According to Wikipedia, there are at least three theories as to the origin of the name of the Bloody Mary cocktail drink. The first is that it was named after Mary, Queen of England (1516-1558). The second is that it was inspired by actress Mary Pickford.
For me, there is only one Bloody Mary a large woman who sang Bali Ha’i, traded with American sailors, and the mother of the enchanting Liat in Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical based on James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that Bloody Mary figures in Western folklore. A kind of twisted game that children play. I remember seeing an episode of Supernatural with this theme.
But, anyway, the cocktail drinks Bloody Mary has got to be one of the weirdest with its strange ingredients tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, and ground pepper, among others. I can’t drink tomato juice straight up (too sour for me) but made into a Bloody Mary cocktail, I like it. Pour everything into a glass (a highball glass is traditional). Add a dash of salt and a dash of ground black pepper. Add ice. Take a celery stick and use it to mix the ingredients gently. Serve with the celery stick as a stirrer.
How do I love tea? Let me count the ways
Tea has always been part of our household even when I was very young. Just as much as coffee was. My mother always had bags of Lipton tea around but it was my father who introduced me to dried loose tea leaves that he bought from Chinatown. Although I do keep tea bags for those times when I’m too lazy to go through the entire tea ritual, my taste buds have learned to discern the finer qualities of real tea. Surprisingly, so has my daughter, Alex. I was reaching out for a tea bag one time and she said tea from tea bags has a peculiar taste. Amen.
But what is it about tea that there are times when I prefer it over coffee? Not because it has become a health fad I’ve been drinking tea made from loose tea leaves long before the supposed health benefits from tea hit the headlines. According to recent studies, tea offers a lot more health benefits as it reputedly helps fight cancer, lower cholesterol levels, and is even a promising anti-allergy drink.
I can’t vouch for any of those claims; you’ll have to do your research. It might help knowing though that centuries before the British planted tea in India, the natives have been using tea leaves for medicinal purposes. What I can vouch for is how tea helps digestion. Whenever I get indigestion, only tea helps. And the relief comes fast. And if I drink tea during a meal, I never get indigestion. So, I drink tea. I taught Speedy how to drink tea from loose tea leaves. And now, Alex has picked up the habit too. And when I brew tea these days, I add fresh herbs too. No milk or cream. No sugar nor honey either unless I’m serving it as an iced drink, and that’s rare.