I'm on Pinterest. I don't know that I've ever mentioned that before here, not of course that I really needed to. If you're interested in looking at my boards or following me (mostly I just pin photos I love to remind me of moods or poses I want to replicate, or recipes I want to try) you can find me here. However, if you'd been following me recently you'd notice a theme: I've been pinning popsicles like crazy for the past few weeks.
It's a bit of an obsession, actually, and it even led me to purchase a popsicle mold (this one, if you're interested, not that it's necessarily the best one, but it does the job). First I tried making popsicles that were just like the smoothies I drink in the mornings, sans kale because let's not be crazy! But I found that fruit with plain yogurt and some ground flax seeds makes for a very 'healthy' tasting popsicle, and not necessarily for a delicious one. Then I tried just using raw fruit and I made some strawberry grapefruit popsicles inspired by these poptails (but without the vodka, because I like to have a popsicle whenever I want one, and I don't have the same policy when it comes to alcohol). Anyway, those were good, and seemed healthy enough, but they didn't blow my mind.
I decided that the popsicles needed to be sweeter/more flavorful, but I didn't want to add any sugar or honey unless that was absolutely necessary. So I decided to try cooking the fruit first to concentrate the flavor and maybe caramelize some of the naturally occurring sugar, and that gave me these babies, which are by far my favorite popsicles yet. And since we had it in the fridge, added some honey lemon greek yogurt that Evan bought by accident thinking it was plain.
Recipe:
- 3 to 4 ripe peaches
- 12 medium strawberries
- 1/2 cup of yogurt, whichever flavor you prefer. If using plain, stir in some honey or maple syrup to sweeten it a bit.
Cut up the fruit into medium-sized chunks (size doesn't really matter here, no matter what those Norwegians say). Heat the fruit in a small saucepan with a bit of water to avoid scorching the bottom over low-medium heat until the fruit softens and becomes syrupy. Blend or puree or smash with a fork for a chunkier popsicle. Pour into popsicle molds until they are a little less than halfway full. Spoon a little yogurt into each mold, then top off with the fruit mixture. Freeze for at least four hours. If using molds that require wooden sticks like these, put the sticks in the popsicles after about an hour and a half. Once the popsicles are frozen, remove them from the molds by dunking into hot water for about 15 seconds each. Freeze whatever you don't eat in a large ziploc bag in the freezer.
Enjoy! And mess around, try out different combinations. Next up I'm looking to make some Vietnamese coffee popsicles, then maybe some chocolate peanut butter banana popsicles (for Evan, who loves chocolate and peanut butter), then maybe some roasted strawberry ones or green tea coconut . . . the possibilities are endless! Plus, check out Popsicle Week at Wit and Vinegar for more exciting popsicle opportunities. Okay, last popsicle link, I promise.
Happy summer! Go enjoy something cold!
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