Saturday, 1 September 2007

Bottling up Passion(fruit) and Passing on the Awards

Passionfruit Curd on Scones

Before I talk about passionfruit, I would like to pass on a few awards. When I started this blog, it was my way of sharing recipes and stories related to food with my family and friends (most of them do not live in Sydney). I never imagined that I would get to know so many lovely, thoughtful and helpful people through the food blogging community. I really appreciate all the comments that's been left on my blog, which is only a few months old. It's wonderful to able to share this passion for food with like-minded people from all over the globe. There are so many of you that I would like to express my gratitude to, so this would be great opportunity to do so:

(drum roll.....)


Valli from More than Burnt Toast handed the Droolworthy Blogger award to me recently. I was really pleasantly surprised and very thrilled. I use a very basic Lumix (Panasonic) digital camera and I don't know much about food photography. But I do know food :-) I would like to pass this award on to:

Eva of Sweet Sins
Kirsten of Kirsten's Home Cooking
Janet of
Janet is Hungry
Anh of
Food Lover's Journey
Amanda of
Little Foodies

"The Power of Schmooze Award is for bloggers who effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”

I was so touched when Amanda of Little Foodies handed this award to me. I do enjoy the "conversations" that we have and although we haven't met, I feel as though I am getting to know her more and more. I would like to pass this award on to:

Truffle of What's on my Plate
Cynthia of Tastes like Home
Susan of
The Well-Seasoned Cook
Katie of
Thyme For Cooking
Patricia of
Technicolor Kitchen


"The Thoughtful Blogger Award is for those who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others’ feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping other bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others.”

This award came also came from Amanda. A few weeks later Cynthia of Tastes like Home also handed this to me. I should be the one to thank them for always responding thoughfully to my comments. Cynthia is also always willing to go that extra mile by e-mailing her recipes. I would like to pass on this award to:

Carol of Oh for the love of food!
Valli of More than Burnt Toast

Rose of 64 ft Kitchen

Aimee of Under the High Chair

Wendy of A Wee Bit of Cooking

Now on to the food....

Passion fruit Curd / Passionfruit Butter

Last week, I had a request from Quikong's sister for Passionfruit Butter. I am always happy to fulfil such requests. I've never made this before, so I did a bit of research and not surprisingly, I decided to use Bill Granger's recipe. He's never let me down ;-) You can find Bill's Passionfruit Curd recipe here. The only adjustment I made was that I used salted butter. Additionally, all the ingredients I used (except for the passionfruit) was organic. I also made Bill's scones from that same recipe.

"Bottling up" some Passion (fruit) ;-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

30 comments:

KellytheCulinarian said...

Congratulations on your awards. That passionfruit curd looks delicious. I'd use it on bagels and all sorts of breakfast/snack items.

Warda said...

My dear Nora, You deserve every single award and even more. I am very touched by this thoughtful gesture. You can't see me, but there are little voices inside of me singing all kind of happy songs right now. Thank you very much Nora and have a wonderful weekend my friend.

Kirsten said...

Thanks for the nod and congrats on your awards!! All well-deserved. :)

This looks AMAZING!!! I have never heard of or even thought of passionfruit curd which is sad. Looks SOOOO delicious. I want to eat it with a spoon!

Anh said...

Nora. Thanks so much for remebering me! :D You are so sweet... And you have done justice to Bill Granger's recipe. The passionfruit curd looks marvelous!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Ah, thanks Nora for your very kind words. All yours awards are very well deserved.
p.s. The passion fruit curd looks delicious!

Truffle said...

Thank you so much Nora. Such well deserved awards and so very kind of you to pass them on. I'm really touched.

That curd looks amazing. I'd love a big dollop right about now!

Anonymous said...

Those jars look soooo delicious!
Congratulations on your award!! :)
Enjoy your day,
Margot

Susan said...

You stinker, you! I have a post all set up for passing on some awards, and you've beaten me to it. No matter - your name still stands; it's a different award. Thank you very much, Nora, for thinking of me. I'm always delighted that I've left some positive impact on others. Now, please pass me some of that glorious curd!

Katie Zeller said...

Congratulations on all 3 awards... You deserve them all!
And thank you so much for awarding one to me :-)
Love the Passion Butter - it looks sooo smooth!

Cynthia said...

Nora, so here I was sitting with my feet up and the laptop in my lap, I saw the passion fruit butter and sat up so suddenly I almost dropped the computer, now you see why you've got that drool-worthy award?!

Congrats on your awards and thank you for mine.

Have a great weekend.

Nora B. said...

Kelly Mahoney - Thank you. Actually, after I read your comments, I went out to get some bagels. :-) There is a new bagel shop near where I live (it’s not so common here) Any excuse to go to the bagel shop!

Rose – LOL! I can almost hear your happy songs from here :-) My weekend has been great so far. I’m now baking something for father’s day celebration (today).

Kirsten – Thank you. Passionfruit curd/butter is quite common in Australia. I actually did eat it with a spoon! You know, to make sure that it’s good enough to give away. (And I also licked the bowls...)

Anh – Thank you, I hope to meet Bill some day :-) You deserve the award because every time I look at your blog, it does something to my stomach.

Amanda – Thank you. I hope that you are settling back nicely to “normal” life. Your trip sounded like such a wonderful adventure.

Truffle and Coffee & Vanilla – Thank you. I have to warn both of you that the curd was very addictive. I had to stop myself from eating too much since I made it as gifts for friends.

Susan – heh heh heh I beat you to it! This post has been on draft for a while, I was just waiting to post it with a food item. You definitely have made a positive impact, I love your style of writing, the topic of your posts and of course the recipes.
p/s: If you lived closer, you know that one jar has your name on it.

Katiez – Thank you. Actually, I was day dreaming while I was making the curd and the water bath was too hot. So there were actually a few small white bits (a bit of curdling), but luckily I managed to rescue it in time because I made 4 x the recipe (8 eggs!). Would be upset if it didn’t work out.

Cynthia – Thank you, you made me smile. I’m enjoying my weekend so far, I hope you are too.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Well done, Nora! Bill Granger's recipes are so fresh, simple, and unique. Thanks for sharing this recipe; I just love the unusual flavor of passionfruit.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Passionfruit butter? Just the thought of it makes me drool....yum!

Valentina said...

Nora, this is so lovely! I am such a big fan of passion fruit. kind of grew up on it. I remember mum coming back from the market with a basket full of them - always had lovely passion fruit juice..I do agree with you on Bill Granger.I am a big fan of his.; o ) Just in response to a comment you left on my blog, I was meant to post the last daring bakers challenge on my blog last week but I didn't get the time. shame!

Kelly-Jane said...

Well done on being given all your awards, all true!

I've made passion fruit curd, and it was so delicious. Seeing your lovely pics, must make some more soon :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

You deserve every moment of recognition from all your fellow bloggers, Nora!!!!!! I also would like to thank you for the award bestowed upon me as well. It is such a wonderful feeling to be recognized for being kind and thoughtful!!! If I weren't so tired from getting my daughter settled into university 5 hours away I would be gushing right now. I'll save the gush for later and pass it along to other deserving bloggers out there. Thank you so much for thinking of me!!!!.

Wendy said...

An enormous thank you, Nora! I'm touched. :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your awards! I love passion fruit mousse, but I think this curd is going to be right along with it.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Congratulations on your awards! And the passion fruit curd looks amazing!

Big Boys Oven said...

What a passion...and what a fruit.

Nora B. said...

Susan – Thank you. I do like how Bill’s recipe’s are so straightforward and simple yet stunning at times.

Lydia – It’s difficult stopping myself from having spoonfuls of it. Luckily, I’ve given all of it away.

Valentina – Thank you. I’m sure that the passionfuit that you get in Brazil are much bigger since it’s native to your country. I love passionfruit juice too and passionfruit cordial. Oh, will you still post your DB tart?

Kelly-Jane – Thanks! Oh you have to make more passionfruit curd. Is your recipe similar to Bill’s?

Valli – Thank you, and you deserve the award for always being so helpful and thoughtful. I hope that you’ve recovered from your long car trip and also getting used to the idea that she’s that far away from you. I’m sure that it will be a fantastic experience for her.

Wendy – You deserve it! 

Veron – Oooh, passion fruit mousse, that could be my next project! Thanks for the idea.

East Meets West Kitchen and Big Boys Oven – Thank you so much! I can’t get enough of this fruit.

Aimée said...

Thank you ever so much, Nora, for thinking of me for the Thoughtful Blogger Award. I am truly touched! Like you, I am fairly new to the wonderful world of food blogging, so it's exciting to get some recognition.
Merci!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Thank you for the award, dear Nora - it means a lot to me!
You too deserve them all and many more to come!

The passion fruit curd looks so good, I'm crazy about sour flavors.

tigerfish said...

Congrats on the awards...and get I get a jar of those from you ;)

Helene said...

Congrats on all the awards! Well deserved. I adore passion fruits, problem here they are $1.99 for one (in South Carolina)!!!
This looks absolutely fantastic!

Eva said...

Hi Nora,

I´m really feeling bad for not replying straigt away after receiving your award... Due to my travel schedule and limited internet access I somewhat forgot that I hadn´t written back anything..:-( Hope you´ll forgive me... And I hope that I´ll find some time during the next few days to reply properly and to pass it on to others!

Love,
EVA

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your award. Your passionfruit curd looks deliciously yummy. :)

Shaun said...

Nora - How envious I am of your passionfruit bounty. Passionfruit is a fruit I have loved since childhood, but I find it increasinly hard to find, and when I do find it, it costs quite a bit except during its peak season. Your curd looks gorgeous - brightest of yellows, lusciously thick. Glorious!

Anonymous said...

a late congratulations on your award - love your blog and the passion fruit looks wonderful...can you tell me how long it lasts - i see that you canned it - i'm sure it wouldn't last long anyway as it looks darned tasty but how long can you store it?

Nora B. said...

Thanks Alison.

It wasn't canned - merely bottled it in recycled jam jars that I boiled briefly. I gave away all but one. I had the curd in my fridge for about two weeks. It usually doesn't last that long - the problem was stopping myself from having spoonfuls of it. Especially now that I found my favorite danish butter in the shops (don't compromise on the quality of the butter when you are making this).

If I know that i won't be able to finish the curd, I use it as a pie filling or layered it bbetween a sponge cake.

Hope that helps!