Bloody, Bloody Sunday - Marys that is!

My friend Darlene is always making me drool and making me envious of her Sunday Bloody Mary's. I am sure her recipe is ridiculously good, but sadly we live over 1500 miles apart, so often I sit here and just covet her delicious libations. Often this daydream includes a distant memory of the best bloody mary I ever put to my lips. My friends in Illinois may remember the old Castleview Restaurant in Fox River Grove? They had the most incredible bloody marys I remember ever tasting. The restaurant has been gone for years, but the memory still lingers...

This daydreaming came to a screeching halt last weekend. While at the farmer's market I was lucky to make the acquaintance of Fran Rons, the owner of Zorroz Brand Specialty Foods of Scottsdale, AZ. He was giving out samples of his incredible Bold and Spicy Bloody Mary Mix ($8.00 for a 32 oz. bottle). Oh, my friends, I was elated when I tasted it! It's beautiful bright red color, the rich tomato flavor, the perfect texture, not too thick not too thin, and the crowning glory? The perfect balance of flavors, nice and spicy! To add to my glee, their delicious recipe is all natural, has no preservatives and no Worcestershire...so it is VEGAN!! Yay!!

I couldn't wait to share my discovery with two of my very great friends. Fred and I packed up our new treasure, a bottle of Kettle one, some celery, picked red jalapeno peppers and spanish olives and headed over to their house. We spend an awesome Sunday afternoon in the kitchen making home made tortillas and vegan tacos, watching footballs and living the Bloody Mary dream.  We polished off almost the hole giant bottle! You can order their mix online or at some of the local farmers' markets.

Ah behold the ultimate Bloody Mary!!