I had originally been planning to write an Oktoberfest themed blog this month… but ironically, most of that festival is celebrated in September and my procrastination got the better of me, so…😒. My Nikolaschka recipe will have to wait until next year and we move on to an important PSA: Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a rare individual who has not been touched in some way by this disease, either personally or through family and friends. Ladies, don’t delay your screenings! Thankfully, modern medicine has come a long way with this and many cancers making them more manageable with early detection and treatments. Here is a Ride for the Cure event that I participated in with my Virginia barn family several years ago to help raise money for this important research.
Naturalists have had a good laugh naming birds over the years. North Carolina may not have any blue-footed boobies, but we do have the tufted titmouse. These endearing songbird members of the chickadee/tit family are one of the earliest birds we saw upon move in. They especially love peanuts and sunflower seeds and will spend hours picking out one nut or seed at a time, flying to a nearby branch to eat or store them especially in the winter and fall. They don’t linger on the feeder though so getting great posed photos can be challenging!
Titmice are easily identified by their pointed grey tuft, large black eyes, and white breast with orange flanks. In addition to picking out the largest peanuts and seeds that they can find, they also eat a variety of insects including caterpillars, ants and spiders. So far, my swallowtails seem to have eluded their attention. They nest in old woodpecker holes and natural tree cavities and will use nest boxes if provided. Cool fact: titmice nests have been found to be lined by the hair plucked directly from the following species: raccoons, possums, squirrels, livestock, household pets, and even humans!
For this week’s cocktail I chose to make a pink Margarita. I used classic margarita ingredients and added a dash of grenadine and sweetener. This would be perfect for a Barbie viewing party too! You need to use bottled grenadine to get the same pink color; homemade will have a more auburn hue. I used a new high shelf tequila blanco for this one and found it to be very smooth and a good fit. A gold tequila may also alter the final color. You can enjoy this on the rocks in a whiskey glass or neat in a Nick and Nora small cocktail glass.
Gather your ingredients: Tequila (Flecha Azul Tequila Blanco), Cointreau, juice of one medium lime, grenadine, simple sugar syrup, lime salt (mix with Himalayan pink if you have it!) and pink ribbon, for garnish. Cocktail shaker, rocks or small cocktail glass, citrus squeezer, measuring spoons, jigger or scale for measuring complete the set-up.
Save the Tatas Pink Margarita
1.5oz white Tequila
0.75 oz Cointreau
0.75 oz lime juice
1/2 tsp grenadine
3/4 tsp simple syrup
Lime/ Himalayan salt and pink ribbon, for garnish
Place salt on a small plate. Run half a lime around the rim of your serving glass, then roll the glass in the salt to coat the rim. Add the remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker then fill 1/2 with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain and pour into your Nick and Nora glass or over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with pink ribbon.
I paired my cocktail this week with “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” the story of a woman, her family, and her immortal HeLa cells, harvested from cervical cancer tissues without her consent and sold for billions. It’s a page turner that encourages debate on patient’s rights vs the greater good, racism in medicine, and the commercialism of medical research. Enjoy, and remember to please drink responsibly 🙂
Birds, Books and Bourbon 