Watermelon Jalapeño Cocktail

Fresh sweet watermelon chunks blended with ice and the double kick of jalapeño and tequila make a refreshing summer drink that will heat you up and cool you down.

Today I am pleased to share a refreshing concoction I make with sweet Texas watermelons and farm fresh jalapeños for our watermelon Foodie Extravaganza event.

Growing up in the South, I learned to put salt on my watermelon and eat it with a sharp knife straight out of the rind. The salt brings out the sweetness in the watermelon somehow so I’ve also added a little bit to this summer drink. It’s hot, cold, sweet and salty, in the best possible way. Hope you find it as refreshing as we do!

Ingredients for one 1 1/2-quart or almost 1 1/2-liter pitcher
1/4 15-pound or 6.8kg sweet summer watermelon (preferably seedless)
1-inch or 2cm fresh jalapeño or to taste
4 oz tequila
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Ice

Optional garnish – watermelon wedge, sliced jalapeño and flakey sea salt, if desired, but highly recommended

Method
Cut your watermelon off the rind and into small chunks. (Remove the seeds if you couldn’t find a seedless one.)

Finely mince the piece of jalapeño.

Put the watermelon and jalapeño in the blender. Add the tequila and salt and top with ice.

Blend until smooth and frothy.

Pour into pretty glasses.

Garnish with a watermelon wedge and one thin slice of jalapeño, to alert your guests that this will be spicy.

Add an extra sprinkle of flakey sea salt, if desired.

Put the pitcher in the freezer between servings.  It’s even better when it gets a little frozen.

Enjoy!

So refreshing in the summer heat!

Sheila’s Mexican Cornbread Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sheila's Mexican Cornbread Muffins are baked up with cheesy cornbread batter flecked with red and green jalapeños, baked in muffin cups made of bacon. Yes, bacon!

I have always been free and easy about sharing recipes.  Perhaps it was my upbringing but good food is meant to be shared, right?  By the same token, I am not shy about asking you to share yours.  I met someone years ago (in a ladies' Bible study group no less!) who refused to share recipes.  I can’t even remember what she had made that I expressed an interest in knowing how to make, but she flat out said, “I don’t share my recipes.”  I was sure she was kidding and tried to make a joke.  She was dead serious.  I was flabbergasted.  Seriously?  I had never met anyone who refused to share before (or since.)

Fortunately, my friend Sheila was also raised in the Southern Louisiana tradition and, when I asked her to share the recipe for her succulent, cheesy spicy cornbread, she sent me an email right away.  She is the best kind of friend because she never hesitates to share other information as well.  She was the one who first took me around Cairo and showed me the important things like where to get Fritos and Karo, where the Community Services Association is and she gave me the name of a good vet who makes house calls.  Look in the dictionary under Helpful, Knowledgeable Expat and you will see a photo of Sheila.  Because she is among the very best of our ilk. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 6 oz or 170g yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup or 226g sour cream

1 1/4 cups or 12 oz or 275g creamed corn

2 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 medium onion

2-4 jalapeño peppers or chili peppers (Sheila said: I like red and green.  I agree!)

12 oz or 340g extra sharp cheddar

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.   Grease a 9in X 13in or 33cm X 23cm cake pan or line a 12-cup muffin tin with awesomely delicious bacon cups.  Or muffin liners.  But I promise bacon cups are worth the trouble.  They are not only pretty but add such flavor to the cornbread.  Your mouth will be doing a happy dance with the cornbread alone.  The bacon cups add a pirouette to every bite.

Chop your onion pretty finely.  My father-in-law won’t eat onions if he can see them so I was careful with this step. 

Dice your chosen peppers and add as much as you like, depending on their hotness and your potential eaters.  Peppers vary greatly in heat and so it’s worthwhile to give yours a taste to judge how spicy they are before you add them.  If greater heat is desired, also leave in the membranes and seeds.

Mix all of the ingredients.

Pour or spoon the batter into your prepared pan.  As you can see, I chose the bacon cups!

For the cake pan, bake for about 45-55 minutes - or 25-30 minutes for muffins - or until golden brown.  If you are using bacon cups, coax them out gently with a spoon while still warm.  In any case, allow them both to cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

Divine cheesy spicy deliciousness.  And also bacon.