even in the depths of winter, passion fruit (lilikoi) is still pumping out of our little side yard. the recent four days of RARE southern california rain knocked down and entire colander full of fruit from the vine.

and passion fruit has that perfect bright, tropical flavor to mentally transport you from all that doom and gloom outside to your mental happy place. mojitos already make me feel like vacation, but that bright punch of color and flavor from the passion fruit is sure to put a smile on your face.

honey passionfruit mojito

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 2 minutes

total time: 5 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz rum. 4 oz passion fruit (2-3 passion fruit). 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp honey. 3-5 oz club soda. 10 medium-large mint leaves + a sprig or two for garnish. 2 cups ice. muddler. shaker.

start by tearing up your mint leaves and adding them to the base of your shaker with the rum.

use your muddler to break up the mint for 20-30 seconds till the leaves are very smashed and most of the oils have been released.

add in the passion fruit, honey and lime juice.

add in half the ice. shake well till all the contents are combined. about 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over the ice in your serving glass.

top with club soda and give it a good stir.

garnish with mint, serve and enjoy.

xo, a

honey passionfruit mojito

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 3 minutes

active time: 2 minutes

total time: 5 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz rum. 4 oz passion fruit (2-3 passion fruit). 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp honey. 3-5 oz club soda. 10 medium-large mint leaves + a sprig or two for garnish. 2 cups ice. muddler. shaker.

start by tearing up your mint leaves and adding them to the base of your shaker with the rum. use your muddler to break up the mint for 20-30 seconds till the leaves are very smashed and most of the oils have been released. add in the passion fruit, honey and lime juice. add in half the ice. shake well till all the contents are combined. about 30 seconds. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice. pour the contents of your shaker over the ice in your serving glass. top with club soda and give it a good stir. garnish with mint, serve and enjoy.

before i was given a vine, i don't think i even knew what a passion fruit looked like let alone that they produce like crazy!

wes and i were given our purple passion fruit by his dad and stepmom for a holiday (i can't remember which) and when we received it, it was a vine maybe three feet tall. a year later, that same vine's roots busted through their plastic pot, expanded into the ground and proceeded to grow to cover a ten by twenty foot section of our side yard as well as growing up the side of our building. it got so crazy it was blocking the light into our neighbor's window and we had to cut it back. 

it's given us so much privacy, and even more than that, it provides us with passion fruit (also called lilikoi) 8 months out of the year. 

and the best thing to do with a passion fruit besides eating them as a tasty snack, is popping them into your favorite cocktail. 

watch out, this drink is dangerously smooth and easy to drink. 

passion fruit martini

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz passion fruit. .5 oz lime juice. .5 oz simple syrup. 1 cup ice. shaker.  martini glass. 

in the shaker, combine your ice and all of the ingredients. shake well till frothy and combined. about 30 seconds.

strain into your martini glass.

serve and enjoy. 

xo, a

passion fruit martini

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz passion fruit. .5 oz lime juice. .5 oz simple syrup. 1 cup ice. shaker.  martini glass. 

in the shaker, combine your ice and all of the ingredients. shake well till frothy and combined. about 30 seconds. strain into your martini glass. serve and enjoy.