This little guy asked me to make him some popsicles, and of course I said yes because, well look at him.
So we made a date. A popsicle and playground date to be exact.
For these particular pops, I decided to use watermelon, mainly because I had just broken into one and once I open a melon, I have a race with myself as to how fast I can consume the in entire thing. ( It’s a sick form of watermelon gluttony) But also because the little was really really excited to hear that I could in fact make watermelon popsicles. And the other stuff I added because I had it and it all tastes really good together.
I made the popsicles the day before so they would be ready for our date. He came over, we ate lunch,(peanut butter sandwich and carrot sticks) wondered around the neighborhood with the pup, and made a quick stop at the playground. (we only managed a couple runs on the slide before it was too hot and our sweat had us sticking to the slide and it was more of a painful scoot then a glide) We then made our way home and rewarded ourselves for a walk well done with these amazing, super refreshing, and healthy frozen treats that I made just for us. While we were eating the popsicles, our conversation turned to food. We talked about all the different varieties of popsicle that we could make, and how we could eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner because they are made of only good things and are really healthy (he is really trying to eat healthy) It was the perfect ending to a fantastic afternoon with a five year old, or any human for that matter…
I would have a popsicle date with this kid every day
The Stuff. Fresh seedless watermelon (make sure to have lots on hand cause you are going to be eating it as you make these), a fresh lime, a handful of blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint. And don’t forget a mold of some kind that form the liquid into a popsicle (if you don’t have a mold, little paper cups work too)
Remove watermelon from rind and cut into small chunks. Juice the lime and add that, the watermelon chunks, the mint and the blueberries to a blender or vessel if using a hand blender) and blend everything until smooth.
Look at how pretty that is. And so tasty…. I am not going to lie and say that I didn’t make a little extra to drink, cause I did.
Now pour the puree into your molds to the fill line (follow the instructions that your molds give you) and place into the freezer.
And yes Shannon, these are in fact, your popsicle molds. Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back soon. (I am thinking some type of booze infused situation)
Once the freezer has done its job freezing… pop those suckers out.. (I let the mold sit on the counter for a few minutes so the popsicle pops out clean)
And heres to the best popsicle date ever!
Happy Summer! Happy Tuesday!
-C
A big chunk of seedless Watermelon (aboutt 11/2 cups)
1/2 ish cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Juice of 1 lime
a few fresh mint leaves
note. The popsicle mold that I used only needed 2 cups of popsicle juice. If you have a larger mold, just use more of everything to get the amount you need
Remove rind from watermelon and add to a blender with the lime juice, mint and blueberries. Blend until eveytthing is pureed and mixed all together. Pour liquid into popsicle molds and stick in freezer for at least 4 hours.
When ready to eat…, pop those suckers out of there molds and EAT!
My flowers are coming up, I have packed away my winter jacket, and I haven’t worn anything but sandals for the past week. Plus yesterday I made the first batch of sun tea and saw my first hot air balloon of the season (which lead to a heated discussion with the mister about how hot air balloons take flight. We were both kinda right, but me more than him)So yeah, it’s for real… Winter is gone and spring has sprung, or more like spring sprung then bounced cause now it’s basically summer weather. Not complaining, but I hope we get a least a few more weeks of pleasant, not hot and humid weather.
Anyway. Sun tea, one of my favorite summer time drinks. Made by infusing regular old teas with water by using the almighty power of sun.
Why do we want to make iced tea this way instead of just using boiling water? Well you can still do that, but sun tea makes a more mellow, lovely, and I find, more sweeter tea. It brings out more complex flavors that you don’t get with the boiling water method. And it’s nice to know that it took zero effort on my part to make the drink (not that boiling water takes that much effort, but still)
It can be made with any variety of teas, infused with other fresh herbs, dried spices, or even chunks of fruit. You can also make the teas and add flavors after the infusing is over. Have fun and play with flavor combos.
A few of my favorite sun tea combinations
Any mellow black tea like orange pekoe or english breakfast with a few springs of mint
Chamomile and mint
Green with a fruity tea, like blueberry or pomegranate
Lemon Zinger with a few springs of Rosemary
These are just a few of the endless possible flavors. And you don’t have to get fancy with it either, you can totally use plain old lipton tea bags (I still do that too)
Now harness the sunshine and feel awesome and fancy by making some tea!
Woo Hoo Wednesday!
-C
SUN TEA
What you’ll need
Tea- Either bags or loose leaf
Water- Preferably Filtered
A glass jar with a lid
Sunshine
I use a ratio of 1 tea bag or 1 tablespoon loose leaf tea per 2 cups of water. And I usually make my teas in half gallon ball jars so I use 4-5 teabags or tablespoons of tea. (makes just enough tea for 4-6 tall glasses, depending on you glass size) If it’s a mint tea, I usually use a little less because I find that mint teas can become to strong and bitter so I use 3 teas bags or tablespoons of loose.
Directions
Place tea loose or bags into jar. Fill with water, leaving about an inch for tea expansion, place lid on tight, and stick in the sun for anywhere between 3-5 hours (depending on how strong you like your tea). When tea is infused to your liking, remove teabags or strain the loose tea and stick into the fridge to chill. Serve as is in a drinking vessel with a few ice cubes and add sweetener if that’s what you do.
Drink within a day or two, then rinse jar and make a new batch!
My motive for this drink…get rid of a few candy cane….. And maybe make a little kid happy, but that was just a bonus… I would have made him drink this even if he didn’t like it. (I am awful like that)
I have noticed lately people are really into peppermint in their hot drinks and I have an excess of candy canes in my house, so this was the perfect drink to make. I was initially just going to make hot peppermint milk but added the cocoa for an extra treat. If you want, omit the cocoa and just make peppermint milk.. Or you might want to replace 1/2 the milk and add coffee! Or for those adults out there..maybe add a spash of vodka.. my version of .a hot black and white peppermint Russian(I just made that a thing)
A little advise ….check the temperature of the drink if you are giving it to a kid..What I thought was not too hot turned out to be a too hot. My little niece took a big gulp, and instantly sprayed the drink all over the kitchen and my clean hat, scarf and mittens… and then proceeded to cry….Hot chocolate is supposed to make the kids happy….so yeah…
All you need is a cup of milk(cow, soy, rice..whatever) a tablespoon of cocoa powder, a tiny pinch of salt and a candy cane. We don’t need to add any extra sugar because the candy cane is sugar.
Peel plastic off candy cane and place in a baggy and smash with something hard (rolling pin worked great)Stick all ingredients into a pot on medium heat and whisk until the candy cane is melted and the milk is as hot as you like it.
It you want(we did) top with a dollop of whipped cream(or whipped coconut cream) and sprinkle with a little more crushed candy cane…..Best served after a long afternoon of playing in the snow!
Go for it, watch your tongue and enjoy!
1 normal sized candy cane
1 tablespoon powdered cocoa
1 1/4 cup of milk(cow, soy, rice, hemp…what ever milk you want)
pinch of salt
Place unwrapped candy cane in baggy and smash. Place all but a sprinkle of the candy cane, the milk, and the cocoa in pot on medium heat and whisk until candy cane is fully melted and the cocoa is you preferred temperature.
Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
September 19, 2015 by maximios • Blog
This little guy asked me to make him some popsicles, and of course I said yes because, well look at him.
So we made a date. A popsicle and playground date to be exact.
For these particular pops, I decided to use watermelon, mainly because I had just broken into one and once I open a melon, I have a race with myself as to how fast I can consume the in entire thing. ( It’s a sick form of watermelon gluttony) But also because the little was really really excited to hear that I could in fact make watermelon popsicles. And the other stuff I added because I had it and it all tastes really good together.
I made the popsicles the day before so they would be ready for our date. He came over, we ate lunch,(peanut butter sandwich and carrot sticks) wondered around the neighborhood with the pup, and made a quick stop at the playground. (we only managed a couple runs on the slide before it was too hot and our sweat had us sticking to the slide and it was more of a painful scoot then a glide) We then made our way home and rewarded ourselves for a walk well done with these amazing, super refreshing, and healthy frozen treats that I made just for us. While we were eating the popsicles, our conversation turned to food. We talked about all the different varieties of popsicle that we could make, and how we could eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner because they are made of only good things and are really healthy (he is really trying to eat healthy) It was the perfect ending to a fantastic afternoon with a five year old, or any human for that matter…
I would have a popsicle date with this kid every day
The Stuff. Fresh seedless watermelon (make sure to have lots on hand cause you are going to be eating it as you make these), a fresh lime, a handful of blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint. And don’t forget a mold of some kind that form the liquid into a popsicle (if you don’t have a mold, little paper cups work too)
Remove watermelon from rind and cut into small chunks. Juice the lime and add that, the watermelon chunks, the mint and the blueberries to a blender or vessel if using a hand blender) and blend everything until smooth.
Look at how pretty that is. And so tasty…. I am not going to lie and say that I didn’t make a little extra to drink, cause I did.
Now pour the puree into your molds to the fill line (follow the instructions that your molds give you) and place into the freezer.
And yes Shannon, these are in fact, your popsicle molds. Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back soon. (I am thinking some type of booze infused situation)
Once the freezer has done its job freezing… pop those suckers out.. (I let the mold sit on the counter for a few minutes so the popsicle pops out clean)
And heres to the best popsicle date ever!
Happy Summer! Happy Tuesday!
-C
note. The popsicle mold that I used only needed 2 cups of popsicle juice. If you have a larger mold, just use more of everything to get the amount you need
Remove rind from watermelon and add to a blender with the lime juice, mint and blueberries. Blend until eveytthing is pureed and mixed all together. Pour liquid into popsicle molds and stick in freezer for at least 4 hours.
When ready to eat…, pop those suckers out of there molds and EAT!
My flowers are coming up, I have packed away my winter jacket, and I haven’t worn anything but sandals for the past week. Plus yesterday I made the first batch of sun tea and saw my first hot air balloon of the season (which lead to a heated discussion with the mister about how hot air balloons take flight. We were both kinda right, but me more than him)So yeah, it’s for real… Winter is gone and spring has sprung, or more like spring sprung then bounced cause now it’s basically summer weather. Not complaining, but I hope we get a least a few more weeks of pleasant, not hot and humid weather.
Anyway. Sun tea, one of my favorite summer time drinks. Made by infusing regular old teas with water by using the almighty power of sun.
Why do we want to make iced tea this way instead of just using boiling water? Well you can still do that, but sun tea makes a more mellow, lovely, and I find, more sweeter tea. It brings out more complex flavors that you don’t get with the boiling water method. And it’s nice to know that it took zero effort on my part to make the drink (not that boiling water takes that much effort, but still)
It can be made with any variety of teas, infused with other fresh herbs, dried spices, or even chunks of fruit. You can also make the teas and add flavors after the infusing is over. Have fun and play with flavor combos.
A few of my favorite sun tea combinations
These are just a few of the endless possible flavors. And you don’t have to get fancy with it either, you can totally use plain old lipton tea bags (I still do that too)
Now harness the sunshine and feel awesome and fancy by making some tea!
Woo Hoo Wednesday!
-C
SUN TEA
What you’ll need
I use a ratio of 1 tea bag or 1 tablespoon loose leaf tea per 2 cups of water. And I usually make my teas in half gallon ball jars so I use 4-5 teabags or tablespoons of tea. (makes just enough tea for 4-6 tall glasses, depending on you glass size) If it’s a mint tea, I usually use a little less because I find that mint teas can become to strong and bitter so I use 3 teas bags or tablespoons of loose.
Directions
Place tea loose or bags into jar. Fill with water, leaving about an inch for tea expansion, place lid on tight, and stick in the sun for anywhere between 3-5 hours (depending on how strong you like your tea). When tea is infused to your liking, remove teabags or strain the loose tea and stick into the fridge to chill. Serve as is in a drinking vessel with a few ice cubes and add sweetener if that’s what you do.
Drink within a day or two, then rinse jar and make a new batch!
I have noticed lately people are really into peppermint in their hot drinks and I have an excess of candy canes in my house, so this was the perfect drink to make. I was initially just going to make hot peppermint milk but added the cocoa for an extra treat. If you want, omit the cocoa and just make peppermint milk.. Or you might want to replace 1/2 the milk and add coffee! Or for those adults out there..maybe add a spash of vodka.. my version of .a hot black and white peppermint Russian(I just made that a thing)
A little advise ….check the temperature of the drink if you are giving it to a kid..What I thought was not too hot turned out to be a too hot. My little niece took a big gulp, and instantly sprayed the drink all over the kitchen and my clean hat, scarf and mittens… and then proceeded to cry….Hot chocolate is supposed to make the kids happy….so yeah…
Peel plastic off candy cane and place in a baggy and smash with something hard (rolling pin worked great)
Stick all ingredients into a pot on medium heat and whisk until the candy cane is melted and the milk is as hot as you like it.
Go for it, watch your tongue and enjoy!
Place unwrapped candy cane in baggy and smash. Place all but a sprinkle of the candy cane, the milk, and the cocoa in pot on medium heat and whisk until candy cane is fully melted and the cocoa is you preferred temperature.
Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.