Weekend treats

This weekend, I was able to make up for weeks of not cooking with two days of furious cooking / baking / freezing.  On the docket?  Chickpea and quinoa veggie burgers, mini fruit tarts, blackberry lime cheesecake popsicles (recipe included below by request) and strawberry Greek yogurt popsicles.  The popsicles were inspired by the annual popsicle bonanza hosted by Design Crush Blog's Kelly Beall.  I may have made a summer resolution to make at least five of the popsicles that she featured.  And I learned how to properly and not scarily cut and slice a pineapple and watermelon without chopping off a limb.

For the past 15 odd years, my dad has always joked about opening a restaurant but this is the first time that he’s asked me if I wanted to join him in his fantasy restaurant venture.  He's either decided that I'm worthy enough of a cook now or he just needs someone to wash the dishes.

Blackberry lime cheesecake popsicles
(Adapted from Simple Bites)

Blackberry layer ingredients:
8 oz fresh blackberries
1.5 tablespoons water

Cheesecake layer ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
5 tablespoons milk
Juice from one lime
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup of powdered sugar

Add the blackberries and water to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring periodically, for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until they are easily broken with a wooden spoon. Taste and add honey to sweeten if needed.

Pour the berry mixture into a blender (I used a Magic Bullet) and puree until smooth. Add more water if consistency is too thick.  After blended, refrigerate the blackberry puree until cool.

While the blackberry mixture cools, beat the cream cheese, milk, lime juice, vanilla, and sugar using a hand or stand mixer. Again, feel free to add more / less milk and sugar to adjust to your particular taste and consistency.  Set aside in the refrigerator until blackberry mixture has cooled.

To assemble popsicles, layer the blackberry puree and cream cheese mixture in popsicle molds (I used dixie cups). Place popsicle sticks in the center and freeze until solid, which can take up to 6 hours.