strawberry-balsamic basil popsicles recipe

back to the grind ::::

There are out-of-body views of myself, walking in a red coat in winter, skipping into the new house with green berber carpeting. Are these my memories directly? Or something blurred from a 1970s home movie, celluloid and silent? I cannot say, but they are there.

I also see more recent memories, clearly, sharp-edged. It is white. Pressed. Clean. Starched, sometimes. The pockets empty. After almost four months of maternity leave, I don my white coat again — tomorrow. Hello, old friend.

I have mixed feelings about this re-introduction back to work, as evidenced from my post last week when Sky-Girl started daycare and I made some shakshouka. I can’t say I am in much better shape than I was last week. And Sky-Girl clings to me every minute she is with me now, a little less smiley and more needy. We are two peas in a pod. I love what I do and the people I work with and for, but the pull of a chubby, buttery-skinned baby is enough to stop the world on its axis. It’s finding a new balance of childcare and work, of sleep (when will I do this ?)

So I take myself back to that red coat in winter, the color and the chill, and create something edible from those prompts. This is a kid-friendly popsicle, though the vinegar tang may be offputting to some. (“Mommy, this tastes salty,” was what I heard, accompanied by wrinkled noses.) Now I have to make sure to not dribble melting strawberry juice on my white coat. I think Sky-Girl has the spit-up area covered (and hey! it matches my coat color!).

One year ago: roasted purple cippollini + purple cauliflower

Two years ago: hollapse (mennonite cabbage rolls)