It’ll be a long time, maybe never, before Texans forget this past week. Snowmageddon, Snovid-19, whatever you want to call it, it shut down the state and left millions in the icy darkness of an epic electric grid failure.
We woke up Monday morning to a winter wonderland of sorts, at least for Houston.
Overnight, snow had fallen — enough to blanket roads and landscapes:
Jasper and Maisy had the rare opportunity to be the first to step on fresh snow, and it was so fun watching them race around in it:
Over in San Antonio, Izze couldn’t get enough of the snow:
One unexpected sight was the scores of cedar waxwings huddling in the trees with their feathers puffed up to keep them warm:
After the novelty of snow in Houston quickly wore off, and Texas’s electric grid famously failed, the 42 hours we went without electricity in below-freezing weather kinda sucked. We were fortunate — no busted pipes, and we have a gas stove and fireplace, so we were able to cook and huddle by the fireplace for some warmth. But it was cold. Really cold.
These “unprecedented” Houston weather events are getting old — the unprecedented heat and accompanying drought in 2011, the unprecedented rainfall (up to 51 inches) and catastrophic flooding of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and this past week’s unprecedented snowstorms. The next “unprecedented” weather event we see here better be springlike weather stretching from June 1 to September 30.
When it came to recipe inspiration, all I could think of were frozen things (brain freeze, perhaps?). But they seemed so seasonally inappropriate. But wait — today is National Margarita Day! And so, inspired by a miserable, surreal, freezing cold week, I bring you our favorite recipe for Frozen Margaritas, to enjoy whatever the weather.
- Kosher salt, for rimming glasses
- Lime wedges for rimming glasses
- 6-ounce can frozen limeade
- 9 ounces tequila
- 2 to 3 ounces triple sec
- Juice of 1 small lime
- Lime slices, for garnish
- To rim glasses: Pour the salt onto a small dish. The salt pile should be about a quarter of an inch high and wider than the rim of the glass you're using. Run a lime wedge along the outer edge of the glass. Place a glass upside-down into the dish of salt, and then twist the glass gently to coat the entire rim. Turn glass upright and shake off any loose salt.
- Place limeade, tequila, triple sec, and juice of 1 small lime in a blender. Fill with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into the center of the prepared glasses, taking care to avoid splashing the salt rim. Garnish with a lime slice and serve.
Frozen!
Mother Nature is such a force. Praying for you all