Blackberry Lavender Popsicles
From Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez of the Girlichef blog, as appears in Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook, by Mi Ae Lipe
SERVES 8
¾ cup superfine sugar or agave nectar
1 heaping pint (2 cups) fresh blackberries
1 Tbsp. lavender buds, fresh or dried
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup cold water
In a saucepan, stir the sugar into the blackberries and allow to sit 5 minutes. Add the lavender and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Smoosh up berries with a potato masher to release all of their juices. Stir the lemon juice and water into the mixture. Taste and add more sweetener, if you think it needs it. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
Set a strainer over a large mixing bowl (preferably one with a pour spout). Strain the mixture, pushing down with a rubber spatula to extract all of the juices. Pour into ice pop molds, adding sticks at the correct time for your molds. Freeze until solid.
Recently Joy acted on a persistent daydream by converting part of her backyard into a garden for berries and a second garden to build up the soil for vegetables. When she isn’t tending these new gardens, she dabbles in food styling and design for Edible Ohio Valley and volunteers on a local farm.
