Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Summertime. Otherwise known on our back deck as popsicle season. Icy treats go fast around here - like multiple times a day fast. I can't really blame the little blue-tongued bandits. Popsicles are awesome. They're nice to look at, fun to eat, sweet, cold, refreshing, satisfying, and thirst-quenching all in one cute little party of a package. The red, white, and blue ones scream 4th of July.

Of course the astronomical sugar content and food dyes in most grocery store brands leave something to be desired, but who needs them anyway? Assuming you have a freezer in the vicinity, homemade popsicles are just about the easiest thing in the world to make with kids. 

Fruit juices and purees, frozen bananas, lemonade, coconut milk and yogurt, preferably chunked up with plenty of fresh fruit, all make for amazing popsicles with less than half the parental guilt (as evidenced by my own personal and totally unscientific study) of grocery store brands. So go ahead. Embrace the stick this summer. Bonus points if you serve these red, white, and bluish frozen yogurt pops for the 4th of July.

We opted to use Stoneyfield Organic Greek Fat Free Yogurt but low fat or full fat plain Greek yogurt would work well too.

Despite what my little ham of a son would lead you to believe, Stoneyfield did not sponsor this post. I paid for my own yogurt fair and square, though I do admit to using a coupon to cover part of the cost of the Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave we're going to talk about in a minute.

I like to use agave here rather than honey because of its thinner, runnier consistency. The agave swirls into the yogurt effortlessly for uniform sweetness throughout the pops. We used Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave and pure vanilla extract since that's what I had on hand. If you are so inclined you could save yourself a step, skip the vanilla and use Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Vanilla Blue Agave Syrup instead of plain.

Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
4-6 tbsp Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave
2 tsp real vanilla extract
1&1/2 cups raspberries and/or blackberries, fresh or frozen

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and 2-3 tbsp of the agave, depending on how sweet you like your pops. At this point the yogurt should taste slightly sweeter than you want it. The flavor will mellow once it's frozen. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mash the berries with a fork. Stop when you still have some chunks of whole berry and plenty of bright, colorful juice. Stir in the remaining 2-3 tbsp agave.

In popsicle molds (or paper cups if you don't have popsicle molds) layer the yogurt and berry mixtures, starting and ending with yogurt. Use a chopstick or anything with a slim, long handle to gently swirl the yogurt and berries together in the mold. Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 4 hours and up to several days.

To release the pops from the mold, run them under cool to lukewarm water for about 30 seconds and gently wiggle out of the mold.

Makes 5 large pops.

Happy 4th!

Cherry Berry Gazpacho

After the tuna event earlier this week I felt I owed the kids a gimme. Typically cold soups aren't my thing. On a sweltering day I'd much rather fight fire with fire with spicy tortilla soup than chilled tomato gazpacho. But fresh berries and a blender? That sounds like a smoothie in a bowl.

Berry Cherry Gazpacho.

Cherry Berry Gazpacho with Honeyed Mascarpone
adapted from Cooking Light July 2012

For the soup
1 pound purple seedless grapes
1 pound sweet cherries, pitted and stems removed
8 ounces fresh blueberries
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. lemon rind, grated
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
fresh mint leaves to garnish

For the Mascarpone
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp. honey

1. Remove stems from fruit, wash, and pat dry. Put grapes, cherries, and blueberries in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add apple juice and honey. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (or process in batches in a food processor or blender) until nearly smooth. Strain, discard solids, and chill at least 2 hours. Stir in the lemon rind, juice, and salt.
2. In a small bowl combine room temperature mascarpone and honey. Mix well.
3. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of honeyed mascarpone. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and additional lemon zest.