for the Love of Lilikoi: recipes with my favorite tropical fruit of Hawaii

Oh my GOODNESS. Lilikoi (Lily-koy) aka Passionfruit is SO DELICIOUS! As I shared with you earlier, my hub and I spent a little over a week recently in Hawaii. We were reminded daily of just how much we LOVE the local fruit. To be able to walk outside and pick your breakfast fruit right off a tree or vine is incredible. After trying many of the Hawaiian native fruits I can tell you that Lilikoi is #1 on my list of top ten.

Not only that - but it has a pretty nifty historical story to go with it.  The Lilikoi flower, or Passion Fruit, had religious connotations attached to it in the 16th century. Some Catholic missionaries were reminded of the Passion of Christ through the parts of the flower. The three stigmas represented the Trinity to them, and the stamens reminded them of the hammers used to drive nails into Christ’s hands. 

While visiting the local farmers markets in Hawi on the the Big Island, I was able to wrap my fingers around a scrumptious glass of freshly squeezed lilikoi & guava juice. YUM-O! 

This was our breakfast of choice. Most mornings you would find us with a plate of Portuguese Sausage, which we picked up at Takata's, the local grocery store in the city of Hawi, scrambled eggs and a side of freshly picked lilikoi. It is so refreshing and flavorful. Remember the scratch n' sniff books of days gone by? I wish I could post a "catch-a-whiff" for you to experience the smell of fresh lilikoi. 

Our resident Auntie made up batches of this DELICIOUS Lilikoi Dressing. It was a few simple ingredients whipped together leaving our taste buds exploding with flavor. Lilikoi, honey and oil, she may have a little rice vinegar in there or lemon/lime juice to give it a bit of a bite. It was SO YUMACIOUS! I had it on salad every chance I could get. As the locals would say "ONO" slang for DELICIOUS! 

We also stopped at our favorite little coffee shop in Hawi - Kohana Coffee Mill. It is a charming little coffee shop, gift shop and it has local baked goods. One morning we were lucky enough to spot the last slice of Lilkoi Lime Pound Cake sitting there waiting to be devoured. Devoured it was!!! The three of us had gulped it down within minutes. I am bound and determined to recreate this recipe. Don't you worry, I know it will be post worthy. 

Here are a few other Lilikoi recipes I am excited to try - Lilikoi Barbecue Sauce & Ribs &  Chicken Breast with Lilikoi Sauce.  I know the savory Lilikoi can in no way disappoint. I am known to alter a recipe as I go - so I will let you know if these get tweaked for improvement.

Chicken Breast with Lilikoi Sauce 

Ingredients: 

2     Chicken Breasts

1 T  Olive Oil 

2 T  butter 

1 t.  Honey 

2 T  lime juice 

1/4 C Lilikoi Juice

Salt and pepper to taste 

Preparation: 

• Pound the chicken to  ½”
• melt butter/oil in saute pan - add chicken saute until browned 
• add sugar,  lime juice, salt. pepper to the pan and stir over low heat to dissolve browned bits. 
• Stir in lilikoi and barely heat through. 
• Serve

One of our favorite nights on the Big Island was a dinner gathering we were invited to with our local family friends. The dessert was.... get ready for it..... Lilikoi Bars. Just wait until I whip up a batch and post the pics. I was bestowed a precious gift of the recipe a few years ago on my last visit. Once you read the recipe you will be on the hunt for fresh lilikoi, trust me! (The recipe is up - just click on the link above)

I do have Lilikoi pulp that I freshly removed from the fruit the other day, just waiting for me to whip up something delicious with. Be on the lookout! A new post is on it's way. ALL THINGS LILIKOI! Perhaps I shall change my name to Lilikim.

-Simply Sublime

The Big Island of Hawaii Trip Plan: Go Local When You Visit

The last week and a half my husband and I were lucky enough to spend time with friends on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our family friends have homes in the Kohana area, in the city of Hawi, which is up on the North end of the Island. A breathtaking, tropical lush green coastal region. 

This was my second time visiting this particular Island, and my Husband's first. The scenery, vegetation, wildlife and people are absolutely B E A U T I F U L! If you want to experience the local flavor of the Island - this is a great area to spend some time.

Since we were staying with the locals we had the advantage of eating all of the local food, shopping the local markets and visiting the local hang outs. One of our first adventures was visiting three different Farmers Markets on the Island - one in the town of Hawi and two in Waimea. 

At the Hawi Farmers Market under the Banyan Tree I was able to have a refreshing glass of fresh squeezed Lilikoi & Guava juice. Can you say...YUM! It was so delicious. We also found other treasures - like breadfruit chips, fresh canned lilikoi pulp, and too many amazing creations made by the local artists to mention.  One of my favorite things about the Hawi Farmers Market was the live music played under the Banyan Tree. A barefoot ukele playing local was a strumming & singing away. So.much.fun!

If you are headed to the Big Island I would definitely recommend you make it to their Saturday Markets. I would suggest hitting them in the morning - as one of them in Waimea closes shop at noon. 

After we had hit the Farmer's Markets we just happened to smell something wonderful wafting around in the air.... Huli Huli. Now we just needed to find the cart that was selling it. Shouldn't be too hard as there are always long lines waiting to snatch it up. Here is a little Hawaiian tidbit for you- "Huli" means "Turn" in Hawaiian - so it is  "Turn Turn Chicken". I say Nom...Nom!

Sure enough we found the cart - the locals were lined up to snag their Huli Huli for the day. Do I need to mention what a good sign it is when the locals are flocking? We were heading with friends to Hapuna Beach State Park that night for boogie boarding and good grub. This Huli Huli was going to be the perfect addition to our beachfront meal. 

It is SO YUMMY I had to find a recipe for you. Here is the recipe submitted by John Heckathorn in the Hawaii Magazine. 

These are the dear friends we stayed with and their family that lives on the Island full time.

Ahhhh - SO RELAXING!!! A definite MUST-DO on your stay is to dine and surf. We were able to stay at the beach long enough to watch the sun go down and it was so worth it. Simply beautiful. AND for the records...this picture makes Hapuna State Park look like a mild wave beach...not so. In the photos I didn't happen to catch the bigger waves. Trust me, after being swept off my feet twice and tumbled around enough to fill a bucket with the sand gathered on the journey- there are some pretty big waves at times. It was the perfect beach for the boogie boarders! I have quite a few other local beaches we visited as well that I will post about later. 

I have SO MUCH MORE to share with you. This trip to the Big Island of Hawaii was full of fun and adventure. I can't wait to get to the next post. 

Until I can post again my prayer for you is that you can look around you and find the beauty and adventure awaiting you every day! I believe God has an assignment for each of - we just have to have willing ears to hear and willing hearts to follow. Oh, what adventure He has planned for us EVERY.SINGLE.DAY in the little and the BIG. 

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-Simply Sublime