What better post to follow an article on healthy eating, than to jump right into one of my favorite alcoholic drinks: the bloody mary. Supposedly the drink was created at Harry’s Bar in Paris – one of the hangouts of Ernest Hemingway, among others. Wherever it was created, it’s one of the few adult beverages that is considered acceptable to serve in the mornings – maybe it’s the tomato juice that makes it a popular brunch drink choice. It has at least a chance at being healthy.

I have had different variations of the bloody mary in various cities, and even had the Tex-Mex version, the bloody maria, made with tequila instead of vodka. But my favorite remains the basic and simple version with tomato juice, vodka, and some seasoning.

A few weeks ago I had some vodka left over from making vanilla and so I decided to experiment and try infusing my own hot pepper vodka. I filled a quart canning jar with vodka and added the last 3 hot chili peppers, split down the middle. I love the way the vodka has taken on a pale green hue from the peppers. And just for the record, you could definitely taste the peppers and additional spiciness in the final drink!

To a shot of that, I added some homemade hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and of course tomato juice to top off the glass.

Garnish with celery salt and a pickled string bean.

And …. voila! … a yummy (and marginally nutritious) bloody mary.