It's Noon Somewhere...Mexican Madras

Lopez Island, Washington in the beautiful San Juan Islands is my family's summer getaway. I love it for its simplicity, amazing vistas, and solitude.  But I have to admit, this year I was dreaming of the preppy and oh so affluent Cape Cod.  The San Juans may be (as heard on the ferry over) "Washington's Cape Cod", but Lopez would be the hippie outcast of a WASPY family of capitalist, old money pigs.  To Cape Cod's Madras and Lobster Rolls, Lopez has flannel and vegan muffins.  But Lopez certainly has its own brand of folksy charm, from the village punctuated by Isabel's, the small cafe and quasi-book store that could almost be a parody of a coffee shop, to the friendly yet slightly wary clerks at the grocery store (which closes at 8:00); Lopez is a great destination to get away from it all.  Lopez may not be a haven of sophistication like Martha's Vineyard, but it is where my family goes to relax, along with the aging hippies of Washington State.  And, more importantly, it is a safe place we go to get really drunk and sit by the fire and throw things in it (in the past, my uncle has thrown his shoes in. This year it was an ice cream spoon), watch bad and/or silly movies, eat junk food, and generally make fools of ourselves.

This may have been the best sunset I've ever seen.

Not even that drunk, YET!

We play board games, go to the Farmer's Market and the tiny Village, make the annual trek to Friday Harbor (the big city of the San Juan's! Ha!) via ferry and wait for the late afternoon when it is socially acceptable to start drinking.  Not counting cocktails, wine, or beer with lunch and maybe a beer or cider (or let's be honest, A Mike's Hard Lemonade for me) in the afternoon, of course.  At night, after dinner, which is always a bit of a team effort and always tasty (although I definitely missed my brother's great cooking this year - he is in Philly for grad school and missed out), we break up into groups, usually with some of us outside by the fire and some of us inside watching movies or playing cards.  It is peaceful and restful and absolutely beautiful and I treasure the time away, even if I do sleep in a bunk bed or on a prison mattress.  Every year I look forward to the three or four days we spend in that grubby little house by the beach.  But enough of that, onto the cocktail!

K and I try to bring simple, easy cocktails that can be thrown together in the "charming" house we stay in (and by charming I mean kind of slightly gross... did I mention the prison mattress!?).  This year, because of my wish to bring a little bit of Cape Cod to Lopez, K and I made Cape Codders: Vodka, cranberry, lime; and Bay Breezes, made by just adding pineapple juice.  Simple and refreshing, and truth be told, not that big of a hit with anyone.  Neither K nor I are great lovers of vodka-based cocktails, but we thought they would be easy and fun.  So when we came home, I still wanted something fruity and different, but with a little bit more flavor and kick.  Hence the Mexican Madras adapted from the Ultimate Bar Book.  It substitutes tequila for the vodka and adds fresh squeezed orange juice to the cranberry and lime in the Cape Codder.  And I think it is a perfect blend of the sophistication of Cape Cod and the fun, silly Lopez vibe K and I love so much.  I think next year, this one will definitely be a big hit!

A little slice of Lopez (via Mexico and Cape Cod).

Mexican Madras:

2 oz tequila

3 oz cranberry juice

Juice of 1 orange (or about 1 oz)

Juice of 1 lime

Shake all together.  Serve on the rocks, I prefer crushed ice with this cocktail.  It gives it an extra cold and extra fun edge. Garnish with a slice of orange.

Cheers!

Julie