Margarita con cojones

Well, it's fresh produce time and I've been enamored of a site called Punk Domestics lately. Here's how they describe themselves:

Beginning with World War II, when women flooded the workplace, technology has conspired to take food production out of the kitchen. Convenience foods became the norm, and the culinary arts of our parents and grandparents became unfashionable, to the point where many of us grew up not knowing how food got in jars. With the advent of Slow Food and the California Cuisine movement of the 1980s, artisanship in food began to regain popularity. Most recently, driven by factors such as an increasing trend toward gourmandism combined with a recession forcing people to tighten their belts, people are once again taking on the old ways in their kitchens. Many are also writing about it on blogs, forums and message boards. To the novice, there is an overwhelming amount of information to sift through. To the veteran blogger, it's easy to get lost in the noise. Punk Domestics aims to evangelize and enable this burgeoning trend by way of curation and promotion. The name derives from a review of Karen Solomon's book Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects onEat Me Daily, which refers to the "punk domesticity of the hipster DIY movement."

Every day I get a dose of the possible ways to can, pickle, and otherwise preserve the goodness of the season. A few days ago I made "Cucumber Jalapeno Tequila" and now I am sipping a refreshing, taste bud awakening, south-of-the-border tasting margarita with real kick. Alcohol infusions are one of the many ways to preserve produce, so give this one a go if you dare.

Here's how you do it

Cut one cucumber into about 8 spears, with the skin on. Throw it in a glass jar. Cut up one jalapeno pepper and throw it in the jar, too. The heat is in the seeds, so include them or not, depending on how spicy you want your infusion. Cover with 1 liter silver (blanco) tequila. Leave the jar in a cool dark corner for 4-6 days. I tasted mine after 4 days and it was plenty spicy. Strain the alcohol into a clean container (the original bottle is a good idea), compost the spent cucumber and jalapeno. Serve ice cold on its own, or make it into a spicy-fresh margarita.

For the margarita combine equal parts freshly squeezed lime juice, triple sec, and cucumber jalapeno tequila. I like my margaritas a little on the sweet side, so I also add a squeeze of agave syrup. Serve over ice, or shake with ice and serve neat.