Cold Busting Pops

I had a fantastic weekend in LA. I got to attend an amazingly beautiful wedding of a blissfully happy (and strangely calm) couple surrounded by friends and gorgeous scenery. And then I woke up Sunday, with a cold. And then I had to fly home Monday, my poor little ears.

So I arrived home and spent much of Tuesday sleeping. I finally arose in the late afternoon, took another dose of Dayquil (bless you, Quils, both Day and Night). I started to feel better. Well, a little better. Better enough to whip up some Vitamin C rich pops to soothe my throat and boost my immunity.

Dr. Cornelius and I were at Whole Foods last week. The AC at his office was broken, it was 96 degrees and the man needed some relief. He bought some Whole Foods 365 Tropical Blend Fruit Bars. He loved them. Almost to the point where I was a little jealous of Whole Foods. Just a lil.

Inspired by jealousy and illness, I made my own TROPICAL BLEND fruit bars. I combined:

1/2 cup peaches
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup mango
1 orange, peeled

I set half the mixture aside and blended the remaining with 1/2 cup raspberries (I would have preferred strawberries for this blend but unfortunately I was out). I then alternated stripes of the two mixtures for visual effect.

The result? A delicious, all-fruit, cold-busting pop. A cure that leaves an excellent taste in my mouth.

An apple a day...

Inspired by the incredible success of my other cake mix pops (Key Lime and Cake Batter), I decided to try APPLE CINNAMON pops. I combined:

4 tablespoons of Fiber One Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix
1 Granny Smith Apple
6 ounces Fage Greek Yogurt
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I have to say, these pops were a big disappointment. They look pretty unappetizing. They taste fair. They're not completely unpalatable, but there's some weird after-taste action. Dr. Cornelius really enjoyed his. But then again, the man never met a popsicle he didn't like...wokka wokka.

Crazy about Cranberries

I bought a bag of unsweetened frozen cranberries at Whole Foods last week. I first thought about making cosmopolitan pops, but I still have many mimosa and watermelon mojito pops hanging out in my freezer. They can't all be cocktail pops... can they?

I still had an orange leftover from the batch of mimosa pops. I decided to make CRANBERRY ORANGE pops. A delicious combo usually reserved for desserts and sauces, I thought it would translate well into pops.

1 orange, zested and peeled
1 tablespoon of Sicilian Orange Fruit Spread
1 1/2 cups of unsweetened frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon of agave syrup

Blend ingredients and pour into Zoku molds. 

I like the end result. They're quite tart. Clearly not a pop for everyone. I'm pretty sure Miss McNitt will hate them. Oh well, more for me!

Beat the Heat

Yes, talking about the weather is trite. Blah blah blah. I don't care. It is HOT out. A dense, stifling heat has engulfed Chicago. I must admit that I stayed out quite late and had more than a few cocktails last night. It's not my fault...I had to entertain my fans at karaoke with an amazingly Joplinesque rendition of Mercedes Benz. Stepping outside this morning (ok, it was about 2:00pm) was torturous.

So I devised a plan: concoct a supremely refreshing pop recipe to ease the pain of lethargic, schvitzy friends in need of a cool, quenching treat. I decided on WATERMELON CUCUMBER with hints of lime and mint.

1/8 watermelon, cubed
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 small cucumber, peeled
2 tablespoons light agave syrup

Combine in blender and pour into molds. I added rum to the leftover mixture (after making 3 Zoku pops) and poured into regular ice pop molds.

I sampled one of the (virgin) pops and it was just as I hoped...cool, refreshing and flavorful.

Batter Up!

CAKE BATTER POPS. Need I say more? Remember the forbidden, sticky deliciousness of running your finger around the rim of a batter bowl when mom was baking (or you were baking, if you were a nerdy, domestic child like yours truly)? These pops legitimize those memorable, finger-licking moments in beautiful, solid (not so sticky) grown-up pop. 

I'm trying to keep up with detailed recipes, so here goes....

6 ounces 0% Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons Pillsbury Sugar Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix

1/3 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in blender. Once mixed, pour in 1.5 tablespoons of chocolate syrup and swirl. Pour into molds. Pour sprinkles onto the bottom of the pop and press gently.

The chocolate syrup does not freeze thoroughly so the inside of the pop stays amazingly gooey. These pops are getting great reviews, try them yourself or come on over for a sample!

Pops of Poetry

I don't often buy blackberries. Out of season they're fair at best. But I do love blackberries. I generally pair them with another berry: blue, rasp or straw. I bought a box last week. They're in season and they smelled divine. I keep opening the refrigerator, seeing the glossy dark berries, loitering and closing the refrigerator, uninspired. How can I be so ambivalent about the berry that's inspired great poets like Sylvia Plath; Blackberrying, Galway Kinnell; Blackberry Eating and Seamus Heaney; Blackberry Picking?

Well this evening I decided to finally forge forth into the world of blackberry. After all, they'll go bad in a few days. I considered a blackberry prosecco pop. But then I considered my freezer full of bellini pops. I decided to keep it simple:

1 box of Blackberries
4 oz Greek Yogurt
1 Tbls Raspberry Agave syrup

I just blended and poured! I'm trying to fulfill Miss Shaw and Miss North's request for more specific recipes. You're welcome, ladies. I love the seedy, berry texture of these pops. And look at the beautiful color!

Leftover Pops

These amazingly savory and sweet pops were made with my dinner leftovers. Yes, you heard me right. My (forever) NBF Miss Kovacs and I made wasabi tuna burgers and sweet potatoes. No, I did not make wasabi tuna pops, phew! But I did make SWEET POTATO POPS! 

We had several slices of sweet potato that did not fit on the cookie sheet, so I brought home the raw slices. I microwaved them for 3 minutes before blending them with a teaspoon of vanilla extract, cinnamon, Greek yogurt and about a tablespoon of agave. I put in about twice as much cinnamon as I instinctively deemed necessary. I thought they needed a flavor that would stand out and break free of the cold-dampening effect. I was right.

These are my new favorite pops. Sorry, Deacon Knorr. I adored our Lemon Poppy Seed pops, but these have trumped them. I can't wait to discover my next favorite.