Garden Bloody Mary

This post was originally published on March 27, 2015.

IT’S THE WEEKEND, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! It’s starting to get deeper into the spring season out here in Colorado; the weather is characterized by warmer days and the sun’s rays beaming across the open expanses of land and peaks of the Rocky Mountains. I am hoping it’s warming up for the rest of you around the world (except those on the opposite side of the world who are edging towards winter, although I wish warm weather for you too!). In the spirit of the season, I wanted to create a Bloody Mary inspired by the scents and subtle sounds of the spring, of the flowers coming into bloom and the seedlings ready to be planted. I sought fresh, invigorating ingredients to use in this recipe, with a strong focus in the root vegetable arena. The final creation resulted in the Garden Bloody Mary, a Bloody Mary full of flavor, intricacy, and depth.

About a month and a half ago, I crafted The Bloody Cleanse, which turned out to be in one of my favorite recipes I have created to date. Some of the inspiration for the Garden Bloody Mary came from that recipe, notably the cucumber infusion, as well. This time around, I wanted to hone in on a wider variety of garden vegetables. The vegetables I used include jicama, radish, cucumber, carrot, parsnip, rutabaga, parsley, mixed greens, green onions, garlic, and yellow hot chile. The Garden Bloody Mary is wonderful to drink during those lazy weekend mornings on the front porch and compliments dishes ranging from your simple grilled chicken sandwich to a healthy serving of eggs benedict. Check out the recipe below to craft this wonderful delight.

Ingredients

Mix (Makes 4 Bloody Marys)

• 32 oz. tomato juice (I used R.W. Knudsen’s)
• 1 lemon squeezed
• 1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• Dashes of habanero hot sauce
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1/2 rutabaga, chopped
• 1/3 of jicama, chopped
• 1 parsnip, chopped
• 2 medium-sized carrots, chopped
• 3 radishes, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 yellow hot chile pepper, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-3 stalks of green onions, sliced
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• handful of mixed greens (spinach, arugula, red leaf lettuce, etc.)

Garnish (For each cocktail)

• 1 cucumber slice
• 1 radish slice
• 1 slice of bacon
• 1 white mushroom
• 1 slice of cheese
• 1 celery stalk

 

 

Directions

Day One

Preparing the mix

1. Pour the tomato juice in a sealable container.
2. Add the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and dashes of habanero hot sauce. Mix altogether.
3. Toss in the black pepper and celery salt. Mix altogether.
4. Add the rutabaga, jicama, parsnip, carrots, radishes, cucumber, yellow hot chili pepper slices, minced garlic, green onions, parsley, and mixed greens. Shake up.
5. Seal the decanter and let sit in the fridge for one or two days.

Day Two/Three

Constructing the Garden Bloody Mary

1. Fry the bacon.
2. Place the cucumber slice, radish slice, bacon, and mushroom on a cocktail pick.
3. Move a lemon around the rim of a pint glass.
4. Rim the glass with celery salt.
5. Fill the glass halfway with ice.
6. Pour 1.5-2 oz vodka in the glass.
7. Place a strainer over a pitcher and pour the mix from the sealable container through the strainer and into the pitcher. This will ensure the solid vegetables are not poured into the actual Bloody Mary mix.
8. Pour the Garden Bloody Mary mix into the pint glass.
9. Place the cocktail pick with all of the garnishes horizontally on top of the glass.
10. Place a stalk of celery in the glass.
11. Garnish the rim of the glass with a slice of cheese.
12. Springtime has sprung! Enjoy your Garden Bloody Mary on your front porch, in your backyard, or wherever you may be this weekend.

“If you would stop and notice that we number every day
But allow the many moments left uncounted slip away

You don’t have to count them, just enjoy them one by one
Then things would take a different hue and sparkle in the sun
The winds would lift you up into the sky” 

~Trey Anastasio/Tom Marshall/Scott Herman~