"lime" news and stories

Tequila is one of those drinks I would never think of having by itself. I would never say to myself "I'm in the mood for tequila" and order a drink specifically because it has tequila in it. It just sort of happens that a drink I might like also has tequila in it.

However, tequila is not just for drinking. How about making some Caribbean Island Lime Shrimp, or Ribs with Fiery Mango Marinade, or maybe a Watercress Salad with Tequila Tangerine Dressing? Don't forget some classic drinks, including Long Island Iced Tea and a Tequila Sunrise. Maybe you can even rent the movie tonight and make the drink to celebrate.

Of course, you can't have a Tequila Day without a Margarita or two (or three). And since it's summer, here's a frozen one.

Not that I would ever turn down a real mojito, but if for some reason I had to eat a dessert instead of drinking a cocktail, I'd love this Mojito Cupcake, from food blog Vegan Yum Yum. The recipe in on the blog post, but as a summary, the cake is a modified version of the golden vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Soymilk was infused with traditional mojito flavors, mint and lime juice, rum and lime zest were added to the batter, and the frosting wass flavored with dark rum. The natural garnish is, of course, a wedge of lime (though a sprig of mint would be pretty, too!)

Tanqueray Rangpur Gin is 41.3 abv. / 82.6 proof and different from many other gins out there. It starts out the same with a slew of botanicals like juniper and coriander steeped and distilled into the gin. But then it goes through an additional step of adding botanicals, steeping, and re-distillation with rangpur, bay leaf, and ginger. It isn't a classic London Dry gin because it has a little sweetness to help balance out the heavy handed addition of extra citrus, herbs, and spices in the botanical blend.

I am sure you are asking, "Rangpur? What's a Rangpur?" Sometimes called rangpur limes, many people assume that rangpur are in fact limes. They have a very strong lime taste to them but they are actually a lemon x mandarin orange hybrid that probably originated in India. They are one of three similar fruits from the family Citrus × limonia Osbeck, commonly but incorrectly called mandarin limes. Other names for rangpur are: rungpur, marmalade lime, lemandari,; Canton lemon in southern China, hime lemon in Japan, Japanche citroen in Indonesia, sylhet lime, surkh nimboo, shabati in India, and limao cravo in Brazil. Rangpurs are orange skinned and are the size, shape, and look like tangerines, but with a very sour, acidic juice that is used like a lime and has a very pronounced lime like flavor and aroma. The other two similar fruits are Kusiae or kusiae lime which is a form of the rangpur with an even more lime aroma, and Otaheite orange or Otaheite Rangpur, which is thought to be a non-acid form of the Rangpur.

Living solo means that when I cook, either I have to waste a lot of energy to cook just enough for one person, or else I cook a huge amount, and get sick of eating the same leftovers for five days straight. This means I love -- and when I say "love," I mean luuuuuurve -- remixes. Taking leftovers and spinning them so they're not the exact same thing from the night before.

Food blogger Mrs. Marv has posted a genius use of what was once Roasted Corn, Basil, and Lime Soup. Her brother turned the soup into a sauce and used it to dress up homemade Manchego, Lime, and Shrimp Ravioli. It's a lovely change from the usual ravioli fillings and sauces, and best of all, makes good use of leftovers.

Larabar specializes in making healthy, delicious snack bars from a blend of fruits, nuts and spices. Their energy bars are completely unprocessed, uncooked, non GMA, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan and kosher - and despite their simple makeup (each has less than six ingredients) they taste great thanks to the natural sweetness of the high-quality ingredients that they use.

Last year, they added Lemon Bar and Cinnamon Roll to their lineup of bars, bringing the total number of bars in the line to ten for a few months, but the reaction was so positive that they just announced that another pair of new flavors are being launched on March 5th: Key Lime Pie and Pistachio. Hopefully, the Key Lime Pie will have the same bright, almost juicy flavor that the excellent Lemon Bar does.

The other recent addition to Larabar's offerings is the Jocalat line. Jocalat has evolved from the Maya bars that the company was offering last year and are a more candy-like product than the standard Larabars because they use fair trade certified organic chocolate in each one, in addition to their standard fruits and nuts. The bars are available in Chocolate, Chocolate Orange, Chocolate Coffee and Chocolate Mint (the coffee is my favorite) and each has just 190 calories, in addition to being entirely organic, high in fiber, protein, good fats and antioxidants.