Ikea, Alan Arkin and Sriracha Bloody Marys

The weekend went by pretty fast. Odd because we didn’t do anything beyond get groceries, watch a few movies (Raising Arizona, Beetlejuice and see below for the other 2), took a small walk, went to the antique store down the block and stayed inside all Sunday. Greg painted for our landlords Saturday and I worked on future post ideas. Fairly boring times- until we received a call last night from a guy that wanted to see our truck (still for sale). After 45 minutes beyond the expected time, we called and he was still half an hour out (without the idea to let us know) so I thought his notion to see our truck at 9PM on a Sunday night was inconsiderate. Greg called him back to tell him to come by this evening. If he doesn’t show within 20 minutes, I’m calling and telling him his chance is over. I’m not fond of the idea of selling what used to be my dad’s truck (for years and years) to an imbecile.

We watched the movie Sunshine Cleaners, upon Nathan’s suggestion and absolutely loved it. (Thanks, Nathan!) I cried, I laughed….I mean Alan Arkin played the father/grandpa. I love me some Arkin. He’s a Renaissance man but in a different way than my hubby, Greg. I like those types.

On the other hand, we watched 500 Days of Summer. The movie started off well and went to “what the f***?” probably around the last 20 minutes. Zooey Deschanel is someone I appreciate in movies, she seems refreshing. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Elf introduced us to this unique actor but that didn’t matter here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt seemed to take a while to “latch on to” as the lead character-he wasn’t pulling it off for some of the beginning but it did seem like he and Zooey were connecting later. His character appeared childish, as if he were a giant man-child (not attractive). Greg couldn’t get past that he looks like the late Heath Ledger. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t explain the exact point where I knew I wasn’t going to like where the story went. (No, I didn’t give a rip that they didn’t end up together…that was obvious.) The Ikea scene did confirm that Greg and I are not the only ones to imagine we live in the store models. Don’t try to bring the Swedish meatballs to the living room sets though. Lesson learned.

Last week I mentioned that we had Sriracha bloody marys and didn’t provide the recipe. I did state that they were a bit like cocktail sauce but I respect the concoctions from the White on Rice Couple and will share.

Bloody marys are our kind of drink…in a world of fruity, poor quality, Applebees-like appletinis (all offense towards Applebees); we are pleasantly satisfied with this drink that kicks you in the tastebuds. Make it spicy and please, add some olives and a pickle. Skip the horseradish if you aren’t a fan of cocktail sauce (or infuse it by adding fresh horseradish slices 5 or more days ahead to the vodka, as suggested by that couple) and I would recommend a good quality, thick tomato juice, almost a sauce consistency. I might pulverize a canned whole tomato or two next time.

Sriracha Bloody Marys from the White On Rice Couple
Serves 1

Ingredients:
2 oz. vodka
4 oz. tomato juice (I like the thicker almost sauce-like version for this.)
½ oz. lemon juice
¼ tsp grated horseradish or prepared creamy (Leave out if you dislike cocktail sauce)
2 pinches of celery salt (or more, the juice required more for our tastes)
3 dashes of Sriracha (or more if you like heat)
2 dashed of Worcestershire sauce
*If you are using olives or dill pickles, add a dash of the juice (makes it a dirty bloody mary)-optional
Garnish with olives (we used habanero stuffed b/c we are gluttons for punishment), celery stalks, a dill pickle, lime/lemon wedge, tomatoes, carrots, cocktail onions

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass and add ice. Roll the glass to combine (don’t shake), strain into another ice filled glass and garnish.