Happiness Project#88: Watermelon Pops!

Oh, summer. With the exception of lovely summer flowers and homemade popsicles, I’m still not a fan of the season. Had it not been for my 4 year old wanting to be out & about swimming, and climbing, and jumping every day, I doubt I would leave my house. Ever. Well, okay, except for leaving the house when in need of new books. Because, books. Which I’ve been whipping through at a blistering speed. As in 3 to 4 books a week. A feat which I haven’t accomplished since I left working in the book industry a good 4 years ago. Apparently the book worm within me is very, very hungry.

Anyhow, since summer is officially here, and I’m still attempting to resolve my distaste about it, my little girl & I decided to create a summer popsicle together, with her faaaaavorite summer fruit: the ever so juicy watermelon. A popsicle recipe that she did (nearly) entirely on her own. With her sticky little fingers, and beaming smile, and dancing brown eyes. Seeing this child of mine become so excited about creating new things, always make my heart proud. And sharing recipe adventures with her? Most definitely one of my favorite parts of being a Mommy.

So grab your little ones, and your favorite popsicle mold, and get into that kitchen! Particularly with this delightfully quick, and easy (though kinda messy), recipe!

1 pound fresh watermelon

4 teaspoons lime juice

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

Break out that mixture (or food processor), and set out an 8 to 10 cavity popsicle mold, with corresponding popsicle sticks.

With a large, serrated knife, cut up the watermelon into 4 large halves. Skin off the watermelon’s rind, before dicing up the 4 cut halves into small cubes. With an melon ball corer, remove those pesky watermelon seeds. Seeds in popsicles aren’t very tasty.

Throw those cubes of watermelon, along with the lime juice, and granulated sugar into the food processor, pulsing on high for a few minutes until the entire mixture is fully blended, and smooth.

Spoon out the watermelon mixture (I use a small mixing cup as a scoop), into each of the 8 popsicle cavities, filling each cavity all the way to the brim.

If your popsicle mold has a lid that has slots for popsicle sticks, slide in each stick before placing the mold into the freezer. If your popsicle mold does not have a slotted lid, add in the popsicle sticks after the popsicles have already been semi-frozen for at least an hour. Freeze until completely frozen solid.

I hope you all enjoy the beginning of this summer season! Or if you’re like me, who isn’t very particularly interested in the summer sun, perhaps you will enjoy the fun of creating your own fruity popsicles instead!