Yummy Fruit Popsicles!!!

The irony of this post is that although I planned on writing it some time last week, the heat in New York has made me lazy and tired, which kept me in a vegetative state in between my air conditioner and circulating fan. I think I now fully understand what they mean when they say, "the dog days of summer." For the past two months I have had daily fantasies of moving to some tropical island so that I can roam around in a bikini with a frozen cocktail permanently affixed to my hand. In the meantime I will continue to appease myself with frozen treats like the popsicle pictured above.

Watermelon Raspberry Popsicles

3 cups cubed watermelon

1/2 cup raspberries

squeeze of 1/2 lime

1/3 cup simple syrup (more or less to taste)

Blend all of the above ingredients and add to popsicles forms and freeze until firm. To make the simple syrup, add equal parts of sugar and water and melt slowly over a medium flame until the sugar granules have disappeared. You can make a batch of the syrup in advance and store to sweeten coffee, tea, cocktails or fruit salad.

You may want to give these watermelon popsicles a stir mid-way through freezing, otherwise the mixture will separate. They still tasted great so it is purely for aesthetic reasons.

Orange Mango Popsicles

orange juice (use your popsicle molds to measure out the right amount)

1 small ripe mango

15-20 raspberries

For this recipe I simply used my popsicle molds to measure out enough orange juice. Keep in mind that you will need to leave extra room for the mango and raspberries.

Combine one cubed mango to the orange juice and blend. Add the puree to the molds and dropped in a few raspberries for decor and flavor. Because I used Tropicana (which is already sweet) I did not add extra sugar. I would imagine this would taste even better with freshly squeezed oj.

Note: As with all popsicles, leave about 1/2 inch at the top to allow for expansion of the liquid when it freezes. If you don't have popsicle molds try ice cub trays with tooth pics! Just remember to add the tooth pics after the mixture has frozen a bit.

Although I don't have kids yet, I imagine this would be a good way to get some extra fruit in their diets. For adults kids you can chill the puree and add some rum or vodka! Yum!

Hope these recipes help you get through the last weeks of summer and inspire you to come up your own fun flavor combinations. Next on my list are melon-basil, coconut-strawberry and kiwi-lime!