Watermelon and Raspberry Popsicles

A couple of days ago my brother and I decided that we wanted to make some homemade popsicles to have for the next the next stretch of hot weather. We did some research and found a recipe for Watermelon and Raspberry Popsicles. You might think these popsicles are for kids but my parents actually really enjoyed them. One of our favorite parts of the making of the popsicles was when we got to cube the watermelon. One thing that is cool about this recipe is that you can change what kind of fruit you want to use for your popsicles. Once we were done mixing all of the ingredients, we enjoyed  smelling the liquid that would become the popsicles It smelled like you could have made a smoothie out of the mixture. The recipe says that you should freeze the popsicles for 24 hours before you eat them but it took us only 6 or 7 hours for us to be able to eat these wonderful popsicles. I would recommend that if you wanted to change the variety of fruit that is going into the popsicle's you should try these fruits: Strawberries, Honeydew Melon, Blueberries, or Cantaloupe. The recipe for these tasty popsicles will be added to this post.


      Makes about 8 1/4-cup popsicles

Popsicle molds are sold at some drugstores and department stores.

                 Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups seeded diced watermelon
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon crème de cassis (black currant-flavored liqueur) or light corn syrup

              Preparation

      Combine all ingredients in blender; puree until smooth. Strain into 2-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Pour puree into Popsicle molds, dividing equally. Freeze overnight. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.)

Trip to Two Pony Gardens

    

The wood fire pizza oven

Amy Leach the author

One of the gigantic sunflowers

The head of one of the gigantic sunflowers

Nate Christopherson the illustrator and
dough man

The tent of where the pizza making took
place

One of the beautiful horses

Another shot of one of the beautiful
horses

This last Saturday evening my family took a trip  to Two Pony Gardens. It is near Lake Minnetonka which is in Minnesota. At Two Pony Gardens they have Horses, Chickens, a Giant Sunflowers, and they grow Tomatoes, Dahlias and many other herbs and flowers. They even have a trampoline for the younger kids to enjoy. One really cool thing about Two Pony Gardens is that a couple of times each month they host a Pizza night. They bake their pizzas in a wood burning oven that is really awesome. Last night we had two pizzas one with caramelized onions, bacon, herbs de provence, and  it was drizzled with olive oil when it came out of the oven. The second pizza was offered with Tomato Sauce that was made from the Heirloom Tomatoes they grew on the farm, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. The Pizzas were so good. I could of eaten them for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. 
     The reason we were there was because we went to celebrate a book that had just been published by Milkweed Editions.   The author of the book was there to read from her book.  The illustrator was also there. The illustrator also has a second talent different then drawing really amazing illustration. He was the guy that made the balls of dough into a circle so it could be made into a pizza. He also rolled out the dough for the pizza. Both the book and illustrations were for sale at the the gathering. The title of the book is, Things That Are, by Amy Leach and illustrated by Nate Christopherson.

      The Garden was really beautiful. When you first walk into the main farm area you are welcomed by many gigantic Sunflowers that were really large in size. To one side of the Sunflower patch was a  horse pen with two really big horses that were truly beautiful. On the backside of the Sunflower patch was the owner's house, the picnic area, and pizza oven. The flower garden was growing opposite the front entrance to the house.  My brother and I took a walk through the  flower garden which lead us  to the chicken coupe where we saw an above average sized roster and  some chickens. On my blog you will see pictures of the horses, the pizza making, the sun flowers, and the book reading. Our night was spectacular. It was a treat to see another part of Minnesota, to celebrate this wonderful publication and be on a farm that is close to the Twin Cities.

The Best Ice Cream in Minneapolis Minnesota

During  really hot summer days do you feel like going to an Ice Cream shop that has good quality Ice Cream? Well I personally think the best Ice Cream is at Sebastian Joe's. Sebastian Joe's makes Ice Cream that is really creamy, rich, and very thick. When you go to Sebastian Joe's you get to choose from about 30 different Ice Cream flavors and about 5 to 7 sorbets and yogurts. Some of my favorite flavors are Oreo and  Nicollet Avenue Pot Hole. What is very unique about Sebastian Joe's is that they only make one batch of Ice Cream at a time. So if all of the Oreo is eaten they will make a batch when they need it instead of making 5 batches of Oreo at one time and having 4 of the extra batches sitting in the freezer. Sebastian Joe's also make Ice Cream Pie's, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Joe "Brr" Bars (Oreo ice cream dipped in Swiss chocolate), Ice Cream Shakes, Ice Cream Sudays, Ice Cream floats, and a lot  more. Sebastian Joe's also make their own Coffee and bakery goodies like cookies and scones. Sebastian Joe's is an Ice Cream shop that only sells their Ice Cream in their shops. They do not sell the Ice Cream in any food market. Almost everybody that lives in Minneapolis know's about Sebastian Joe's because it is such a top quality Ice Cream shop. Sebastian Joe's is an Ice Cream Shop that like's experimenting with flavors. For example they have a Red Papaya Sorbet, Pina Colada, and Martee's Margarita. This past week my cousin Noah was visiting from San Francisco California. It was his first time in Minnesota so we thought we would take him to Sebastian Joe's for an awesome Ice Cream treat. It proved to be just the right thing on a hot summer day. He really enjoyed his Double Chocolate Ice Cream in a homemade waffle cone.

San Francisco Food

The really good Mexican Food Truck in
San Francisco California.

Recently my family took a trip to San Francisco, California to visit my relatives for my cousin Noah's Bar Mitzvah. On the night of his special day, there was a party for my cousin and the meal came from a Mexican Food Truck. It  pulled right  into their driveway. I have included  a picture of the food truck. I had a Supreme Burrito that was really good. My burrito was probally one of the best burrito's that I have ever tasted. The burrito had a lot of yummy goodies in it like: tomatoes, guacamole, beef, and rice. This burrito was very different from thick ones get at Chipotle. It was rolled very really thin and long.


If you do not know already San Francisco is home to the best Chinatown in the world. I was lucky one night to go out for dinner in Chinatown with my family. The meal was great. I also went to this dumpling restaurant that was really good. Dishes of food kept on coming and we kept on eating the food. The dumpling restaurant that we went to is really famous for there soup filled dumplings. When they come out of the kitchen the dumplings are so hot that you have to wait to eat them until 5 or 6 minutes have gone buy so you do not burn your mouth when you eat the dumpling. Here in Minneapolis, Minnesota we do not have a Chinatown so it was fun going to the best Chinatown in the US.