Perfect Pop of Pumpkin

de Calabaza Paleta

A friend, one of my darling formers, posted on Facebook that this is a "boots-in-the-morning, flip-flops-in-the-afternoon kind of day."  She described it perfectly!  Here in Texas, it feels like fall in the morning, but we're thinking summer by 3 p.m.  This treat, the pumpkin paleta, preserves the spice of autumn in a cool pop when the temp warms up.

Pumpkin Spice Paleta
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
3 scant T sugar
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 t pumpkin pie spice, or more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until blended.  Pour mixture into molds.  Freeze 4-6 hours.  Substituting whole milk for skim will add a creamier texture.  Skim milk keeps the calorie count down.  Delicious any way you mix it!

Feeling the Heat

Rápida Paletas de Coco

For months, we have roasted under a brutal sun in Texas, and although the calendar proclaims an end to August, it will be a while before we receive relief.  In the last week of summer, the heat has made Texans a bit flaky, so it seemed that coconut paletas would be in order!

The most important step in creating this paleta is toasting the coconut.  When the unsweetened flakes are exposed to heat, they change from an almost tasteless ingredient to a complex delight!  A rich, nutty flavor is produced and blandness is banished.

In my recent journey, I have attempted to exhibit grace under fire.  I often feel, like my white, flaky friend, the coconut, I have been shredded and exposed to flame.  In the tempering, I hope to gather strength and be the richer for it with joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, and goodness ultimately gained.  Thinking of this recipe, I must believe there is purpose found amidst the heat in trials of faith, hope and love.  

Quick Coconut Paletas

adapted from Paletas by Fanny Gerson

1 13.5 oz can coconut milk

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup half-and-half

1/4 t salt

1/4-1/2 t pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted

Toast coconut in an oven preheated to 325 degrees by spreading in a thin layer on a cookie sheet.  Using a spoon or spatula, move the coconut every few minutes to produce even toasting.  Toast 8-12 minutes or until evenly browned.  Watch carefully, as it burns easily.  

Put the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, salt and vanilla in mixer and stir until smooth.  Stir in toasted coconut.  Pour mixture in molds, add sticks.  Freeze 4-6 hours.  Light coconut milk and/or light sweetened condensed milk may be substituted in this recipe for a lower calorie count.   

Avocado Astonishment

One of the fascinating aspects of concocting paletas is imagining interesting ingredients. When most people think of ice pops, fruity sweet syrups and artificial flavors are expected.  The only common ground between purchased popsicles and paletas is the fact that both are frozen treats.

When asked to name a favorite flavor amongst the paletas I've made, I often answer "avocado." This  usually surprises and confounds the questioner.  Avocados typically bring to mind savory guacamole and trips to a Tex-Mex restaurant. A green fruit which is normally used as a garnish is a startling base for a popsicle.  But add a little sugar, lime juice, some zest and it is oh-so-delicious!

I've recently found that exploring the unexpected is rewarding.  Instead of dreading disorientation, I  found creativity clamoring in a time of disquiet.  On tasting an avocado paleta for the first time, a friend remarked that her taste buds were confusing her mind. In a good way. Exactly!

Avocado Lime Paletas Recipe

4 avocados, peeled and pitted
2 small limes juiced plus zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup sugar or more to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water optional*

Place green flesh of avocado, juice of 2 limes and zest of 1 lime and sugar in Cuisinart.  Pulse until completely smooth.  Add water and pulse again if a less dense, more icy paleta is desired.*  Spoon into molds, add sticks.  Freeze 4-6 hours.   

Brooke <3's Her "Green Ice Cream"

Opposites Attract

In life, attempt to be a complementary flavor; it is the attractive option.  

An often repeated phrase is "opposites attract" and I certainly see the proof of it in life.  My friend from college days, Lisa, is 4'10".  Her husband of 32 years is 6'5", and yes, people turn and stare as these two, on opposite ends of the vertical spectrum, walk past.  How could people be so different?  A dog lover falls for a woman with cats, the party girl pairs with the computer geek, an ISTJ personality type walks down the aisle with an ENFP.  This can make for an interesting combination or instantaneous combustion, once the goo-goo eyes go away.

When the choice is made to appreciate our differences and learn from those who appear to be opposite, we become tempered and transformed into a fruitful, more tolerant version of ourselves.  As I prepared lime pie paletas, I recalled a time when two co-workers, Jon and Cathy, could not have been more opposite from me in their work habits and styles.  We chose to value our differences and in collaboration, let each other's strengths shore up individual weaknesses.  Instead of launching a war to best one another, we loved, and through appreciating our dissimilarities, the individuals were immensely enhanced.  In a few years, those colleagues moved on, if only the cooperative spirit had remained...

Lime pie paletas bring together the tart, tangy taste of juicy limes played against the intense sweetness of Eagle Brand milk.  They provide a burst of flavor that combines and contrasts at once.  They are opposite individual tastes, rolled in a graham crust which blend to make a delectable, more perfect whole.
Lime Pie Paletas Recipe
Adapted from Paletas by Fany Gerson

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 t lime zest
1/4 t salt
2 cups crushed graham crackers

Combine sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, lime juice and zest, and salt in a bowl and whisk until well-combined. Pour mixture into molds, insert sticks and freeze 4-6 hours until solid.  Unmold and allow to thaw very slightly, roll in graham cracker crumbs to coat and return to freezer or eat immediately.

pastel de lima de paleta

Peaches or Pits?

My walking partner and I made a run on peaches, warm off the tree, juice-dribbling-down-our-chins, sticky, syrupy peaches.  She dreamed of baking crisps and cobblers while I envisioned peachy paletas, sweet and tangy, freshly frozen.  We made a plan and offed to Efurd's Orchards, to bring home as much blushing fruit as my Mini Cooper would carry.

Pleased with our purchases, and having no other appointments or to-do lists for the day, Becky and I drove into town for lunch and a peek into a past century at a tiny museum.  We delighted in our no-plan agenda of selecting produce at the road-side stand and doing as we pleased.  Like the peaches in the boot of the Mini, the day had a cheerful glow, having met our expectations as we headed home.


Then there was a rock that sounded like a boulder.  Sailing through the air it banged into the three-week new windshield, precisely in my line of vision with no chance to ignore it or look away.  The rock, this malevolent speck, bounced away shattering my contentment, leaving a scar so deep it nearly pierced the glass.  My peachy glow paled to liquid green with a punch to my suddenly churning stomach.

There was a decision to make.  Would the rock in the road ruin my experiences at the orchard?  Would it color my delight in creating peach paletas, turning everything lifeless or sour?   Would I add it to my lengthy list of recent woes, or could I choose to patch it up, regain strength and retain the sanguine spirit of the day?

Evil intruded into my life uninvited, but I could not allow it to change my spirit.  It did not take minutes or hours, but days to choose delight over dejection.  Before the Mini was repaired, with the windshield replaced once again, peach paletas were made and pleasure was reinstated.  I picked peaches over pits.  It is always the better portion.

Peach Paletas Recipe

3 cups fresh peaches, pitted and peeled, retaining a few ribbons of skin on each peach

1 lime, juice and zest

1 t fresh grated ginger

1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste

1/4-1/2 cup water or club soda, optional*

Combine peaches, lime juice and zest, ginger and sugar in Cuisinart.  Pulse until smooth.  If a denser paleta is desired, leave out water.  If an icy, crunchier texture is preferred, add water or club soda.  Pour into molds.  Freeze 4-6 hours.  

Season for Collaboration

My passion for making paletas has mostly been a solo business.  I daydream, shop and concoct on my own.  My walking partner, unable to escape my persistant paletas prattle as we trudge four miles daily, has frozen a few for herself.  But for long hours and days, I collaborate in Cindy's Cozy Kitchen with three people: me, myself and I.

The autonomy is appealing.  No one directs my time or dictates the flavor of the day.  I can do as I please, but a question lingers.  Appreciating that artistry is limitless, I ponder if I can be truly inventive without the input of others?  Then, my teenage godchildren stop by.

One would think a teenage boy would primarily have partaking of paletas in mind.  After tasting three treats, Ben requested we make a batch together.   Confident in his choices, we boldly exchanged ideas as we made preparations.  With laughter and splatters abounding, strawberry peach blackberry paletas debuted that day.  Cindy's Cozy Kitchen was transformed into a sensation of creation!

In this season, there has been need for hours alone, sorting thoughts and soothing my emotions.  I could simply keep to myself out of anger and fear of continued hurt.  But in that choice, I become fixed and frozen, like my favorite treats.  So, I open my heart as I open my kitchen, knowing that there will be messes to clean and boil-overs on the stove top.  Experiencing grace in the presence of others, I realize the sweetest taste sensations come with collaboration.

Hibiscus Raspberry Paletas How-To

Recipe adapted from Paletas by Fany Gerson

paletas de jamaica con frambuesa  

My favored herbal drink for many years has been Red Zinger tea.  When I found this recipe using the same base, hibiscus flowers, I knew it was a must try!  This is not a simple paleta, but I believe it is worth the effort.  For your encouragement, I've illustrated the steps taking you from mere dried sticks of flowers to ruby red refreshment.

Agua de jamica is the base using:

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers 

4 cups water

1/3 cup sugar or more to taste

Rinse the flowers in cold water and drain thoroughly.  

Cover flowers in cold water and allow to soak 4 hours or as long as overnight.  

After steeping, bring mixture to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add sugar and simmer only until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.  

Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.

Add water to make 4 cups of liquid and refrigerate until completely chilled, or go on to next step if making paletas immediately.  

To complete the paletas you will need:

2 cups agua de jamaica (recipe above)

2/3 cup sugar

4 cups fresh raspberries

Rinse raspberries, add 1/3 cup of sugar and let sit until raspberries release their juices, about half an hour.

Combine the 2 cups of agua de jamaica with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar.  Simmer over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Cool in refrigerator.  

Divide raspberries evenly in molds.  

Pour agua de jamaica in molds.  Freeze until set 4-6 hours.  

Find a warm patio with a cool breeze and revel in refreshment!

Perfection Not Required

One of the primary reasons I love creating paletas, aside from the fruity, frosty goodness, is that perfection is not required! In fact, if perfection is your pursuit, you might want to move along. Creating paletas means putting aside plans and recipes in favor of daily discovery. My next few posts will explain why.

For most paletas, fresh ingredients are required, meaning intriguing jaunts to the local produce stand and farmers market. But sometimes, I merely make a mundane stop by the grocery store to purchase what is ripe and juicy. Arriving, I might dream of concocting tangy blueberry paletas, only to find sugary watermelons in full fruit. I cannot make blueberry paletas without supplies. I must choose from what is before me.

sandía paleta de menta

Of late, I've unearthed a life lesson here. With resigning from a beloved job, my existence has changed dramatically. I've been bombarded with watermelon when I had my heart set on blueberries. For a while, I refused to taste the sweetness of the red fruit, or note the beauty in the contrast of the dark green rind and shiny black seeds. I wasn't grateful for provision; I thought only blueberries would sustain me until I realized I must choose from the options given.

Putting together paletas parallels life, requiring not perfectly made plans, but discerning the possibilities in each new day, finding succor and discovering joy in its goodness. This season is all the sweeter for it, and I am thankful!