Fresh Passionfruit Juice

My all-time favorite bubble tea variant is the milk tea.  The next on the list is passionfruit tea slush.  So when I saw fresh passionfruit in the market, I thought of making passionfruit juice!

Truth is, I've never seen passionfruit before, but I've been told that it's common in tropical countries.  In fact, we have a couple of plants in the food garden that (have flowers now so) we're really hoping to harvest some home-grown, organic fruits! 

Anyway, hubby said it smelled (and tasted) a lot like guava!!!

Here's how to make the juice -

Open up 3 pieces of (really ripe) passionfruit and scraped the seeds and juice into a measuring cup.  This batch yielded a little under 3/4 of a cup.  Add 2-1/2 cups of cold water.  Pulse 2 to 4 times (do not blend, just pulse to remove the black seeds, otherwise, the seeds will be pulverized and the juice will be gritty and not very pleasant - trust me, I know what I'm talking about!!!)

Strain the mixture into a juice pitcher and add about another 2-1/2 to 3 cups of cold water.  Add the sweetener of your choice, to your taste.  I added agave to the pitcher, about 1/3 cup or so (but I like mine on the tangy side).  I used manuka honey for the little girl's cup (she loves manuka honey!).

Passion fruit is said to be cooling to the body and very good for the body.  It is rich in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and fiber.  It has lots of Vitamin C and A, as well as potassium.

Pomelo Citrus Cooler

I had a few fruits in the fridge that were just waiting...  The biggest one was a pomelo.  Normally I like pomelos and could eat one all by myself but this particular pomelo was dry, and not sweet at all, bordering on bitter in fact.  But I couldn't bear to throw it away (what a waste!) so I had to figure out a way to repurpose it or else I'd have to eat it!!!

The inspiration came by way of a local magazine, which featured their Pomelo Dayap Cooler sometime in 2012.  Of course in their version, they used Davao pomelo, which is presumably sweet and succulent.  In my case, my pomelo was weird, to put it tactfully.

With all other things in the fridge that were half consumed... half an orange, a whole lime, and just about a fourth of a lemon (literally a couple of slices!)...  I thought, heck, why not, the sweet orange might temper the bitterness of the pomelo...

So, here is my version - with pomelo, orange, lemon, and lime, using agave as sweetener.

There was still a bitter edge but overall, it was a delicious drink!  Definitely a better way to use the pomelo!

1 whole pomelo, in segments
1/2 of a large sweet orange, sliced thinly
1 lime, sliced thinly
2 to 3 slices of lemon
1/2 cup agave syrup
about a liter of water
ice cubes (I used up 2 "trays" of ice cubes, about 32 pieces or so)

Place about 1/4 of the pomelo (segments) and orange, lime and lemon slices in a 2-liter pitcher or juice jar.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 3/4 of the pomelo (segments), the ice cubes, agave and water in a blender and whirl away until the ice cubes are crushed.  Adjust the sweetness as preferred.  Pour the mixture in the pitcher and stir.  Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.