Orange and strawberry icy poles

It was a hot busy day today.  I am exhausted.  I have been to Sylvia's swimming lessons, done the washing, vaccumed before Sylvia's new bed arrived, baked bread, made fruit salad and been shopping.  The heat made me hanker after ice-cream.  An uncharacteristic whim.  Fortunately though I don't have an ice cream maker, I have icy pole moulds.

We bought a cornetto after swimming.  It wasn't great.  We were rushing back home to be there in time for the bed delivery.  I ran into a friend from my student days whom I haven't seen for years (probably decades).  He has a brother with the same name as a famous Irish writer and a son with the same name as a prominent Australian politician.  What are the odds!  (Let me know if you can work it out!)

When I got home I decided it was time for icy poles (also known as iced lollies in the UK and popsicles in the USA).  I decided upon a simple version of my previous icy poles.  Those one were full of chunks of fruit.  These are based on a trick I learnt last summer.  I just make smoothies and freeze them.  The only problem was that my trusty hand held blender turned on me and sprayed the kitchen with the orange and strawberry puree.  I kept finding bits of juice everywhere.

Sylvia was most interested - in the juice, not the mess.  I used very small icy pole moulds.  I love these moulds because they are the right size for her but also because they can be worn like a ring and look like jewells.  It meant I had some juice leftover.  I gave Sylvia a little in a cup.  She stood at the sink drinking it.  Then she got tired of it and threw it down the sink.  She said she really just wanted water.  I was horrified at her wasting good juice but proud of her love of water.  Friends of our recently told us that they had been drinking a lot of juice until they found out that it was full of sugar.

Sylvia was very excited about her new bed and went down for her nap in the bed without too much fuss (unlike tonight).  It was warm so I had an icy pole.  Frozen juice is just the thing for a hot summer's day.  When Sylvia woke she was miserable.  Finally she calmed down with an icy pole eaten with a tea towel spread over her lap to catch the drips - and there were many.  When she finished she simply said "Anudder one?"  That was all the praise I needed!

The weather is forecast to be warm over the next few days so I am looking forward to eating the rest of the icy poles.  Below is what I did but really, it is hardly a recipe.  Just worth remembering.

Other sweet recipes for hot days at Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Lime Spiders (gf)
Moody Blues (pineapple and blackberry juice) (gf, v)
Pine-berry fruit salad (gf, v)
Raspberry and yoghurt parfait
Strawberry and Passionfruit Icy Poles (gf, v) 
Strawberry Soup (gf, v)
Tofu Chocolate Ice Cream (gf, v)

Orange and Strawberry Icy Poles

juice of 2 oranges
125g strawberries

Blend and pour into icy pole moulds.  Leave a little room at the top for the liquid to expand when frozen.  Freeze and enjoy on a hot day.  I think we waited about 4-5 hours and they were hard enough to eat but perhaps could have done with another few hours to really harden up.  To remove frozen icy poles from moulds, just run until a little cold water to loosen it and tug at the stick - if it doesn't come out run under a little more water.

On the Stereo:
The Best Aussie Christmas - Various Artists