Wild Strawberry Yogurt Ice Pops

Here's an icy treat to help you cool of during the dog days of summer: Blitz wild summer fruit in Greek yogurt and sweeten with honey. Freeze them in popsicle molds and they become a healthy, low-sugar treat that anyone would enjoy.

While gathering mulberries, Rick and I happened upon a lovely patch of wild strawberries. The cool part was that we were in town. These nature preserves and prairies are scattered all over Omaha, and they can provide some nice surprises. Our friend Marissa Jensen at Pheasants Forever lives near this particular prairie, and she was so kind to tell us about it. That day, Rick and I walked down a mowed path and saw splashes of bright red. We looked closer and found more and more fruit. They were like rubies, peaking up from underneath the green grass.

Several followers on Instagram pointed out that while this species  is pretty to look at, it isn't the most flavorful. And they were right. Indian strawberries (Potentilla indica), or mock strawberries, aren't really true strawberries. The flavor was faint, much like watermelon rind. Still, they had nice color and if complemented by the right ingredients, could be useful in the kitchen.

These ice pops were it. I had enough "strawberries" that the flavor did come through, which were reinforced by vanilla and honey. Of course, if you can find true wild strawberries, this recipe would be that much better. If you don't have access to either, use this recipe for any berry-- wild or store bought.

Servings: 6 ice pops
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of wild strawberries
- 1.5 to 2 cups of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons of honey

Directions:
In a food processor, blend three-fourths of the wild strawberries with a few spoonfuls of yogurt until smooth. Add the remaining strawberries and pulse a couple times to roughly chop. Transfer to a mixing bowl and mix in enough yogurt to fill ice pop molds (mine holds a total of 2 cups) and honey. Fill molds and freeze.