{"id":6898,"date":"2013-07-17T17:44:20","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T00:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=6898"},"modified":"2015-04-11T21:38:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-11T21:38:37","slug":"cool-pops-for-hot-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/cool-pops-for-hot-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool pops for hot days"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I never thought much about hot weather before we moved to Portland.\u00a0 We’d visited many times, but mostly in spring and fall, when the weather was mild.<\/p>\n

What a shock it was when the temperature hit 102 degrees in my driveway a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 Since then the thermometer has hovered in the upper 80s most days with the occasional spike in the 90s.<\/p>\n

These are the days when all I want for dessert is something light, cold and refreshing.\u00a0 It could be a little fruity and maybe a little sweet, but not cloying.<\/p>\n

I’m talking ice pops, adult-style, with sophisticated flavors like the Thai iced tea and agua fresca pops pictured here.\u00a0 You can share them with the kids but you’ll be tempted to hoard them for yourself.<\/p>\n

Making ice pops (Popsicle is trademarked and off-limits) may be one of the simplest tasks in the kitchen.\u00a0 You can’t really call it cooking.<\/p>\n

All you need is a blender or food processor and molds, which are available everywhere right now.\u00a0 If you don’t want molds taking up space in your cupboards all year, paper cups and wooden craft sticks will do the trick.<\/p>\n

Whirl the ingredients together in the blender, pour them into molds and freeze.\u00a0 Let the mixture get a little slushy in the freezer before you add the sticks.<\/p>\n

That’s it. Just be sure to allow plenty of time for the pops to freeze firmly.\u00a0 Overnight is best.<\/p>\n

These frozen treats pay tribute to Latin American and Southeast Asia.\u00a0 They may require side trips to ethnic markets but the flavor is worth it.<\/p>\n

If you’d prefer your ice pops with a little kick, though, try these<\/a> from a previous post.<\/p>\n

Happy slurping.<\/p>\n

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AGUA FRESCA ICE POPS<\/strong>
\nMakes about 10 2.5-ounce pops<\/em>1 large slice of seedless watermelon, about 3 pounds
\n3\/4 cup Jamaica tea (see note)<\/p>\n

Remove watermelon flesh from rind and cut roughly into chunks about\u00a0 2 inches square.\u00a0 Place in blender and add the Jamaica tea. Whirl until well-blended, pour into ice pop molds and freeze.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Jamaica concentrate is available in the coffee and tea aisle at Mexican grocers. Mix 1 tablespoon of the concentrate with enough water to make 3\/4 cup.\u00a0 Alternatively, steep\u00a0 1\/3 cup dried hibiscus flowers, which are more difficult to find, for 2 hours in 1 cup boiling water and strain, pressing on leaves to extract as much liquid as possible. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar to taste.<\/p>\n

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THAI ICED TEA POPS<\/strong>
\nMakes about 10 2.5-ounce pops<\/em><\/p>\n

4 cups water
\n1\/2 cup loose Thai tea (see Note)
\n1\/4 cup sugar
\n1 cup sweetened condensed milk<\/p>\n

Bring water to a boil.\u00a0 Place tea in medium saucepan or large Pyrex cup.\u00a0 Pour water over tea, stir and let steep for 3-5 minutes.\u00a0 Tea should be a dark reddish orange.\u00a0 Strain tea into a clean container through a coffee filter or strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth into a clean container.\u00a0 Add sugar, stirring to dissolve.\u00a0 Add condensed milk and whisk to blend thoroughly.\u00a0 Tea will become a milky orange.\u00a0 Let cool to room temperature, pour into molds and freeze for at least 6 hours.<\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0<\/strong> Thai tea is sold in many Asian markets.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  I never thought much about hot weather before we moved to Portland.\u00a0 We’d visited many times, but mostly in spring and fall, when the weather was mild. What a shock it was when the temperature hit 102 degrees in my driveway a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 Since then the thermometer has hovered in the … Continue reading Cool pops for hot days<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6898"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7290,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6898\/revisions\/7290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}