July 9, 2013

BLUEBERRY BASIL POPSICLES



I made these blueberry basil popsicles a few days before I left for Michigan. It's funny to look back and see all the things I was consuming and doing in the last few weeks – everything was a subconscious effort to hurry time along, to remind me of where I was going, to bring a little bit of the cabin into my home.

I had two pints of blueberries (I'm still waiting for our wild bushes to ripen) going south, and the last of my purple basil going to flower, and an ongoing obsession with incorporating popsicles into all my meals. I didn't really follow a recipe; I just made a simple syrup with equal parts water and honey and all the basil I could stuff in the pot, then stirred in the blended, strained berries. Cooking the honey (or sugar or whatever) makes a nice, consistent, less-crystallized, more-slushy popsicle, which I like.

I only managed to eat a few of these before I left for the cabin, and I'm excited to come back home to them. By then, they'll be a tasty reminder of my time up north, and a cool treat to get me through August. (I also omitted yogurt this time, because I think these would be amazing muddled up with some gin or vodka.)