Cucumber Mint Green Tea Popsicles
Not only is it ice cream week, but it's also popsicle week! Have you heard of it? It's basically the best time of year to be a blogger and I love the way it makes me feel like I'm diving into summer. Everyone's favorite guy, Billy of Wit and Vinegar, is the mastermind behind this internet popsicle party, so that's who you can thank for never running out of ways to use that popsicle mold you bought one summer.
This is my third year participating in popsicle week. In the past two years I had popsicles in the coffee/chocolate/hazelnut category with my Nutella Latte Popsicles and my Hazelnut Coffee Fudgesicles. They're both amazing, but the Nutella Latte Pops in particular will get you jacked up on caffeine, if that's what you're looking for. This year I wanted to try something totally different, so I decided to go with a popsicle that was fruity, crisp and refreshing.
The idea for these popsicles came up because I made a cucumber, mint and green tea smoothie for breakfast a few times and loved it. It's so summery and perfect for those hot days. Plus you've got the hydration factor because there's so much water in cucumbers. The other weekend I went on a morning run and then stood on our fire escape eating one of these popsicles while our dog, Gilmour, licked up the drops that fell on the floor. It felt like summer at its finest, especially since I was able to look at our newly-planted rooftop garden while I enjoyed the nice weather.
The simple syrup will make more than you need for the popsicle recipe, but it will keep for a long time in the refrigerator. Use it to make some mojitos and other summer cocktails, or you could even put some in your iced coffee. The popsicle mixture might also make a little more than you need. You could take the leftovers, which would already be in your blender, and add some spinach, flaxseed meal and/or protein powder, ice, and a little more lime juice or fresh mint to make a nice smoothie.
I want to say a huge thanks to Billy for organizing this fun summer event every year. Be sure to check out all the other recipes from this year (as well as past years) over on his site, and you can follow along on Instagram with #popsicleweek.
If you're wondering which popsicle mold I used, it's this one. If you don't already have one, you're going to want one after all of these popsicle posts. Amazon should probably be sponsoring this event. (Don't you think, Billy?) Happy summer, ya'll! (I've been watching too much Friday Night Lights.)
Illustration at top created with Illustrator and Photoshop.
Prints of my illustrations (as well as other products with my work on them) are available in my Society6 Shop.
Cucumber Mint Green Tea Popsicles
Makes ten 3-oz popsicles
INGREDIENTS
For the mint simple syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
6 large sprigs of fresh mint
For the popsicles:
3/4 cup mint simple syrup
3/4 cup unsweetened green tea
3 tsp fresh lime juice (from about one lime)
1.5 lbs (24 oz) cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the mint simple syrup:
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the mint leaves. Let it steap until it cools. Strain out the mint leaves and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
To make the popsicles:
Add all of the ingredients to a blender with the liquid in the bottom. Blend until very smooth. Give it a taste - it should be a little sweeter than you might want it to be, as it will lose some of its sweetness when you taste it frozen. Add more lime juice or simple syrup, etc. to taste.
Pour the mixture into your popsicle molds and freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.
You might have a little more mixture than you need. You could freeze it as extra popsicles using paper cups and popsicle sticks, or you could add some things to it and blend into a smoothie. Enjoy!
NOTES
recipe developed with help from the People's Pops cookbook
