Homemade Popsicles to Beat the Summer Heat

With the heat index at 110ºF its no wonder why people are staying inside this summer.. AND ITS STILL HOT! So what can you do? Make some popsicles. I'm sure everyone out there has had at least one popsicle in their life. So why not try making your own? Here are some recipes to help you make it though this horrid heat and help you spend some more time with people you care about. (or a date, its quite fun and delicious!)

Strawberry Mango Banana Popsicles: (Makes about 6 - 8 depending on the mold you use)

½ Cup Strawberries (if you use frozen thaw them out!)
1 Banana (Peeled of course)
½ Cup Mango (Again, if you use frozen, then thaw them out)
6 Tbsp Sugar (I know it sounds like a lot but trust me)
2 Tbsp Honey
1 Pinch Salt
¼ cup water
⅓ cup Heavy Cream (optional)

Place all the ingredients together and BLEND IT INTO A YUMMY LIQUID. Fill your mold up and chill for about a 2-4 hours. (If you decide to use the heavy cream you can always mix one fruit with water and another with heavy cream and then swirl them together! It looks really pretty too just divide the sugar and honey evenly)

Blueberry Pomegranate Popsicles: (Makes 6-8 Depending on your choice of molds)
¾ Cup Blue Berries
1 Cup Pomegranate Juice (not sweetened!)
4 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Honey

Again place, mix, chill, serve! If you want to use cream in this one, you will have to put the blue berries into the heavy cream and mix them together with ½ the sugar and honey. Then mix it with the pomegranate mix and freeze.

Lemon Lime Crush: (Makes 6-8 Depending on your mold)
½ C Lemon Juice(FRESHLY SQUEEZED NOT BOTTLED!)
½ C Lime Juice (FRESHLY SQUEEZED NOT BOTTLED!)
½ C Water
1 Lime or Lemon cut thinly into semi-circles
6 Tbsp Sugar

Blend the ingredients together leaving out the cut fruit, and freeze with a piece of fruit on the side for decoration. DO NOT USE CREAM IN THIS! IT WILL SEPARATE AND GO SOUR ON YOU!

Now for those of you who want a more adult popsicles try these recipes out...

Chocolate Babbling Popsicle: Makes 7-8

1 C Cream
6 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream or Kalua

Mix the cream, cocoa powder and sugar together and set aside. then add in the Irish cream or kalua and put them into the molds first so that it creates a small layer and then add in the chocolate mixture.

Lavender Honey Popsicles: Makes 7-8

Just a forewarning, this one takes a bit more work because this is more of an ice cream base than just a popsicle base.

2 C Cream
½ C Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
¼ Tbsp Lavender
4 Tbsp Honey

Heat the cream and honey together until simmering, DO NOT BOIL! Mean while, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar to make it lighter. Then slowly temper the egg yolks with the now hot cream and make sure you do not curdle the egg yolks! Allow it to cool and you can either put this into a mold or put it in an ice cream machine.

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Side note: The wedding went of without too big a hitch. And this week has been hectic! Haha well, thats life for you. And a reminder that my art exhibition is still up at the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center in Virginia, so stop on by and take a look if you have a chance. 

This week and next...

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of posts these past few weeks and for next week as well. I am getting married on Tuesday July 20th! So please give me a little more time. But I do have some posts ready to be posted after these hectic weeks calm down. ^_^ Until then.

Happy Eating!

-Sorian

Summer Frisé Salad

It's hot, you don't want to cook too much, and someone gave you a head of some funky looking lettuce. What to do???

Well, if its ahead of Frisé Lettuce then MAKE A SALAD! All you will need. (serves 4)

4 Strips of Bacon
1 Head of Frisé Lettuce (Cleaned and separated)
¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ Carrot Shaved (a vegetable peeler works perfectly for this)
3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Mustard

So to begin, render out the fat from the Bacon and drain it leaving about 1 Tsp to 1 Tablespoon of bacon dripping in the pan. Then, add in the olive oil, salt, pepper, mustard, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Be careful because balsamic vinegar has a problem of bubbling up violently when added to a hot pan!

Have the lettuce and carrots ready in a bowl and pour the mixture while hot or warm on the Frisé, don't worry, Frisé is a very strong and hearty lettuce so this warm vinaigrette won't do anything but wilt it slightly. Toss so that the bacon, vinaigrette, and the lettuce is mixed evenly and serve it up to EAT!

-Enjoy!

Lavender Lime Chicken

Oh the summer breeze, perfect timing for my lavender to start popping out blossoms of fragrant bliss. Seriously, I've had so much time to work on new recipes and I just threw this one together last summer and never bothered to actually put it on here (mainly because I lost the piece of paper I had written the original recipe on) until today.

Ingredients for Lavender Lime Chicken:

4 Chicken Breasts (halved into butterflies)
8-10 Sprigs of Lavender
¼ Cup Lime Juice
1 Tblspn Lime Zest (about 2 Limes)
½ Cup Sugar
⅔ Cup Water
2 Cups Flour
3 Tsp Salt (divided)
1 Tsp Pepper (devided)
2 Large Eggs
½ Cup Milk/Cream/ Butter Milk
4 Tbs Butter (unsalted!)

Lets begin shall we. First off, pound out the chicken breasts slightly to make them more tender, and then place them into the egg and milk mixture then into the flour/salt/pepper mixture. What you are creating a dredge almost like making a chicken fried steak or a piccata. Once you have finished dredging the chicken let them rest in the fridge so that the flour ect. can stick better to the chicken when you pan fry it.

Ok so while the chicken is resting in the fridge start making your lavender lime sauce. Take the water, lime juice and sugar and bring it to a boil along with 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of pepper. Once it is boiling add in the flowering tops of the Lavender. Taste it and adjust accordingly. Once the sauce is near completion turn it off and add in 4 tbs of butter and mix it off the heat until dissolved and set it aside.

Now in a good sized pan on high heat add in 1 or 2 tablespoons of really good olive oil and place in the chicken 1-2 breasts at a time until everyone is golden brown and well done.

Tip: You can turn the oven on to 325ºF to keep the other pieces of chicken warm while you are cooking the next piece making sure you use a wire rack to make sure one side doesn't get soggy.

After all the chicken has been cooked, plate it up and top it with the Lavender Lime sauce and sprinkle on some Lime zest just to give it a bit of a kick at the end.

Enjoy!