I hear that the weather has been unseasonably warm (even "balmy") at home in California so I thought it might be a good moment to share my new snack.
Bali is not like home. Here, I can't pop over to Berkeley Natural Grocery and pick up some healthy quick afterschool snacks for the kids. I have had to get creative.
In the past month, Lilah and Otis have snacked on kilos of roasted peanuts, plenty of taro chips, and even some delicious freshly baked bread from a bakery nearby. I did roast my own chickpeas, though no surprise... the real hit with the kids has been these fresh fruit popsicles. I was looking for recipes on how to use lemongrass and I came upon this adorable idea for using lemongrass as popsicle sticks. I was inspired!
Most kids (and I guess adults too) are suckers for a fun presentation of food. Yes, the kids dig slices of fresh juicy melon, but they beamed when they saw the ice pops.
Really, any fruit can be transformed into popsicles - pear, apple, berry, lemon, banana, whatever happens to be in season.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups of chopped fresh fruit
- water
- mild-flavored honey
- 6 lemongrass sticks (you should be able to get these at any Asian market)
Cut melon from the rind into chunks. Place in blender. Add just enough water ( I needed less than a cup) to the blender so that you can puree the fruit. Taste for sweetness. For really sweet, ripe fruit, you may not need any additional sweetener. The melon I used wasn't particularly sweet, so I added one tablespoon of honey at a time until I got the flavor I wanted. I ended up needing 6 tablespoons.
Pour pureed fruit into 6 separate cups or popsicle molds. I like to avoid using plastic as much as I can, though I couldn't freeze the pops in glass or they would have broken. So I bought these cute little plastic cups that we will keep reusing for more pops.
Trim lemongrass, peel off the outermost leaf, and place one stick in each cup of fruit puree. As you can see, I ended up using tape to hold the lemongrass in place. I giggled at myself as I felt like I had a little kitchen craft project going. Tape in the kitchen.... that was a first for me. But it worked.
Freeze for a few hours until solid.
Enjoy!
makes 6 generous ice pops
This post is so hip I can't stand it. I love the freshness of lemon grass. It's 20 degrees here and your photos make me want a popsicle!
ReplyDeletehi E
ReplyDeleteI love the trio shots of ingredients. Gorgeous !
May be a little yogurt would have helped them not separate when frozen...
I was looking forward to a dessert recipe using lemongrass as a flavor, but I love the stick concept too.
take care
P
Even though it is SO COLD here I CAN'T STAND IT, and snow is in the forecast, I WANT THOSE POPSICLES!
ReplyDeleteCheap Chic Momma and Little Hunting Creek, thanks for the sweet notes. So sorry to suggest something so chilly. Maybe try these when it warms up a bit;)
ReplyDeletePouke, I always love your ideas! Interesting to think of yogurt mixed in. Must try. The separation seemed to come from the layer of fruit pulp. If someone wants a nice clear ice pop, straining off the pulp should do the trick. But I really like the pulp and actually kinda like the two tone thing:)
With all the lemongrass around here I will try to come up with a another dessert that really highlights the flavor.
xxxooo
E
These are so cool! I'd love for you to submit this to the M&T Spotlight: http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
ReplyDeletethey look gorgeous & the cute plastic cups are very happy too with the spots....lemongrass is a wonderful additive esp with where you are based at the moment. dayle
ReplyDeleteWith temps in Ventura hitting the mid to upper 70's tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can snag some lemongrass at my farmers market in the morning and give these a whirl.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I keep tape in my kitchen along with a Sharpie. I mark my freezer storage containers this way.
I'm new to your blog and I am enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteMy toddler has food allergies so I'm always looking for home made snacks and I love this idea! Also as a tip, I've seen popsicles made with a slice of banana in the bottom of the cup to hold up the stick. Best wishes!