Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Any plans for Valentine tonight? Co-incidentally, for this year, the last day of Chinese New Year also known as the Chinese Valentine Day (Chap Goh Mei) falls on the same day as the western's Valentine's Day, that is today! Young maidens and those who are still single would toss mandarin oranges with good wishes written on the oranges, in the sea or lake with the hope of finding a life partner. Some may perform prayers and set adrift lanterns, bearing good wishes and young men would find the opportunity to get to know them.
I was planning on baking something for today, but the laziness got the better of me! Haha! But that does not mean that I am not making anything for Valentine today. I am celebrating Valentine with sweet passion, that is, with Passionfruit Cordial!
Over at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), it is "Raise Your Glass" week, and I'm raising mine to celebrate Valentine's Day today with a glass of refreshing, extremely delicious Passionfruit Cordial. We are currently cooking from Donna Hay's recipes and as soon as I saw this recipe from her website, I knew that I will be making this.
Passionfruit are always available at the market in the area where I live. Bought about 1 kg this morning and made only half a recipe. This recipe requires citric acid, which is available at the local bakery ingredients supplier store. The changes I've made for half a recipe was to use the full cup of passionfruit pulp which was meant for a full recipe. You would need about 7 medium sized fruits. I'm glad I did not reduce the amount as it was so full of "passion-ny" taste and fragrance. And I have read the recipe by mistake for the water, and only used half a cup, which really is OK as the cordial becomes more syrupy as it cools down. The next time when I make this, I'm going to stick to my changes.
Very easy, peasy to make. Mix all the ingredients, sugar, water, citric acid and passionfruit pulp in a medium saucepan and let it come to a boil, making sure the sugar are totally dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
To make a glass of this delicious drink, simply measure about 3 tablespoons (more or less, to taste) of the Passionfruit Cordial, top with Soda Water and add in some ice chunks. Drink and enjoy! So good and refreshing, a definite welcome drink in our extremely hot "rainless" weather which we are experiencing right now.
A sweet passion, so perfect for Valentine's Day!
I'm raising my glass tonight with my family, wishing everyone Happy Valentine's Day!
(note : my changes in blue for half a recipe)
Passionfruit Cordial
(source from donnahay.com)
4 cups (880gm) caster (superfine) sugar (2 cups = 400gm)
2 cups (500ml) water (1/2 cup)
1 cup (250ml) passionfruit pulp (I used the full amount of 1 cup)
1 teaspoon citric acid * (1/2 tsp)
Place sugar, water, passionfruit pulp and citric acid in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Bring to the boil, remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
To serve, pour over crushed ice and top with water or soda water to taste. Makes 5 cups.
* Citric acid is a natural preservative and is found in the baking aisle in most supermarkets.
Please do hop over to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), to see what the others are making for "Raise Your Class".
Oh...I would love to make this one day .......what a refreshing drink. After drinking, I think it would make me more passionate too....
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine Day Joyce, save a glass for me , thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Joyce - both Western and Eastern :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a refreshing, delicious drink!
Joyce, Happy Valentine's Day to you! What a yummy drink to celebrate the day!
ReplyDeleteJoyce, lovely passionfruit cordial!! I would love to drink it to welcome the 'hot' Valentine's Day!! Happy Valentine's Day!!! Soon you will be baking and cooking again ;) Afterall, we all rest to walk a longer route, isn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteJoyce! You had a great Valentine's Day with this passionfruit cordial drink ya?
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a refreshing drink as the weather is getting hot.
This cordial is also perfect during the hot sunny day! Even though I am late but I still have to wish you, happy valentines day!
ReplyDeleteJoyce, this thirst quencher is perfect for the current hot weather!
ReplyDeleteI love passionfruit and would definitely enjoy a glass of that cordial on a hot day. It looks so refreshing.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness Joyce, I thought for sure I was here for Valentine's Day! Soooooo sorry I missed your Passionfruit Cordial! It looks so good too. Would you believe I have never had passionfruit. I must change that. I'm sure it is healthy too:) I'm bookmarking this so I know what to do with it the next time I see it at the grocery store:)
ReplyDeleteOh Joyce, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I don't know how I missed visiting, now I'm sure I do need a bit of a blogging break! Thank you so much for sharing, Joyce. Sending snowballs your way, lol...I know it isn't rain but...
I have had this one tagged to make for the next time I get some passion fruit. It just looks so refreshing and good. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Joyce, hmmm, I would like to try your sweet & sour cordial. I like Donna Hay's recipes as they never disappoint me. And also the photo styling is always simple & pretty.
ReplyDeleteOh, Joyce, I'm having serious passionfruit envy reading your post. I adore them, but they are about $50 a kilo where I live, so definitely in the realms of an extravagance. Occasionally I splash out on just a couple of them to either eat straight from the shell or to stir through a batch of ice cream, but cordial would be a real stretch to the budget.
ReplyDelete