Kitchen Wench

I recently wrote about paletas, a delicious Latin American version of the popsicle.  It’s been hot as balls in DC, so eating a frozen fruit bar is pretty much the perfect antidote to the heat.  And while you should all get yourselves to the Mt. Pleasant farmers’ market to try some of the paletas from the guys at Pleasant Pops, you can also make them at home.  That’s what I decided to do one night this week, mostly because our refrigerator is on the fritz but, thank god, the freezer still works.

I happened to have an overripe melon I needed to eat, but pretty much any fruit will do here.  You could also add milk, yogurt, or even pudding for something richer and more evocative of Bill Cosby.  I pureed my fruit, but you can mix in whole chunks for more texture.  There are no creative limits here (try adding different herbs, spices, maybe even vegetables?!), so have a little fun with it.

Also, since I didn’t add any sugar, I like to wishfully think that this counts as eating a serving of fruit.

Melon Mint Paletas

• 1 small melon or 1/2 a large melon (I used a little green honeydew-type melon from the farmer’s market)
• 2 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves
• juice from 1/2 a lime

Chop melon into rough chunks.  Put fruit, mint, and lime juice into a food processor or blender and process until desired consistency.  If your fruit isn’t very ripe, you may want to add sugar.  Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.

Yields ~ eight 3 oz popsicles.   I bought my molds at Target, but there are lots of fancy ones on Amazon.