July Issue of Food in the Time of Quarantine + Popsicles 3 Ways

Download your free copy of the magazine here

I'm so pleased to announce the July 2021 issue of Food in the Time of Quarantine! While we've had a good run we are starting to feel the name is no longer relevant, even if the impetus--taking something off of people's (mental) plates--remains so. After August we will be choosing a new name and keeping the spirit of the magazine the same: elegant cheap eats in an easy to read format. Hope you're as excited for the changes as we are!

Read on for three brand new recipes (also included in the magazine)

These Three Fabulous Popsicle Recipes are a Perfect Way to Beat the Heat

When it’s hot outside, there’s nothing more refreshing than a popsicle. With an abundance of lovely summer fruit available, our favorite popsicles are the homemade kind. My son and I recently got a popsicle mold that came with cellophane popsicle bags, and we had a blast thinking up different ingredient combinations to fill them. He also had a ton of fun actually filling them with the tiny funnel. 

Macerating the strawberries will take 30 minutes and deeply enhances the strawberry flavor in these pops. Macerated strawberries are also a fantastic dessert with some whipped cream, especially when they’re macerated with a sip of grand marnier or another orange liqueur. They’ll keep for 3-4 days covered in the fridge, should you want to double the recipe. If you want to skip this step you can gently crush your strawberries before adding them to your lemonade (use the same amount of berries).

If you’re an aesthete it might bother you that the lime juice settles at one or both ends of the pop. That being said, the watermelon, lime and mint popsicles taste utterly amazing--sweet, fresh and slightly tangy. 

If you want fiber free mango yogurt pops, be sure to strain your pureed mango through a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, pushing the mango pulp through with the back of a large sturdy cooking spoon.

Read on for our three favorite recipes.

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

 Makes 10 (3 oz) popsicles

Ingredients

For the Macerated Strawberries:

1 pint strawberries, sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons fine granulated sugar

For the Lemonade:

 Juice of 3 lemons

3 cups filtered water

 1/2 cup sugar

Macerated strawberries

Method:

Macerate the strawberries:

In a mixing bowl, toss the berries together with the lemon  juice and sugar. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator a minimum of 30 minutes, and up to 4 days. Use the macerated strawberries in the strawberry lemonade.

Make the lemonade:

Mix the lemonade ingredients and strawberries together thoroughly. When sugar is dissolved and everything is combined, pour equally into your molds.  Freeze on a level surface in your freezer until solid.

Watermelon, Lime & Mint Popsicles

Makes 10 (3 oz) popsicles

Ingredients

1 “personal” sized seedless watermelon (about the size of a volleyball)

Juice of 2 limes

Small handful (about 1/4 cup) mint leaves, washed

Method:

Quarter watermelon and cut flesh away from the rind. Rough chop. Roll mint leaves together into a tight bundle and slice through thinly (chiffonade). In a blender combine mint, lime juice and 3/4 of the chopped watermelon. Blend until the watermelon has liquified. Divide the remaining chopped watermelon among your popsicle molds and pour in liquified fruit to fill the molds. Freeze on a level surface in your freezer until solid.

If you have any remaining liquid it tastes great  chilled with rum.

Mango, Yogurt & Cardamom Simple Syrup Popsicles

Makes 10 (3 oz) popsicles

Ingredients

For the popsicles

5 ripe mangoes

1 1/2 cups full fat greek yogurt

1/4 cup cardamom syrup (recipe below)

For the cardamom syrup

1 Tablespoon ground cardamom

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup filtered water

Method

First, make the syrup. You can make the syrup up to 4 days in advance (see notes). To make the syrup add the cardamom, sugar and water to a heavy bottomed pan over low heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, take it off of the heat. Allow the syrup to cool and the cardamom flavor to seep into the syrup. Meanwhile, prepare the mango: peel, rough chop and remove from the pit. Set a fine mesh sieve over a mixing bowl and force mango flesh through with the back of a spoon. For every mango you should retain about 75% of the flesh and only leave a small clump of fibers behind. Once mango has been prepared, mix in yogurt and syrup. Divide equally between your popsicle molds.

Notes

If you like you can allow time for the cardamom flavor to steep in the syrup then strain it out through a fine mesh sieve. I found this step unnecessary as it did not add anything to the flavor and I am planning not to strain the cardamom from the syrup next time, if I can’t find some kind of whole cardamom before the next time we make these popsicles.  Freeze on a level surface in your freezer until solid.