Kitchen Science and the "Land Blender"

We have guests from out of town visiting, so of course we wanted to show them the very best local attractions. High on the list is the AACA Museum in Hershey. Mary Ellen and I are members, so we can go anytime we want for "free." We were there with Marty and Teresa yesterday, and saw the off-road vehicle show currently in session. One of the most impressive vehicles was this beautifully restored, fully equipped Land Rover, complete with side tent:

But wait! What is that on the front bumper - a blender?

It's the Land Blender, powered by the Rover's power take-off. It even came with a custom case:

Closer examination yielded a data tag with specifications, complete with a Margarita recipe:

Of course, once we got home and Dan and Jen joined us, the six of us had to try that recipe out. We quickly decided that if your goal is to get smashed while in the Outback, this would do the trick! But for more relaxed sipping, it was harsh and unpleasant, with too much Tequila, too little lime, and no simple syrup for sweetening. 

So that's where the kitchen science came in. I used our precisely calibrated shot glass from Lee Valley to make a mini-rita for testing. After uploading the photo, it occurred to me that the spoon looks like some sort of drug paraphernalia, but I promise it's not! It's the little spoon out of our Stevia container. We used that for the bit of sweetening needed.

Turns  out the very first trial yielded some good results. I made this mix:

20 ml Tequila

10 ml Triple Sec

25 ml Lime Juice

scant spoon of Stevia

Of course, that's not a useful size, so after the taste-test, I did some quick math and came up with this, our new house Margarita recipe. Feel free to try or share!

THE HOUSE MARGARITA

4 oz Tequila

2 oz Triple Sec

5 oz Lime Juice

1 tsp Stevia powder

3 cups ice

Blend until smooth

Repeat as needed

One more photo from AACA, with sister-in-law Marty. It's a Mercedes UNIMOG. Looks like the perfect Urban Assault Vehicle!