Ugh, I get bored waaaaay too easily! I’ve been working on my thesis all day and all I want to do is not work on my thesis. I’m bored out of my mind! However, at the same time I know I have to keep working if I ever want to finish the thing, so instead of checking my email, my university email and Foodgawker every few minutes (here’s my page, if you’re interested…) I spent the day typing, reading, paraphrasing and quoting. It’s a pain! But also strangely satisfying…
Anyway, because the only thing getting me through long days of thesis-writing is the occasional Strawberry Balsamic Popsicle, I thought I’d blog about them a little. I deserve a break every now and then, right? ‘Cause just in case you were wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been in thesis land. I haven’t really blogged a lot lately, because my thesis is my life right now! It’s ridiculous and sad and ridiculous… Seriously, I can’t even think about anything but my thesis anymore, regardless of the fact that it’s driving me crazy and I really, really, really want to think about other things. Happy things. Like chocolate and glitter and Care Bears.
Anyway, there’s good news, too: I’ve finally found my mojo. Which basically means that instead of procrastinating and Googling things like “I’m so bored” or “How to write your thesis in one week” and spending thirty minutes reading/watching thesis-related memes, I’m finally getting some work done!
Yay me!
As it turns out, all I really needed to do was slap my monkey. Or at least tell it to shut up. Or give it a banana every now and then… If you’ve never been to thesis-land or if you’ve never had to urge to Google “I hate my thesis” – aka: if you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about – check out this article on procrastination. It saved my life. As in, um, my thesis…
But to get back to those popsicles: they’re delicious. They’re amazing. They’re everything I ever wished for in a popsicle! They’re fruity, sweet without being too sweet, they don’t drip too much, they don’t melt that easily, there are none of those big, hard, watery ice crystals, and they are as refreshing as they look. In other words, they’re basically the perfect popsicle.
And you can whip them up in minutes! Well, you do need to macerate the strawberries, which means tossing them with a little sugar and balsamic vinegar and allowing them to sit for fifteen minutes until the berries have released their juices. Aka: you have to wait around a little. But hey, that gives you time to: a) write another paragraph for your thesis, b) write another paragraph for your thesis, or c) write another paragraph for your thesis.
Oh, who am I kidding… All I ever managed to get done in fifteen minutes is two sentences.
But back to those pops.
Once you’ve macerated the strawberries, you crush them with a fork, whip some fat-free yogurt, cream, sugar and vanilla together (because vanilla and yogurt are a match made in heaven!) and fold everything together with a rubber spatula. Pour into popsicle molds and you’re done! That’s all there is to it…
And just so you know, the popsicles won’t actually taste like vinegar. They’re sweet and tastes like fruity strawberries and vanilla. I know there’s balsamic vinegar in these pops, but only a little. Just enough to liven the berries up a bit. Because FYI, strawberries and balsamic vinegar are a match made in heaven too!
Anyway, I’m making myself another batch of these tonight! They’re awesome!
So, try these, guys!
- 100g (or about ⅔ cup) washed and hulled strawberries
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ to 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 150ml (or ½ cup + 2 tablespoons) whipping cream
- 150ml (or ½ cup + 2 tablespoons) non-fat Greek yogurt
- 3¾ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Quarter the strawberries. Place in a small bowl and sprinkle with one teaspoon of the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Stir to coat the berries with the sugar, then place the bowl in the fridge and allow to macerate for about 15-20 minutes, or until the berries have started to release their juices.
- Once macerated, crush the berries roughly with a fork.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream, yogurt, the rest of the granulated sugar and the vanilla extract. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix until soft peaks forms. You could also do this by hand, obviously, but I like mixing because it's fast...
- Using a fork, scoop the crushed strawberries into the bowl with the cream mixture, leaving most of the juices that have collected in the bottom of the bowl (if you want to, you can also add them to the cream mixture).
- Pour the cream mixture into popsicle molds, then gently rap the molds on the counter once or twice to remove any air bubbles.
- Freeze until frozen solid, about 3 to 6 hours, depending on your freezer.
New favorite food quote:
they look great!
They tasted great too 😉