Last week, we had a bit of a preview of summer: ~90 degree Fahrenheit weather, cloudless, sunny skies, and mild nights when you don't need a long-sleeve shirt to go outside. It was even warm enough to have a midnight picnic out on the roof of our garage, which was pretty awesome because we snaked an extension cord from the house to the roof, moved an Ikea coffee table and a floor lamp out there, blasted Joni Mitchell from an open window, and sat, laughing and joking, on a blanket around a big spread of triple cream goat cheese and grapes and Piela Deen underneath the stars.
While warm summer-preview nights are a special treat, I often curse the hotter days during the daytime when I have to bike to and from school because who wants to arrive at class or at their meetings hot, sweaty, and coated with a layer of sticky grime? Elghk. Plus, I grew up in a different micro-climate around the Bay Area, where the weather really only rises above 80 degrees F for a few days out of the year. I like my 50-75 F range perfectly well, thankyouverymuch. So, on these days, the thing I look forward to the most is coming home from school, stowing the bike away, reaching into the freezer, and sucking down an ice cold packed-with-fruity-awesomeness popsicle. I love how it makes my core temperature say 'ahhhhhhhhhh' in great relief.
Just so I'm armed and ready for any more hot days the current micro-climate that I live in might throw at me, I've packed our freezer with these little beauts: kiwi and orange creamsicles--little ice pops with tangy kiwi puree, unadulterated fresh-squeezed orange juice, and sweet, creamy custard, layered thinly so that you can get every flavor together in one long lick. I also did the layers sort of haphazardly, pouring whichever one I felt like into random molds just so when unmolded, each one is a special little surprise. I can't help but squeal a bit every time I pop one out of a mold just to see the different patterns of layers. It's the little things like this that keep me happy. :-)
Anyways, you really shouldn't be too jealous of our weather here. This always seems to happen around the end of April and the beginning of May in parts of the Bay Area, but then we're cursed with grey skies throughout the month of June. Alas, you can't always have it all when it comes to the weather. But, you can always have popsicles ready and standing by.
[Don't forget to go and vote for desserts for breakfast for Best Baking/Desserts Blog in Saveur's Best Food Blog Awards! Voting closes in just three days! So stop dallying about and go vote!]
Read on for recipe....
