Berry White Ice Pops

Easter Sunday. Service in the morning. Big Sunday dinner at the house. Ham, biscuits, the standard.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

Connie put up twelve jars of wild blackberry jam Saturday — that patch up the hollow gives every year if you get there before the birds do — and all week I kept thinking about berries and cold and small things that carry a lot of sweetness. These Berry White Ice Pops are not the same as jam in a jar on a pantry shelf, but they come from the same instinct: take what the season gives you, do something simple with it, and share it with the people at your table. Some weeks that’s enough.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes (includes freezing) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups mixed fresh or frozen berries (blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries)
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prep the berries. Rinse fresh berries and pat dry, or thaw frozen berries slightly. Reserve a handful for layering and place the rest in a small bowl. Lightly mash the main portion with a fork until broken down but still chunky. Set aside.
Make the cream base. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the yogurt, heavy cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until fully combined and creamy with no lumps.
Layer the pops. Spoon a layer of the cream base into the bottom of each ice pop mold, filling about 1/3 of the way. Add a spoonful of the mashed berries and a few whole reserved berries. Repeat layers, finishing with the cream mixture on top. Use a skewer or thin knife to swirl gently for a marbled effect if desired.
Insert sticks and freeze. Place the ice pop sticks into the molds and cover. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until completely solid.
Unmold and serve. Run warm water briefly over the outside of the molds for 10–15 seconds to release the pops. Serve immediately or wrap individually in parchment and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Berry White Ice Pops — Simple Summer Cold From a Hollow That Knows How to Keep Things