New Year's Eve

My Christmas gift to Carl was a "Texas Style BBQ Pit". He had been eyeing one at Lowe's for quite some time, and I was fortunate enough to scoop up the last one on Christmas Eve. He's seen here assembling the smoker box that you attach to the side. Matt's brother Jason visited for the holidays, and his assistance with the assembly was much appreciated.

We were finally able to utilize the pit on New Year's Eve. We had a great time grilling ribs, enjoying our own version of a fireworks show, and playing poker.
While the boys were outside fooling with the pit, I played in the kitchen (for what felt like hours) making homemade lilikoi juice for some mimosas. Lilikoi (passion fruit) is an extremely popular treat in Hawaii, and you can pretty much find anything flavored with lilikoi, from butter to chocolate. The seed extraction process, however, can be extremely time consuming. The steps for making juice are:

(1) cut lilikoi in half and scoop center into a bowl

(2) pour contents from bowl into blender

(3) pulse mixture for about 30 seconds to separate seeds from fluid

(4) strain liquid and toss out seeds

*note* the liquid is very viscous and the straining process can take quite a while. You will probably have to repeat steps 2-4 several times to maximize the amount of juice.

(5) pour juice into pitcher and fill to top with sparkling water

(6) add agave nectar or sugar to taste

It can be quite messy, but if you're willing to put in the work the payout is awesome! The juice was fabulous, and it made for some very tasty mimosas.