It’s a Burro... not a Mule

We are showing off our version of Moscow Mule. We call it a “Mexican Burro.” We learned this version from a fellow customer, when shopping at Rumrunners in Tucson, Arizona, who told us how she substitutes the traditional vodka for tequila or mezcal to make her favorite drink.  

After experimenting ourselves, we like the mezcal, a smokier agave-based cousin of tequila.

Mexican Burro

2 oz. tequila or mezcal
1 oz. fresh lime juice
4 oz. ginger beer

Rim a cocktail glass with a lime and crust the rim with Sal del Mar by dipping into a plate sprinkled with Sal del Mar.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add the mezcal and lime juice and shake until chilled. Pour into your prepared glass and finish with the ginger beer.  Garnish with lime.

Adjust the ingredients to your taste... more lime... more tequila.

And if you do have copper mugs, make sure to use them in place of a glass!

Summer shrimp night

This is a recipe I have been saving to post. It was photographed in "the winter" (note: winter in Tucson is not a snowy day) but somehow it didn't feel like a winter recipe.  

The flavors say summer to me so here it is. It is also very easy and the ingredients are so yummy, you can just dip the shrimp in additional sauce as you enjoy.

Coconut Shrimp (as told to me by Paula Hamilton)

Clean shrimp but leave on the tail. Marinate in a sauce made with:

1 cup of coconut milk
1 tsp of curry
squeeze of a couple of limes (adjust to your taste)
Sal del Mar
pepper
red pepper flakes
add some coconut flakes, too

Skewer the marinated shrimp and grill.  Keep aside some of the sauce to dip in for extra flavor. 

Serve over rice.

Stylizing The Dish

There is an expression that says, "You eat with your eyes first."  We love this gold and orange cloth and how it compliments the shrimp dish. It is a simple addition to the plate of shrimp but it is strong on feasting the eyes. We added just a sprinkle of chives too.

A memorable margarita

Margaritas are by far at the top of the list of everyone’s favorite drink. And with Memorial Day around the corner, I thought I’d post my favorite recipe... my old, standby... the Classic Margarita.  I like it because it isn’t the sweet, slushy concoction that some bars serve in that big bulbous margarita glass you can have to drink with a straw because you can’t lift it. 

Classic Margarita

2 oz. Silver Tequila
2 oz. Cointreau
2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice

Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker.  Add ice and cover. Shake thoroughly to chill the mixture. Strain into into your prepared glass with or without ice.

Garnish with lime slices and a float of 1/2 oz. Grand Mariner

To Prepare Glasses:

Moisten the rim of a martini glass with a cut lime
Spread Sal del Mar on a small plate
Dip the moistened rim of the glass into the salt until evenly crusted

There are a couple of secrets too:  

Make sure to use 100% silver agave tequila, use Cointreau instead of Triple Sec, because even though it is more expensive it has the necessary sweetness but a more elegant flavor; always use fresh lime and orange juices (adding the fresh orange juice and a float of Grand Mariner tempers the sharpness while adding character to its natural flavor.) And always shake in a cocktail shaker allowing the ice to melt giving your cocktail the right degree of frostiness. 

Let summer begin

We love all these photos from our travels to farmer's markets across the country last summer. The beautiful bounty reminds us of what is soon to come and we are full of anticipation of summer beginning. Remembering last summer's plates of sliced tomatoes that need only a pinch of our Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt.

Our new Sal del Mar "Very Veggie" sea salts: Ravishing Radish, Pin-up Girl Tomato and Endearing Corn will enhance all vegetable's natural goodness. They will make great hostess gifts to take to your Memorial Day BBQ. See them in our Shop.

Thinking out of the box

We think Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt makes the perfect teacher gift and one that any teacher will like (and most likely won't get two of).  Our hand-embroidered bags are works of art and there are many designs to choose from... a mermaid, palm trees, waves and ocean creatures, a margarita design, and our new design of Very Veggies.  See our  Shop for our design selections and to order for your favorite teacher.  

Simply Cinco de Mayo

This is a simple tapa to serve for Cinco de Mayo. The trick is to make your own tostada chips. You may never want to buy them again!

Use a cookie cutter to cut them out of store-bought corn tortillas and then fry them in hot corn oil. Watch them because they'll turn from brown to burn in seconds.  As they come out of the oil.... sprinkle Sal del Mar on them.

I couldn't resist this one!

For the "Gourmet Mother"

We love the idea for the Gourmet Mother on Mother's Day that one of our retailers, Bon Boutique, came up with.... pairing our Sal del Mar together with wooden spoons from France and Fog Linen kitchen cloths.

Introducing our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt

Endearing Corn-on-the-Cob

Ravishing Radish

Plump and Juicy Tomato

Spring is here and we can't wait to show off our new Sal del Mar hand-embroidered bags. The designs are inspired by the irresistible display of vegetables soon to be seen in our Farmer's Markets and in our local grocers.  We have in fact named them:  There is our Ravishing Radish, our "Cover Girl" Plump and Juicy Tomato and our Endearing Corn-on-the Cob.

Each design is truly a work of art that our embroiderers have painted with thread. Of course, Our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt is the same salt we are known for and use in everyday cooking or for crusting the rim of a cocktail glass. We just wanted to show off Sal del Mar and how it is ideal for sprinkling on fresh vegetables to enhance the flavor of their natural goodness.  You'll want one for your own kitchen or for giving as gifts to your gourmet friends (Our Very Veggie Gourmet Sea Salt makes a great Mother's Day gift - tie up our embroidered bag with twine on top of a new cookbook!)