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For me, the beginning of every season conjures up images from my childhood. The changing of the seasons makes me sensitive to the passing of time. And so, while opening the freezer door on a recent particularly hot June evening, I remembered the orange popsicles I'd make during the summer. I romanticized those blisteringly hot summer days as a 7-year-old boy with both of my sisters sitting outside by our inflatable "kiddy" pool. At that moment, I felt compelled to make the same super sweet, mildly acidic, and juicy ice pops.

I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase the identical plastic popsicle molds I used as a child. On the side of the plastic mold is a straw so that you can drink the orange juice that melts to the bottom. For some reason, I remember that being the most enjoyable part of the treat. As a child, creating these orange juice popsicles -pouring orange juice in the molds and placing them in the freezer-seemed so thrilling.

I highly recommend these orange juice popsicles! They're a great way to keep children excited and hydrated during the sizzling summer days. Find out some wild and crazy ice pop ideas and check out the gallery of popsicles of different shapes and sizes.

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Continue reading Frozen orange juice: A childhood pastime

Some people spell it donut and some people spell it doughnut. However you spell it, today is the day to eat them.

Krispy Kreme is going to celebrate the day by giving away one free donut (it's only in participating stores so you'll have to ask if the store in your area is, you know, participating). Are you flying on Southwest Airlines today, out of Dallas' Love Field or airports in Tulsa, San Antonio, or Kansas City? They're giving away free donuts at those locations too. You are now free to move around the country if you can with donuts in your stomach.

I don't think Dunkin' Donuts is doing anything for the day, which is too bad. Unless Krispy Kremes are hot and fresh, they're not as good as Dunkin's.

(I've always wanted to try Stan's Doughnuts in L.A. Luckily they have a web site.)

Continue reading The divine iced beverage: Julep Iced Tea

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Continue reading The elegant (hic!) tradition of bourbon balls

Whatever dessert you end up having for Passover, please avoid those macaroons in the can. At the Passover Seder, we traditionally ask 4 questions. I propose adding a 5th question: Why on all other nights do we eat baked goods that come in bags, boxes, or direct from the oven and on this night we eat baked goods from a can?

Even moving past canned macaroons, I'm not typically a big fan of Passover desserts. These kosher for Passover chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting, however, are so tasty that I could eat them year round. One of my friends even told me it was the best cupcake she had ever had!

They are extremely rich - almost like fudge - so if you have mini cupcake wrappers, you might consider using those instead of normal-sized ones. You could also make the cupcake recipe in cake format.

The recipe can be found on Cupcake Project.

Continue reading Hot Fudge Salsa

Um, wow.

That mountain of colorful, sugary pancakes comes to you by the fine folks at IHOP, who have put together this concoction to celebrate the movie Horton Hears A Who, starring the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, that was released a few weeks ago.

This thing is just chock full of stuff that will make kids run around all day long, or maybe stay in bed with a tummy ache. Colored syrup, a lollipop shoved in the middle like the flag on top of a mountain top. And what are those, jelly beans or bubble gum pieces?

Has anyone tried this?