So Maggie has been begging to cook in the way that only six-year olds can beg. I remember doing the same thing to my mom, so it's kind of a proud moment. The only problem? She wants to make cakes or crepes or bread, and our old house tends to hold kitchen heat in the summer. My solution? Something frozen. And healthy. That doesn't require a ton of ingredients. Here's something that has just three ingredients (four if you want to get fancy) and can be mature or immature, depending on how you feel. (We did a bit of both.) I give you...Canteloupe Granita & Popsicles.
(makes six popsicles and a few cups of granita)
1 medium canteloupe, cut in chunks
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup sugar (more or less, depending on the fruit and your preferences)
red seedless grapes, cut in half (that's the fancy part)
In a blender, puree the canteloupe, lemon juice and sugar until very smooth.
For the popsicles: Place a few grapes in the bottom of each popsicle mold, then carefully fill the molds with the pureed canteloupe, close the molds and freeze until solid. Warm the mold exteriors with your hands or run under warm water for a few seconds to make unmolding easy.
For the granita: Pour the remaining puree and grapes into a shallow dish and freeze. Mix with a fork every 30-45 minutes to keep the mixture relatively smooth (otherwise you end up with a big flat popsicle.)
