Happy 4th and Firecracker Popsicles

Happy belated 4th of July! Even though the day didn't turn out how I expected, it was still great, and I had time to step back and enjoy the holiday. My family had planned on going hiking in the mountains, but we soon realized that many other families had the same plan, and we were not in the mood to fight the traffic or the crowds. So alternatively, my brother went off to the lake with his friends and my dad went golfing, leaving me and my mom to come up with something fun and different from our usual everyday routine.



We usually go to the annual 4th of July parade held in our little village, but I have been really wanting to take my mom to see Brave, and it was really the only time she would be able to go. And so we decided to drive to our favorite, quiet movie theater (also the furthest away). When we got there, we discovered it was sold out! So we drove back home, just missing the parade, so I wasn't able to get photos of a typical Corrales 4th of July :(

But I can tell you what 4th of July usually consists of in Corrales: horses painted in stars and stripes, red tractors with American flag banners and firetrucks spraying the parade spectators with water guns to cool them down in the scorching heat. It has its charm :)

I decided that I had to at least make something festive. So I spent the afternoon making popsicles and admiring the fluffy clouds and beautiful lighting. I am so excited that it is the beginning of cloud season! I prefer to call it cloud season instead of monsoon season because the later is not always true in New Mexico. But so far we have had a great streak. We have had rainstorms five days in a row!

The popsicles were supposed to be red white and blue. I am always disappointed when blueberries turn out to be not very blue. But I thought that the look of the final product resembled firecrackers, so I went ahead and put them on this post. The combination of the cherry, Greek yogurt and blueberry was still pretty tasty and refreshing!

The following picture is of a cookbook that my mom had when she was a kid. I think it is very fun and retro!

Firecracker Popsicles

makes about 6

1 cup blueberries

4 teaspoons sugar

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon agave or honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cherries

1. Combine the yogurt, vanilla and agave or honey to taste in a bowl.

2. In a food processor, puree the blueberries until smooth. With a spatula press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, extracting as much juice as possible. Discard the solids. Whisk in 2 teaspoons of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the yogurt mixture until well combined. Spoon the mixture into ice pop molds, dividing it evenly to fill each mold about one-third full. Freeze for 30 to 45 minutes until set.

3. Divide 2/3 cup yogurt mixture evenly among the molds, placing it on top of the blueberry layer and filling each mold another third of the way full. Freeze until the yogurt layer is set, 30 to 45 minutes.

4. Puree the cherries in the food processor until smooth. With a spatula, press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, extracting as much juice as possible. Discard the solids. Whisk the remaining sugar and yogurt mixture into the cherrie puree until well combined. Carefully spoon the cherry mixture on top of the yogurt layer, dividing it evenly. Insert sticks. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 1 week.

5. To unmold the pops, run hot water over the outsides of the molds for a few seconds, then gently pull the sticks.

Recipe adapted from Perfect Pops by Charity Ferreira