POPsicle melt...so lick it!

cosmo has become obsessed with our homemade popsicles this summer. we started with some fresh squeezed honey lemonade, then moved to orange juice, since it is so convenient, and doesn't have added sugar. then we saw this recipe from mark bittman, in the NYT:

BANANA PALETAS

2 medium bananas
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

puree all ingredient together in a blender until smooth. pour into 4-6 molds, and freeze until solid. unmold by first running a little cold water over the outside of molds, then gently pulling the sticks.

i have never made such a creamy delectable frozen treat. you can eliminate, or cut down on the sugar, the bananas are plenty sweet. it's also nice to puree berries, strain out the seeds, and pour them into the molds.

cosmo asks for a popsicle about 7 times a day. i actually don't think he would care if they were made of frozen water, he just really likes toting around, and slurping on, something frozen.

we learned a song in cosmo's music class called "summer-dog-days," and the last line goes:

pop (make popping sound by slapping hand against open mouth) sicle melt...so lick it!

wlb gadget of the year award

okay, so i don't really have a gadget-of-the-year-award system here on this blog, or any award system at all, frankly, but i have been so impressed with this simple set of useful objects, that i had to make a blog entry about it. and besides, it's green, and using it will reduce your carbon footprint! honest! i swear! well, it will reduce the amount of plastic wrap you use, IF you use plastic wrap at all. it can also save on dish washing, which saves water, and energy used to heat water, not to mention human labor. and...it can keep your food stored in the ceramic, porcelain, glass, china, metal or wooden dishes that you serve food in, rather than in plastic tupperware, rubbermaid, recycled yogurt tubs etc. there is concern about toxic chemicals leaching into food that is stored in plastic. these handy bowl bonnets, as i like to call them, while made of plastic themselves, allow one to simply cover any dish, and stick it in the fridge (the food doesn't touch the plastic). they are so easy to use, and can be washed and used over and over and over again.

my grandmother used these when she was alive. i remember them from childhood. i kept seeing them hanging from those little racks they insert onto various shelves throughout the grocery store-- not really in the household object department, but just scattered around, so you see them, and buy them on an impulse. they are cheap, so i finally decided (on an impulse) to get some, about a year ago. they come with 5 or 6 bonnets in a packet, of various sizes, (one of them makes an excellent shower cap for cosmo's baby doll) and the range of sizes is perfect for keeping large or small amounts of leftovers in the fridge. they are flexible enough, with the elastic bands, that each size fits a number of different dishes, so there's less searching for that elusive lid to match the container. plus, they are quite adorable, in an old-fashioned sense.

i love them. if i had ads on this blog, i would want to have an ad for these.
i found some online here, here and here, but i bet you can find them in your grocer's aisle. not sure which aisle, just keep your eyes peeled.