As a kid, did you ever pour fruit juice into paper cups, add a wooden popsicle stick, and put them in the freezer? If you did, you'll know why I was so excited to acquire a set of popsicle molds this weekend. I flipped through some recipes, and then went to market for some inspiration. Wandering around the produce stands, I found some lovely blueberries, and decided to use them in my new creations. I have a feeling that the possibilities are endless with these things.

Blueberry Popsicles

• about 3 cups of vanilla low fat yogurt
• about one pint of blueberries, rinsed
  
• popsicle molds and wooden popsicle sticks

In a blender, combine about 2 cups of yogurt with the blueberries. Blend until smooth. Distribute the remaining cup of yogurt into each popsicle mold. Add the blueberry mixture to the top of each mold.
Makes 12 popsicles

harvest time
Garrison Kiellor talks about summer as being the only time that mid-westerners lock their car doors -- so people can't leave their excess squash in random vehicles. It is true that using produce can be somewhat of a challenge, especially if your plants or trees seem to have a mind of their own. When we recently had dinner at a friend's house, we weren't allowed to leave until we had each picked a full bag of grapefruit to take home. Most of them we ate for breakfast; however, I decided to get a little creative and try grapefruit sorbet. I love sorbet; it satisfies my sweet tooth but isn't fattening; it's refreshing, and so easy to make. Grab an ice cream maker and a sauce pan, and you're all set. For this particular recipe, I used honey instead of sugar, which changed the taste quite a bit and gave it an amber color. Feel free to use sugar if you don't like the taste of honey in your dessert (I did, but my husband tactfully suggested that I try it the "regular" way next time). Of course, it's best on a hot summer day.Grapefruit Sorbet
2 cups fresh grapefruit juice
3/4 cup -1 cup honey or sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

On medium heat, dissolve the cup of sugar in 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice (do not boil). Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add in the remaining grapefruit juice and lemon juice. Chill until cold. Taste, and add more sugar if desired. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze as directed.

Fried
Today I thought I'd take some time to talk to you about potatoes. Especially ones that have been fried. With onions. Potatoes are one of those foods that keep your mind off life's worries. The smell alone is a comfort. I've made them at all the trying times of my life. School stress warranted french fries, baked or fried. Special occasions are marked with twice-baked potatoes in their own skin -- extra complicated. A rough day makes me crave simple mashed potatoes. One of my favorite all-purpose renditions is called "fried potatoes;" a slightly vague title, but extremely tasty. There are a number of ways to fry potatoes. I slice them very thin, and then chop an onion into slivers. They all go in a pan together to mingle, and when they come out, they are lightly browned and crispy. I love them with ketchup, and have even been known to eat them cold the next day as leftovers, not even bothering with a plate or a fork.This week, we had some wonderful little new potatoes and an onion from our CSA basket. Even the olive oil I used is from a local source.

• 15-20 small new potatoes
• 1 medium onion
• a few tablespoons of olive oil
• ketchup (optional)

Slice the potatoes to the desired thickness. The important thing is that they are all about the same size so that they cook evenly. Place some oil in a heated pan, coat the bottom, add the potatoes and cover. Depending on the size of the potatoes, they will need about 20-25 minutes to cook. While the potatoes are cooking, slice the onion. Add them in the last last 5-10 minutes of the cooking time.