Cheat Codes: Ice Pops without Popsicle Molds
Ice pops are a beloved summer-time treat. They’re cold and refreshing on hot summer days. It’s always nice to keep some ice pops in the freezer during the summer. The problem I’ve continually had with store bought variety fruit flavor ice pop packs is that there’s almost always at least one flavor I don’t like (usually grape). This usually results in either leaving them in the freezer until they’re really old and gross so I ultimately throw them out, or pushing them off on to someone else. Whichever the case it seem like you should be able to have the ice pop flavors you want. And you can! Ice pops are super easy to make at home. Allow me to show you how.
He could use an ice pop
Quick Recipe: Bruschetta Tomato Salad
Coming from a family of Italian-American stereotypes, one of my all time summer favorites is the classic antipasto, bruschetta, a bunch of little toasted bread pieces with tomatoes and basil on top. Bruschetta salad is interesting because of the misconceptions about it. First off, despite what you think you know about speaking other languages bruschetta is in fact pronounced “broo-sketta” with a hard C sound. Not a shh. Also it doesn’t start with a P or end with an A, and it doesn’t make you more Italian or cool to say “HEY HAVE SOME PROO-SHETT”.
The second big misconception about it is that bruschetta, semantically, technically, refers to the little toast pieces that we serve with the tomato salad. That mixture of tomatoes on it is not the bruschetta, a mistake I even made until fairly recently. If you wanna be truly faithful, the stuff on top is just “tomato salad” but that’s kinda ambiguous, so I like to refer to it alongside its namesake sidekick.
Nevertheless, bruschetta tomato salad is exceptionally tasty and yummy, specifically when using some fresh-ass tomatoes straight from the garden or farmstand, to the point I don’t even bother making it unless it’s summer. I am admittedly a bit of a food snob, so don’t let that keep you from eating it whenever you want. It’s perfect on top of the mini-toasts, but I personally love serving it on top of chicken cutlets, like so:
Food 101: How To Make Chicken Cutlets
Possibly one of the greatest, most useful foundation blocks of a balanced diet is the mighty chicken cutlet. Hailing from almost all corners of the world, almost every cuisine on the planet features some variation of a breaded cutlet made from chicken, pork, or veal. In America we’ve come to embrace chicken as the one true cutlet in modern times, since chicken is objectively better than other meats in every way, shape, and form. Plus, not only are they fairly easy to make and pretty good for you health-wise if fried in olive oil, but they’re also amazingly versatile and can be used to make a like eight billion different dishes. Seriously, the sky is the limit if you have a steady supply of chicken and breadcrumbs. Everyone on the planet should know how to whip together a quick batch of chicken cutlets, as if it were a rite of passage (and in some Italian households it is, haha). If you were never scolded or shamed into learning how this late in the game, then you’ll be happy to know it’s something that nearly anyone can make.
Smoothie Sunday: Pineapple Orange Smoothie
Much like mango, pineapple is one of those fruits that I forget how much I enjoy until I eat it again. After being reminded by eating some a couple of weeks ago, I decided I needed to work it into a smoothie. Since pineapple orange juice is a thing, I figured a pineapple orange smoothie would be a good bet. And it was!
Ingredients picture
Recipe Time! Cinnamon Toast Crunch Fried Ice Cream
My first experience with fried ice cream was at a Mexican restaurant, which my friends and I stopped at after seeing a movie one night. I was instantly intrigued by this contradictory dessert. Warm, crisp fried shell on the outside, cold, creamy ice cream on the inside; it was wonderful. However, I realize some of you, Erik included, had a different first experience with fried ice cream. You first had it at a Japanese or other Asian restaurant, with a tempura based batter as the shell. So where did fried ice cream come from? No one can really seem to agree. Its origins go back further than one would originally think, with two fried ice cream origin stories placing its invention in America in the mid-1890s. In the 1960s it started being associated with Japanese cuisine, and then later becoming associated with Mexican fare in the 1980s. In the end, I don’t think it really matters that much where it came from…what’s important is that it’s delicious!
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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