Tulsi Lemon Ginger Bloody Marys

Yesterday my dear friend Juliana and I were on a mission, a mission to put a new twist on bloody marys! We went to Homegrown (our local co-op) and picked up the most beautiful roma tomatoes! We boiled them, peeled off the skins, and then pureed them. A sweet and delicious tomato aroma filled our kitchen. I believe fresh blended tomatoes are the secret to an excellent bloody mary. So many of my friends have sworn off bloody marys, until they have tried one of ours from scratch!

Juliana squeezed the lemons and combined it with a lemon-ginger zest! We even threw in some chopped holy basil, because who doesn’t want some herbal healing with their mixed drinks? For the finishing touches we garnished our drinks with garlic chives, pineapple sage, and holy basil from our garden. It was the perfect drink to enjoy on a hot hot day!

Ingredients:

(Makes about 3-4 drinks)

8 medium-large tomatoes

2-3 lemons

1 inch of fresh ginger root

1 teaspoon of fresh tulsi/holy basil chopped (optional)

1 tablespoon of Horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

3 cloves of garlic

3/4 teaspoon of hot sauce (or more)

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

some vodka

some green olives

and some fresh picked plants from your garden for garnish!

Method:

Bring a pot of water with the tomatoes in it to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and and cook until the skins of the tomatoes look wrinkly. This will take about 10-15 minutes depending on your stove top.

While they are cooking cut and squeeze the lemons until you get about 6 tablespoons worth of juice.

Zest about a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon and a 1/2 teaspoon of ginger.

Chop about a teaspoon worth of fresh tulsi (holy basil). This is optional, but it sure gives it a nice kick! Feel free to use another herb you have locally and experiment!

Mince your 3 cloves of garlic.

By now your tomatoes should be ready. Pour the water out and catch your tomatoes in a strainer. Then use a serving spoon to take each tomato to the cutting board. The tomatoes will be very hot, so use your cutting knife to peel of the skin. It should be fairly easy. Repeat this process with each tomato and throw them all in the blender. Once they are pureed you should have about 3 cups of tomato puree.

Then throw in all your ingredients listed above (we did about two shots of vodka per drink) and garnish with some olives and/or fresh herbs and things you have locally. Pour mix over ice.

And enjoy!

-Summer