Seersucker Thursdays

It's summertime and it's a Thursday, which can only mean one thing: Seersucker Thursdays are in effect on Capital Hill! During the Summer session, the U.S. Senate shows up on Thursdays in puckered pastel suits to beat the heat, a tradition which started in the late 1990s. I guess they couldn't find a big enough veranda to sit out on and drink sweet tea, which is another Southern summer survival tactic.

Seersucker is woven with a peculiar combination of tight and slack threads of thin cotton originating from 18th century India. The strange word itself is a mangling of Hindi's "shir shakkar," meaning "milk and sugar," a perfect description of the fabric's smooth and rippled textures. To make the fabric, two kinds of looms are involved; one weaving tightly and one loosely. That shifting creates tiny ridges of bunched threads, so that the fabric is almost held away from the skin. Heat dissipates, sweat evaporates, air circulates, and, one would hope, an idea may penetrate.

Like how Thursdays are also the the perfect day to drink watermelon margaritas, my new summer adult beverage obsession.

The first batch I made was so delicious I felt compelled to go door to door around my neighborhood and hand out samples. It's not everyday someone knocks on your door and hands you lovely libation. I even begged my friend Karen to drive to my house in rush-hour traffic to have one. Even my cat loved it!

I'd like to point out that today is a Thursday, so I'd highly recommend swinging by a fruit stand or market and picking up a watermelon to create this most refreshing cocktail. Donning seersucker is entirely up to you, but this drink would really complete the outfit and I'm sure would pump up the cooling effect.

Cheers, to your first of many watermelon margaritas! Because, trust me, you can't have just one of these beauties.

Watermelon Margarita (from Martha Stewart)

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, along with 3 wide strips of orange zest, to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Let cool.

In a blender, puree 2 cups cubed watermelon until smooth. Strain through a sieve, pressing solids, into a pitcher or quart-sized mason jar. You should have approximately 1 cup of juice. Add the sugar syrup, 1/4 cup lime juice (from about 3 limes), and 3/4 cups white or silver tequila. I got closer to 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cup juice from my watermelon, so you may have to add a bit more lime juice and tequila to even it out. And taste-test it several times (what a burden).

Fill salt-rimmed glasses with ice, then pour margarita mixture over top. Garnish with a lime wedge and keep the pitcher nearby. You'll definitely be wanting a refill! Yields: 4 servings, so might as well make a double!