Homemade Popsicles

I picked this popsicle mold up a few years ago off of Freecycle, but I often forget about them. The littles, however, never forget. So when the hot weather rolls in and the faces of my dearest little ones are flushed red before they even walk outside, they are sure to remind me that homemade popsicles are just the thing to cool them down!

While popsicles may sound indulgent, when you make them at home they can be both healthy and refreshing! I tend to use teas for my popsicles, so anything I can make tea out of is game to be frozen and sucked down. The ones in the picture above are made with lemon balm tea, a favorite around here and SO easy to make. Just pour some almost boiling water over some fresh or dried lemon balm leaves (the dried leaves make a stronger tea), let it steep for a few minutes, and pour into the popsicle molds. I love to add a leaf of lemon balm to each popsicle, but even though the kids love eating the lemon balm from our garden, they always balk at something green in their popsicles. I don't get it, but I humor them. ;)

Our new favorite this year is strawberry-basil popsicles. Doesn't that sound scrumptious? They're a little tangy, a little sweet, and oh so very good. Since we live on a very small suburban plot we do our best to make the most of every edible plant we grow. This is a wonderful way to show your children just how many uses your garden has! Here's our recipe:

You'll need (for 6 popsicles):
A handful of fresh or dried strawberry leaves
6 Fresh strawberries
A handful of fresh or dried basil leaves
Water

1. Place your strawberry and basil leaves into a small pitcher or other pourable vessel. Add to these enough water to fill your popsicle molds, heated to just before it boils. Remember: dried leaves will make a more pungent tea, so be aware of your little one's tastes.

2. Let the strawberry-basil tea steep for at least 5 minutes.

3. While your tea is steeping, halve or quarter (or otherwise chop them to suit your desires) your strawberries and drop them into the molds.

4. Carefully fill your popsicle molds with the strawberry-basil tea mixture, adding or removing the leaves as you see fit. If you have the same type of Tupperware molds I have, you don't want to fill them all the way to the top because you need to add the bottoms, and this will cause leaks. Fill them to nearly full.

5. Place your popsicle mold into the freezer for at least four hours, preferably overnight, or until they are completely frozen through. Enjoy!