Ice Pop Cubes

The ice cream man inspired these frozen fruit cubes.

The other day, when it was actually sunny and warm and the ice cream man was making his rounds, I got to thinking about all of the delicious old-school ice pops I used to consume. Using superhuman hearing powers that kids only reserve for the tinkle of the ice cream man's song, we could detect him from blocks away. As kids flooded from their houses to greet him, I too, hounded my mother for money and, as fast as my little legs could carry me, darted out of the house for fear that I would miss him. When it was my turn, I almost always ordered either a pineapple FrozFruit pop or a Firecracker, with its icy layers of red, white and blue. The latter was my number one pick mainly because the blue coloring - which was probably toxic - used to make my mouth look like Viola Beauregarde after a trip to Willy Wonka's factory.

Fast forward to my adult self. Memorial Day weekend is upon us and it is the official kickoff to summer. When I think about the summer, I like to imagine lots of BBQs in the sun. But with all of that food and sunshine, one is at risk of becoming parched. Which is where cocktails come in. It's always a real downer when I'm handed a scintillating cocktail and then, before I have time to finish, the ice cubes melt and it's all watered down - leaving both me and the cocktail kind of sad looking. In an effort to combat this inevitable cocktail atrophy, I whipped up a batch of ice-pop-inspired cubes, using real fruit - so that when they melt, the drink only becomes better. Genius.

Instead of blue #2 and red #4, I made blueberry and strawberry fruit purees to color and flavor my cubes. These mixed berry cubes might melt particularly well into a strawberry cocktail or even to make a mixed berry version of these blueberry bucks. And, as an homage to my FrozFruit pops, I made pure pineapple cubes - because who wouldn't love a Bay Breeze cooled with pineapple ice cubes?

Initially, I saw these fruit cubes as destined for a variety of vodka-based drinks, but also maybe at the bottom of a sparkling glass of Prosecco as an interesting twist on a bellini. And, obviously, frozen fruit cubes aren't exclusively handy for adult bevvies - they could be a great addition to liven up plain old sparkling water or even to create a flavored lemonade.

Fruit cubes are simple to make - all you need is your favorite types of fruit, frozen or fresh, some water, sugar and a blender. You can experiment by pairing different fruit flavored cubes with whatever cocktails tickle your fancy.

What you'll need:
Frozen or fresh fruit of choice, 3/4 cup
Sugar, 1-2 tsp {depending on how sweet you want the cubes}
Water, 1/4-1/3 cup

Defrost the fruit ahead of time.
Put fruit, water and sugar in the blender.
Puree.
Taste and adjust sugar/water if necessary. You want the puree to be pourable, a similar consistency to fresh squeezed juice.
Pour into ice cube trays.
If you want to layer the fruit - as in the mixed berry cube I made - fill the ice cube molds only halfway and allow the first layer to freeze solid. Once it's frozen, add the second layer of fruit puree - filling to the top. Place back in the freezer until solid.
Use as you would regular ole' ice cubes.