Unwitting Title

Unwitting Title

SoHo House Chicago Margarita
Spicy SoHo House Chicago Margarita

I have acquired the unwitting title of “Margarita Maker”.  I did not seek this title, but everyone talks tequila with me as though I’m George Clooney and Randy Gerber.  As a lifelong calorie-phobe, I have always been on the lookout for low-calorie drinks.  Alcohol was never a requirement in my diet.  Although in college, we drank a lot of beer at fraternities and boy this put me off beer for life.  And, a group of us would go bar hopping as seniors and drink long island ice teas.  Now one of those was all I needed because we ran and didn’t bother with dinner!  We usually got pizza around midnight.  Sigh, youth.

I moved onto vodka and pineapple juice in my early twenties.  I was introduced to this drink by a coworker.  After finding out that my new and cool drink was over 350 calories a serving, I lost interest…

Gimlets, either gin or vodka were my go to drink in my late twenties.  My husband’s uncle, who drove a Porsche 911 made one for me and I loved them.  It is what all the cool grown ups were drinking in the late 90’s.  My early thirties were all about marathon training.   I did not drink any alcohol then because those long training runs were brutal.

What bought me back to drinking was playdates with fellow moms.  I remember a lot of wine playdates.  I am not a wine person and therefore decided to drink something else.  Somewhere in my kitchen was a large stainless steel cocktail mixer with a dozen drink recipes on.  Just twirl to the drink of choice and the ingredients appeared on the side!  Before this margarita immersion, the only margaritas I had were from that fancy restaurant chain “Chi Chi’s”!  The super sweet, goopy, made with fake margarita mix concoctions that came in gigantic glasses.

I made the margarita recipe from my cocktail mixer.  It was too sweet for me and had too many calories.  I did experiment with some other versions, but I did not care for them.  There are many, many margarita recipes out there.  But I came across a simple recipe that is the best margarita I have ever had.  It is refreshing, delicious and not too sweet.  Just for the record, one of these is all I need.

Seshu’s Margarita

1.5 oz Tequila (silver or reposado)

1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 t agave syrup

crushed ice to taste

Combine all ingredients, shake and serve.

Seshu's Margarita
My Margarita with a silver tequila
Coffee

Coffee

espresso

I can’t remember the first time I ever drank coffee.  I am however, hooked.  Good coffee is such a pleasure.  I do brew my own espresso.  It’s a ritual that I look forward to once in the morning and early afternoon.

 

IMG_0073

They do brew some magical coffee in the little road side coffee shops in South India.  It’s served piping hot in metal lotas (cups) and metal saucers.  As a kid, I was enamored with canned coffee in Japan.  Not only did the vending machines serve cold coffee, they served hot coffee and tea!  I must have drank at least 30 coffees during our trip.  The cans were works of art and had really cool designs.  UCC, Pokka…

 

IMG_0001

I have two sisters, one that drinks coffee and one that doesn’t.  The sister that doesn’t drink coffee has sparkling white teeth.  She’s a dentist who actually doesn’t brush her teeth twice a day!  My parents drink coffee also.  My dad and I argue about who’s coffee is better.  He’s very loyal to his Nespresso.  I prefer to grind my own beans.  Lavazza, Intelligentsia, Illy…  I will be in Chicago in June.  There are several new coffee places and  I want to try.  Will keep you posted.