I am writing to you from beautiful Kalispell, Montana, surrounded by verdant mountains, bright blue lakes, and rivers. The sun slowly begins to pop its head by 5 in the morning and starts to disappear by 11 at night, and it’s the latter that remains my favorite. The evening sun gives the mountains a golden-orange shimmer that makes them special. I haven’t seen any bears yet, but we’ve been warned of sightings, and the cabin even came with a big can of bear spray. I’m here for a wedding, and earlier this week, the celebrations kicked off with a cowboy/cowgirl-themed dinner party. I love costume-themed parties (probably because my parents never took me to any) and I came prepared. I went hunting for a cowboy hat as soon as we made our way out of the airport, and luckily, I found one at Western Outdoor Store. They’ve got a lot of options, so give yourself some time to pick out the right hat that speaks to you. The two things I still don’t own and are on my list to get at some point are a lasso and a big buckle for my belt. Maybe I need a pair of spurs? (I want a lasso or a whip, it could do double duty in a Catwoman costume.) As I write this, I’ve only been here for a day so in terms of food, what I’ve eaten is limited. There’s been plenty of superb barbecue and huckleberry-loaded foods, but I am curious and excited to see what this week brings. That’s one of my favorite parts of any trip, especially when I visit a new place and taste new foods. (If you’ve got suggestions, send them in the comments below.) Passion fruit was a new food to me when I moved to California. I first tried this fruit in a smoothie made from fermented cacao beans at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco. While the drink tasted nothing like chocolate, it carried this delicious fragrance that I can only best describe as tropical. Later, I learned that the fruit could be easily grown in California, and I’ve grown it ever since. It doesn’t need much care, and once the vines take off, they take over pretty quickly. They’re a great option for a green wall, fence, and roof. We’ve got three vines that cover our pergola, and it’s become a haven for hummingbirds and caterpillars. Just remember, if you decide to grow one for fruit, get the Passiflora edulis variety, which produces edible fruit. Some of the other varieties of this plant produce only flowers, while others don’t produce fruit that is always edible. I use passion fruit to make curds and tarts, but it is also wonderful as an accent to a drink. In the lemonade, the passion fruit not only brightens the flavor of the strawberries but also adds its unmistakable tropical aroma to the drink. And on a hot summer day, this drink is most welcome. No reviews ½ cup/120 ml passion fruit pulp with or without seeds ½ cup/120 ml fresh lemon or lime juice ½ cup/100 g superfine sugar 4 ½ to 6 ½ cups/1 to 1 ½ L chilled water Crushed ice Fresh basil or mint to garnish Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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