as I love that drink, I don't want all the sugar.
That leads me to my next thing about Summer that I'm digging: Drinks. For as long as I can remember, the Margarita has been my favorite cocktail - hands down, and I've made cocktails of every kind for never mind how long...but the more mile markers I pass, the more I want to eliminate sugar from my life. It's taken me years to realize that decent Tequila is the only spirit I can push the envelope of moderation with - not that I do a lot of pushing there mind you.
It's my personal opinion that most people's aversion to Tequila stems from their college days. Drinking the wrong Tequila, the wrong way and at the wrong time. "Shots? Sure, I've got time for at least one more bad decision..."
Again, it's taken my most of my career to realize that drinking decent Tequila can actually have me reminding myself that I even had anything to drink the night before. I do take quite a bit of grief for liking decent Tequila on the rocks. I still can enjoy a Margarita from time to time, but these days the massive amounts of sugar really get me the next day. So again, straight Tequila on the rocks - but what about when you're outside in the heat and just want more in the way of liquid refreshment in your adult beverage? This very thing led me to a drink I find refreshing, not overly sweet - and dangerously good: The Paloma.
The basic recipe is blanco Tequila, lime juice and grapefruit soda. Not sure what led me to think of this, but I created a rim of a mixture of sour salt, Tajin seasoning, Cayenne pepper, sea salt and a little bit of sugar to help balance all this out. I'm a fan of salted rims on a Margarita, but I'm not sure I've ever had a rim on a glass that works so perfectly to compliment a cocktail - and I'm Irish, so I've had a few cocktails.
I've also found two grapefruit sodas that are both really good with this drink and have the perfect amount of minimal sweetness to them, and use natural ingredients. Either will do, but San Pelligrino Pompelmo is by far the better of these two:
It's too early in the day for me to make a Paloma - plus I have to work tonight and hit the gym here shortly, but for your reference here, you should get two drinks out of either one of these choices. If I had a third choice, it would be Jarritos Grapefruit Soda - imported from Mexico and has real sugar in it - it's a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. Having gone over all that, here's my recipe and method:
2-3 ounces of Blanco Tequila - a really great one for the money is Altos.
Juice of 1/4 quarter lime
Grapefruit soda
Ice (duh)
Spicy Cayenne/Tajin salt mixture *
3.4 ounce Campari
Lime wheel/wedge for garnish
*Spicy Cayenne/Tajin Salt mixture:
3 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp Sea Salt (I've been using fine, but Coarse would probably work well)
2 Tbsp Tajin Seasoning
1 Tbsp Sour Salt
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
Combine ingredients in a small container with a tight sealing lid, shake the living shit out of it. Boom. Awesome rim mixture done - I'm not sure I've ever had a rim mixture that I've wanted every bit of on a cocktail before this one. It really is perfect on this drink.
Take a lime wedge and go around the rim of the glass, then run the glass edge in the Spicy Cayenne/Tajin salt mixture to rim the top.
Fill the glass with ice and squeeze 1/4 lime juice over the ice, then add the Tequila. I drizzle the Campari on top of the drink - it'll sink right to the bottom, I usually stir the drink before I add the Campari because just leaving the Campari to do its work while you enjoy the drink seems to make every sip better than the one before it. When it all comes together, it should look like this:
Now on to a couple of other things about Summer. I've yet to put a single mile on my bicycle this year and it's tearing me up. I changed vehicles and had some issues with my hitch mounted rack - I'm hoping I've got those issues corrected, now I just need to get my ass out there. Hopefully tomorrow.
The garden is looking good - Mexican Sunflowers are starting to open up and there are a lot more to follow. Regular Sunflowers are still a few days out, but looking good. I've also harvested quite a few Serrano peppers off of my plants and even used them in a batch of my salsa. I've got a ton of Habaneros coming in, thought they're all still really green. I moved the most promising plant to a place where it's getting more direct sun in the hopes of getting the peppers to ripen up.
I really want to try to make jelly with the Habaneros this year - but I've got to conquer my fear of canning (which I don't really want to get heavily into, have a perhaps unreasonable paranoia about and the last thing I need is to buy another pile of stuff to have to keep around and not use very much) in order for that to happen. I've been experimenting making tinctures, but I'm going to have a lot of peppers and I don't need five year's worth of tinctures, which are all too easy to make as it turns out.
It's been an interesting week. A thing or two hasn't exactly gone the way I'd hoped it would, but I'm taking a tip from a friend who posted the following advice recently:
Make yesterday the last day you spent giving a fuck about people who don't show you they give a fuck back.
No names, but a few people. Onward. These past few months have shown me many things, not the least of which is that this life we lead is more often than not, far too short. I wish you all peace, hope you're staying safe and enjoying your Summer. For anyone going through difficult things - and you know who you are, my thoughts are with you - and I admire your strength. Peace, good people. Oh and nearly 1800 words. Words of Summer. Boom.
CRO
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