Cherry Chocolate Popsicles

Now that the temperature has heated up a bit on the western side of the mountains, popsicle season has begun.  The first batch of the year was our all-time favorite made with cherries, dark chocolate chips, coconut milk, and a pinch of salt.  Once the cherries have been pitted, blending the ingredients in a food processor and pouring into molds is all there is to it.  As I write, I have some strawberry popsicles in the works, but I am doubtful they can be as good as these ones are (though the smell of strawberries roasting in the oven might convince me otherwise). 

The top of the tape shows approximately how much to make.

During the summer we enjoy experimenting with different combinations, depending on what fruit we have on hand (like cherries or apples) or what just sounds like it might be good (lemonade).  It helps to have a few basic ingredients on hand, like coconut milk or yogurt for the base, sugar or honey for sweetening, bananas to add in (they give a nice rich texture), and chocolate chips.  We bought our popsicle molds on Amazon and they have been worth every penny. 

CSA Week 5

This week's CSA pickup coincided with the 4th of July Parade that runs on our street/the farmer's market street, so there were quite a few people out and about.  After we had loaded up all of our veggies into our bags and were about to cross the parade route to get home, someone exclaimed "Look at all those greens!"  They were so plentiful that they were spilling over the sides of our big canvas bags.  Luckily, HH's parents and brother were in town, so we invited them over for dinner and force fed them large quantities of salad.  They helped us eat the last of some stuff that was left over from last week, and made a dent in this week's haul. 

Clockwise from the beets:  Tokyo bekana (similar to bok choy), mustard greens, kale, lettuce, bok choy, and snow peas.