I came back from holidays, Seattle was hot, and my hairdresser booked until late August. Clearly things weren't right. Eight weeks from my last cut, my grown-out pixie do now looks like a combination of Paul McCartney in his younger years and my father. A strange combination I agree. Since our recent relocation to Capitol Hill, I thought this to be an ideal time to try a new stylist. A terrifying decision, especially with my super finicky, triple cowlick style to manage. I choose a stylist based on hair appearance alone, long curly ombre died tendrils, styled to perfection. In retrospect, not the best decision, seeing as hair awesomeness is not usually correlated with experience. Although her hair did look great, her nervous hand and inexperienced cutting techniques had me sweating in my seat, as she chopped away at my hair. When all was said and done, my hair looked fine. Cut to my exact specifications, as I let out a sigh of relief. Even though the cut was great, her smile as sweet as can be, the experience wasn't the same. I missed the connection that I share with my hairdresser, the bond. The fact that she knows about my triple cowlick, because it was her that found it. The reassurance that when I sit down in her chair I will leave feeling fantastic. Her confidence and charm. So next month, I will willingly drive across the city to where I can reconnect with a friend.
In the mean time we need to deal with this heat, which has thankfully now left Seattle, but based on the conversion I had with mother just a few days ago, has not left her part of the world and many others. When the weather is hot and body temperatures rise, in my opinion, all food must be eaten in liquid form. Chewing involves too much energy, and instead, eating popsicles all day long seems like a healthier option? Creamsicles and giant blue Freezies, are my usual go-tos', but in order to class things up around here and feel like we're doing our bodies right, I present you with a tasty recipe for homemade blueberry yogurt popsicles. A delicious treat for those hot days when our teeth are not prepared to chew.
These popsicles are refreshing, wholesome, icy, flavorful, and beautiful to photograph - a bonus for me. I love bright purple food, because it is so rare. Besides the tough outer skin of an eggplant and the flesh of a grape, I can't seem to think of any another purple foods. I imagine that when I hit post on this recipe, a million more will come flooding into my head, but for now I'll stick with that. Recently, my thoughtful husband brought me home a groovy popsicle kit, which the name implied so. I remember as a child enjoying homemade orange juice popsicles, albeit, much less work than this recipe, but with time comes deliciousness, which is usually what I tell myself after a long and frustrating day in the kitchen.
To make this recipe, first we must boil down the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice and then strain the blueberry skins. You could leave them in if you chose so, but I am a no lumps kinda girl. I like my popsicles free from bits of nut and chocolate, and my ice cream pure and simple. I never understood or could get behind bubblegum ice cream, which my sister would consistently order every time. After straining and cooling, a few swirls into some full fat yogurt, into the molds, and placed in the freezer, you are good to go. The only challenge to this recipe is the 4 hour wait while they freeze and the trail of blueberry juice smeared across the kitchen. I now have these beautiful icy treats in my freezer, which I am trying not to eat all in one go. So instead, today I decided to work from Cupcake Royal, which turns out, isn't that great of an idea. My waistline was better off at home with a freezer full of popsicles.
BLUEBERRY LEMON YOGURT POPSICLE RECIPE
makes 6 - 8 popsicles
INGREDIENTS
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cups plain full fat yogurt
In a medium saucepan bring the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally, to prevent the berries from sticking to the bottom of the pot. At this point in the game, you may want to switch to those old painting scrubs unless you want your beige cashmere sweater died with purple specks. Cook the berries until most of the liquid is released from its fibres. Mashing the berries against the side of the pot with a spatula is also wildly satisfying.
Remove the berries from the pot and place in the refrigerator to cool. Or, if you impatient like me, place into the freezer, set a timer, and do not let them freeze back into their original form.
Once the berries have cooled, strain them through a colander or a piece of cheese cloth, to remove the skins and fibres. You will likely need to grab the cheese cloth and squeeze it out with your hands. Warning: this will leave your hands a pale shade of purple, so if a business meeting, date, or business date is in the near future, you may want to put gloves on before this part of the operation.
Place two cups of (full-fat) yogurt into a large bowl. With a spatula swirl the blueberry juice throughout the yogurt. If you would like to make a more uniformly blue popsicle, then completely combine the blueberry juice with the yogurt until no swirls are left. The design and color is a matter of preference.
Fill the popsicle holders with the mixture, leaving 1/2 inch on the top for the yogurt to freeze and expand. I opted to scoop the mixture with a large spoon into the holders, which also left a sorta mess on the counter. You could pour the yogurt into a liquid measuring cup and go from there. Although, you will then have another dish to clean. The choice is yours. Insert the handles or sticks into the popsicles. Place in the freezer for 4 hours, which is undoubtedly a long time when you are hungry.
Once they are ready to eat, gently squeeze the popsicle holder to remove. If this doesn't work, run it under hot water for a couple of seconds. The popsicle should easily slide out.
