Pampers and Paklava

Luscious lemon popsicles

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Give me a pint of cream, a cup of sugar, a few eggs and any random assortment of fresh herbs or fruit, and the next thing you know I’ll be whipping up a batch of ice cream. Over the past couple years I’ve occasionally blogged about the ice creamy goodness concocted in our kitchen: Honey Ice Cream and Rose Geranium-White Chocolate Ice cream and Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet are just a few of the frozen treats that have found their way to our table.

Onyx popsicle moldSo it probably comes as no surprise that when the June issue of Bon Appétit arrived at our house, with an article on frozen desserts, my mind was already churning with ideas. And, it didn’t take long before I a new kitchen gadget joined my arsenal of frozen dessert gizmos: popsicle molds! My groovy new popsicle molds aren’t garden variety plastic popsicle molds of yore, mind you. They are stainless steel, BPA-free retro-rockets. How cool is that?

Lemon Cream popsicles Armed with the necessary tools of the popsicle trade, I settled on a recipe: lemon cream popsicles. Big Papa and I had enjoyed a slice of lemon pie during a dinner out a few weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about the tart, creamy sweetness ever since.

I did adapt the recipe a wee bit by adding a few tablespoons of Greek-style yogurt for additional tang and thickness. We loved the final result. Lemony and luscious, these popsicles are perfect for a warm summer’s day. Now if only Seattle could finally summon up a day like that!

Lemon Cream Popsicles

This recipe is easy as all get out! Combine 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup milk, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Heat and stir until the sugar melts. Then cool. Whisk in the juice and zest of 4 lemons, a few tablespoons of Greek-style yogurt (optional). Pour into popsicle molds to freeze.

The molds I bought are awesome. A splurge, but awesome. I’m hoping they’ll provide many [childproof] years of popsicle heaven. Here they are:

Don’t have popsicle molds? No problem–try this trick instead:

Small paper cups can be used instead of ice pop molds. Pour the mixture into the paper cups, partially freeze, then insert a wooden stick into the center of each and freeze overnight. If pops are difficult to remove from cups, cut a slit in each cup with scissors, then peel it off.

Want to chill with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday.

Life is a Cabernet

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It goes without saying that a weekend in Walla Walla without wine is–well, simply not possible. Big Papa and I sipped our way east, west and south of the city, trying a dozen grape varietals from Rousanne to Barbera at a smattering of  the (now over 200!) region’s wineries.

I normally don’t drink much during the week, and certainly never before noon. Somehow this falls by the wayside when Big Papa and I go on our wine tasting weekends. Suddenly swilling a glass of Syrah at 11:00 a.m. seems perfectly normal.

Of course, staring down a Cabernet while I still have coffee in my cup is a bit surreal. But that’s exactly what we did when the B&B where we were staying served up Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet for the “dessert” portion of our breakfast.

As if having dessert at breakfast wasn’t decadent enough, here we were dipping our spoons into a sorbet so deeply purple and lusciously flavored with wine, that I considered postponing our morning wine tasting to indulge in a few more scoops.

It was delicious, really delicious. I decided right then and there I wanted more. So guess what’s going to be on the dessert menu at our house this coming weekend?

Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet

Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet

Adapted from StarChefs

Yield: 1 pint

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup Cabernet wine
  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 egg white, whipped (or product like Egg Beaters Egg Whites)

Method:

  1. In a bowl of cold water, gently clean the blackberries. Be sure to remove all debris and any soft or discolored berries.
  2. Combine the berries, water, sugar, lemon juice and wine in a food processor or blender. Process or blend mixture until smooth. Add the whipped egg white and stir until thoroughly blended. Chill mixture.
  3. Freeze (churn) cooled mixture in an ice cream machine, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Garnish with fresh  edible flowers (Violas or Pansies come to mind) or herbs (mint, lemon balm).

Want to dish up more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wendnesday!