The margarita recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon is one of my favorite summer beverages—and one I mix up throughout the year when I need a homegrown hint of summer in my day. I grow and grill the tomatillos in summer and then freeze the strained juice in cubes. They’re easy to thaw and combine with agave, lime juice, tequila, and Homemade Triple Sec for a fresh homemade margarita.

To grow tomatillos, you need at least two plants so that they can cross-pollinate. That produces a big enough harvest to create plenty of grilled tomatillo juice cubes and turn the solids into Grilled Tomatillo Salsa—and still have tomatillos to use. I include recipes for quick fresh salsa and hot sauce that use tomatillos in The Complete Guide to Pickling. I’m increasingly using one or two at a time in nightly meals too, like salads and stir-fries.

Learn more about homemade cocktail mixers and get the complete recipe for a Grilled Tomatillo Margarita in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

Margaritas and salsa from grilled tomatillos have that same two-for-one value as Grilled Tomato Bloody Mary Mix and Grilled Tomato Pizza Sauce, and I make them every year as the greenhouse turns into a ripening jungle. They’re just two of my favorite beverages that start with a garden bumper crop. If you don’t have your own garden, check with friends who might be overwhelmed and appreciate the harvesting and weeding help, or buy locally grown produce at a farmers market or through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) share.

Here are a few other beverage recipes on the blog that start with fresh produce. You can find more in the recipe index.

• Mega-Mint Mojito
• Raspberry Shrub Mocktail or Cocktail
• Strawberry-Rhubarb Shrub
• Rhubarb–Vanilla Syrup
• Moroccan-Inspired Mint Tea

I also use farm-fresh eggs from the chickens at Mitchell Farm in cocktails like Homemade Shaken Eggnog.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.