Blueberry Stripey Popsicles

 I feel much better now that I have a large stash of PC popsicle molds at last. I found a store that still had a whole shelf full of them so now I am ready for summer. I will have to designate a colour stick as the adult pops so I don't come home to find Little Shack and his buddies running around like maniacs, all hopped up on vodka pops .
Today's popsicle had to utilize the yogurt/buttermilk mixture from the first batch because I really love the tanginess but I wanted to get a little fancier with my layers. I bought some PC Blueberry Pomegranate Juice ( I swear to god that I don't work for Loblaws and they don't give me anything for free, I just shop there a lot and I like their stuff. Don't get me started on Joe Fresh).



I would like to try these again but sub in pineapple juice because the colours would be great and pineapple juice is so naturally sweet that it will be a great contrast to the tanginess of the buttermilk. I am still not getting totally adventurous with flavours and fresh herbs and all that jazz because I want to get a handle on freezing times for different additions. For instance, I think I am going to buy some full fat yogurt because the non/low fat yogurts freeze with a really icy texture and I think I would like the contrast of a more creamy texture against the iciness of the juice layer. Because I am not adding any sugar (or at least very little honey in the last batch), I have been letting Little Shack eat them for breakfast because they are basically a frozen smoothie so he gets to feel like he's getting away with something when they are actually a fine breakfast treat on a hot summer day.

After this batch I will make some grown up pops that are either frozen mojito pops or maybe a watermelon/vodka/chambord type thing with some fresh mint. I am a popsicle maniac.

I want to give some props to a lovely woman I found, thanks to Jen at Piccante Dolce, selling gourmet ice pops at the Birchcliffe Farmers Market. I had a green apple/cucmber/lime/mint/basil pop that was so delicious that I had to stop myself from going back for another one. Her name is Janet Dimond and she sells under the banner of Augie's Ice Pops. I know she is at Birchcliffe Village Farmers Market in Toronto on Fridays from 3 to 7 and she said she is doing a couple of other markets too so if you can find her, try one of these things. Coming back to add that she said she is going to be at the Brickworks for the next few Saturdays too.





Blueberry Stripey Pops

1 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Blueberry Pomegranate juice

Wash the berries and throw them in the blender with the water still clinging to them. Whiz them until they are totally pureed. I strain them because I don't like a ton of pulp in my fruit pops but if you like the pulp (i HATE seeds in my fruit pops too, in case you were curious), don't bother straining.  On the other hand if you hate ANY pulp, you can strain them more than once. Put the blueberry juice back in the blender with the vanilla yogurt and the buttermilk and whiz until completely blended.

Pour about 1 or 1.5" of this mixture into each mold. Put the mold in the freezer for at least 45 minutes to set up. Now pour about 1/2" of the juice in each mold and return to the freezer for 45 minutes. Take out and add another 1 or 1.5" of the blueberry/yogurt mixture. Lather, rinse, repeat until your molds are full and let them sit for at least 4 hours but if you can let them either sit all day or overnight, it's even better.

Obviously if you don't care about the look of your pops  you can just do a fat layer of blueberry yogurt, one thinner layer of juice and then one more fat layer of yogurt or even just half and half if you are super lazy and don't want to have to keep adding and waiting, adding and waiting. It will taste just as good, it just won't look as fancy and you might not be all about fancy like I am.