It's almost July (three hours and counting) and it's getting HOT (mid 90's each day here). Is there anything more refreshing than a tall glass of cold icy water with a couple slices of lemon squeezed in and filled to the top with crystal clear ice? Can't you just see the glass sweating and frosting up? MMMMmmm. As you go to the freezer to grab a handful of cubes to plunk into your glass, you find............. a bunch of empty ice trays and no ice in the box. Grrrrrrr!
I have been officially dubbed the Ice Fairy. Why? Because I am the one who willingly, kindly cracks out all the ice cube trays and refills them so there is usually a nice, full box of fresh ice daily. However, even an Ice Fairy gets busy now and then (or forgets that hot July is waiting in the wings). I'm trying not to be crabby about my little fairy job. I think I needed this little hot spell so I would be reminded of my calling once again.
Another fairy job I have is to make popsicles. I have some really cool rocket popsicle molds that I love to use. The brand name is Tovolo and I found them on Amazon. I fill them with anything and everything. Sometimes it's left-over orange juice or grape juice. Somtimes I like to make a batch of fruit smoothy and pour it into the molds. Of course, there's good old Kool-aid and lemonade too. I've heard that jello makes a good popsicle, but my favorite is pudding. Make some instant chocolate pudding and pour it into the molds. They turn out kind of like a fudgsicle. YUM!
I grew up on popsicles. My mom used to send a dime with us when we went swimming at the pool -- a great outdoor pool with a bouncy diving board. My friends and I became brown as berries swimming every single day. At break, we went to the Little Store (that's what we called it) and bought a popsicle with out dime. Do you remember banana and blue raspberry and lime pops?
Here's a bit of POPSICLE History for you........
Invented accidently by 11 year old Frank Epperson in 1905, they were originally called Epsicles! It would be 18 years before he realized that there were commercial possibilities, and in 1923 he applied for a patent, which was granted in 1924. His kids would ask for pop's 'sicles', and so the name Popsicle was born. Epperson also created the twin popsicle, the Fudgsicle, the Dreamsicle and the Creamsicle. Popsicle sticks are made from birch wood.
The Twin Popsicle was invented during the Great Depression so 2 could share one for a nickel.
Good Humor owns the rights to the popsicle, and according to the company, 1.4 billion sticks were used to make Popsicle products - that is more than 9 million miles of sticks! (2001)
~from FoodReference.com
Got a popsicle recipe to share?
I remember those "brown as berries" days, our own "Little Store" and frozen treats...on a stick or otherwise. Do you like frozen candy bars? 'nothing like a frozen Snickers on a hot July day.
ReplyDeleteWe made Ep...er...Popsicles too. We use to freeze up soda pop in dixie cups. My favorites were orange Fanta and 7-up. I might have to give these a try today.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Jodes.
Yummy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history of popsicles,
That's something I learned today...
Michele, glad to oblige you with a trip down Memory Lane. I enjoyed thinking about it too. I can smell the chlorine and hear the lifeguards shouting "WALK, don't run!"
ReplyDeleteClarice, well, you know that a Mom has many Fairy Hats to wear and one of them is Ice Fairy. I suppose an Ice Fairy isn't quite as important in the cool Northwest as it is on the hot prairies.
~Jody
Yum! I really like the idea of a smoothie popcicle. I will have to try that. I like homemade mocha latte popcicles, but it has been a long time since I made any.
ReplyDeleteLeslie
Great photo, and I think I'll make some today! Good idea! I too an the ice fairy at my house.
ReplyDeleteGee, I haven't made popcicles in a very long time. Thanks for the idea! Yours look wonderfully refreshing. The history was great too. I'll have to pass that onto the kids, an 11 yr old inventor!!!
ReplyDelete