This week’s post was actually supposed to be about something completely different, but after a baking mishap (remember, keeping it real is how we roll) I was having a conversation with Tom as we were tasting my failed bake and he said, “Well, we are going to have a stretch of really hot days, so baking isn’t really a good idea”. It was at that moment that a new idea occurred to me and this weeks’ post was born.

What is the opposite of hot? Cold. In the scorching heat of a South Carolina summer frozen treats are some of the most refreshing and welcome things to enjoy. So, I decided I would make a frozen treat instead of bulldozing down the path of perfecting a bake. Once I started to think about frozen pops I remembered some delicious adult popsicles Ray and I made on one of his summertime visits several years ago. On that occasion we made Bittersweet Chocolate-Bourbon pops, a recipe Ray had discovered in an issue of Fine Cooking. They were exquisitely delicious. So, what other adult ice pops could I make?

Recently, our favorite refreshing cocktail in this house has been the Moscow Mule. The combination of ginger beer and lime is extremely refreshing and is perfect to relieve the dog days of summer. So this is what I came up with.

Moscow Mule Ice Pops

• 2 12 oz bottles Ginger Beer
• 1/3 cup Vodka
• 1/2 cup Lime Juice
• Zest of 1 Lime

Mix ingredients together in a large spouted measuring cup. Pour into popsicle molds leaving about a half inch of space at the top for the popsicles to expand. Place pops in freezer for at least 4 hours. This mixture makes enough for 6 4oz pops with enough left over for a nice cocktail for the maker to enjoy while waiting for the pops to freeze, which quite possibly may be the nicest reward for the minimal effort to make these.