You can expect that it will rain here; it always does, sometimes for weeks on end. It hasn’t rained in a long time though, and forests are burning all over the province and the smoke has blanketed the city and surrounding areas, drifting across the mountains and over the prairies, making it as far east as Toronto, allegedly.
Every time I see someone with a lit cigarette I think about following them to make sure they don’t toss the butt into the grass, which is basically just thin kindling now. We’re in a drought, officially, though that’s been obvious for a while. There was no snow on the mountains this year.
It’s weird. It’s hot. Everyone’s weather app is saying “smoke” instead of sun or clouds. All the lawns are dead and the leaves in the tree outside my living room window are crisp and brown. The sidewalks are like flypaper, sticky with aphid goop from the trees that drifts through the air like dew would if there was any.
You can’t blame a kid for only wanting watermelon, or ice cream. I mean, I’m right there with him, but at some point you have to be a role model. Or whatever. Or, at the very least, you have to look seriously at your budget and think about whether or not you can sustain a box-a-day habit of Fudgsicles for however long this summer will last.
This recipe is easy, and you can make it in a heat wave. It’s just overripe bananas, yogurt with a generous percentage of milk fat (I like Liberté or Krema, depending on what’s on sale), and a big glob of Nutella, which in this weather is practically liquid. You throw it in a blender, and then pour it into ice pop molds, and then you wait. No cooking, and not the worst thing for you if you’ve been living primarily on gin slurpees and handfuls of berries.
Nutella “ice cream” bars
Makes 6 to 8 pops, depending on the size of your molds.
- 1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
- 3 medium over-ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup Nutella
Pour all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze, minimum six hours or overnight.
To remove from the molds, run a little hot water over the base of the mold to loosen.
well fed, flat broke 
Nutella is the new bacon. It is EVERYWHERE. Not that it does not taste yummy but it makes me wonder about the marketing machine behind this recent powerhouse. Does full fat yogurt mean Greek yogurt?
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Oh, there’s definitely marketing there. Have you seen the new “Nutella to Go” packs? Nuts. Full fat can mean Greek – just not something fat-free or low-fat. I’d suggest something between six and eleven per cent.
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I’ve been enjoying the Liberte brand recently. 9% and decadent.
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That one is so good. Costco sells the individual size containers for about $12 for 15, and they are impossible resist late at night.
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I mix a jar of Nutella and a jar of hazelnut/almond butter in my blender and add a bit of cocoa/cacao powder to keep it chocolatey but with much less sugar – my kids don’t notice the difference !! it’s much healthier this way so I don’t mind if they ( I ) eat it often.
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That’s a great idea! Fortunately (unfortunately?) our little’s in a nut-free school, so his Nutella consumption is limited to weekend lunches and the occasional crepe night, but I do like the idea of reducing his sugar intake. Might steal this 🙂
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Oh – I forgot to mention that when blending Nutella with a jar of another nut butter (hazelnut makes most sense) pour the nut oil out first into a glass and see how thick the blend becomes (adding back oil if you wish). I didn’t do this the first time and the mix ended up being a bit too thin to spread nicely. I just use any left over oil in a smoothie, or fry pan. Happy mixing !
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