Green Tea & Mint Poppies

Anyone who knows me well knows that popsicles are one of my favorite foods, definitely my overall favorite food group. When I was younger, I would forgo any kind of cake, cookie or pie for a bomb pop (you know -- the iconic red, white and blue kind of popsicle). Even in the middle of winter I would choose a poppy over another kind of dessert; that's how deep my love of poppies goes.
Anyway, this is my way of introducing an ongoing series that I'll be doing throughout spring and summer -- homemade poppies (and of course they'll be starch free). And don't worry if you don't own a mold for making your own popsicles. If you do have a mold, that makes it easier, but you can make poppies using espresso cups, ice cube trays, disposable cups, shot glasses, etc. (+ popsicle sticks) for your molds.

The first kind of poppy in the series is a simple and tasty green tea & mint flavor. I got the recipe from this book.

Green Tea & Mint Poppies
makes six 8-ounce pops or eight 6-ounce pops 
(or any variety of smaller pops)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 loose green tea or 5 tea bags
12 sprigs fresh mint
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup honey, or to taste
opt: 1/4 cup edible flowers or 1/4 cup blanched almonds (I opted out of these two)

1. Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour into a heat-resistant pitcher (or mixing bowl with spout) with the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the tea, 10 sprigs of the mint and the lemon juice. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

2. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in honey to taste. Add a few fresh mint leaves (and flowers and almonds if you'd like) to each poppy mold. Pour in the tea and insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 6 hours. (If you're using actual popsicle sticks and not molds, you'll have to freeze it for awhile and then put in the sticks, or they won't stay in straight.)

3. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for a few minutes or put the poppy under hot tap water before removing it from the mold. Then go and feel amazingly refreshed!