Joanna: Snow Cones au naturale!

So, for Christmas.. one of Scarlett's gifts was a Igloo shaped Snow-Cone maker by Sunbeam. The way this girl loves popsicles, I figured this might be a good gift for her. Popsicles have become a daily treat. I love them as a snack for her, too. We make them together almost once a week out of fresh or frozen fruit, greek yogurt, squeeze of lemon or lime and sweeten with just a touch of honey or agave, depending on the fruit. Sometimes if the bananas are super sweet... we don't need to add any sweetener. Then, whenever she wants a treat (i.e., candy, cookie, ice cream).. I simply say... "Well, how about a popsicle?" To which she squeals affirmative. Works every time. Love that. Feel like supermom.

So, back to Snow-cones. This is the reasoning I gave her a maker for Christmas.. something icy she would enjoy where mama could control the added sugar and well, definitely no dyes. Our 1st attempt making them was New Year's Eve. After all, it was her party with noisemakers, hats, puzzles, games and treats.. (we celebrated east coast time) sparkling cider to toast and snow cones seemed perfect.
I figured, some nice juice out of the bottle and that would be easy enough. Well.. I could see I definitely needed to figure out a way to be more syrupy than juice for next time. It was like just having a drink with slush. Still yummy.. but not quite it.

So, today I defrosted some strawberries and blackberries that we froze when in season. Once defrosted, they are kinda mushy and juicy. (I set them out overnight) Ran them through the juice man juicer... and it worked perfectly. Smooth and thick. Sweetened with just a bit of agave syrup, squeeze of lime and then poured over ice. It was the most amazing snow cone. After a taste of hers, I had to have one, too. Got to thinking of adult snow cones. Made with rum or vodka.. that will definitely be fun for this summer.

Add a cup or two of totally defrosted frozen berries.. this is strawberry. Once gone thru the juicer, you have a super smooth, seedless puree that can be used for a lot of recipes at this point. Brighten with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice (about a teaspoon or 2) and then

sweeten with your sweetener of choice. We chose agave syrup which is super sweet, so you don't need much... it is also lower on the glycemic scale which is just better all around.

At this point, what you have is a coolie or a syrup that can be used for so much. Ever order a gorgeous rich dessert, like a decadent brownie or dense chocolate torte at a nice restaurant?.. well, usually there would be a raspberry coolie that is squeeze-bottled decoratively over the plate with a stripe or dots or puddled.. this is what this is. Fresh fruit coolie. You can make this with just about any frozen berry or fruit. Peaches work really well here too. Very simple and very gourmet! Ooh la la.