Howdy, everyone! Sorry I’ve been a bit here and there lately, always making really random posts in no specific order, posting less than once a week, and being very short in my posts. That’s because summer has ended and classes have begun. Since we last saw each other, I started class, ended my summer work at the auditorium, and most importantly….

I TURNED 21!!

Woohoo! I’m finally 21, I can hang out at bars if I so please, I can actually celebrate the fact that my hometown is the Birthplace of the American Wine Industry, and most importantly, I can celebrate all the great 21+ things that Bloomington has to offer, like Oliver Winery!

Oliver Winery is a well known winery in Bloomington that has been making high-quality wine since the 60′s. It started as a hobby, but now they’re into more than just wine. They’ve put themselves into these cute cans and added a little fizz.

That’s right, y’all! Beanblossom Hard Ciders.

We’re talking sweet. We’re talking apples mixed with peaches, blueberries, and more.

When they asked little old me to cook with their wine, I was ecstatic! I immediately started brainstorming and came up with these fabulous late summer/early fall treats. It also helped that my friend Chanc just handed be a large basket of peaches and a huge basket of apples, both freshly picked from his family’s farm. Talk about local cooking.

A word about Oliver’s Beanblossom Peach Hard Cider

Fabulous. But really, here’s the scoop. Oliver blends apples and natural flavors (in this case, peaches), and ferments them to create this delicious, fizzy drink. It’s sweet with a slight kick of carbonation and alcohol. If you’re not feeling peach today, try the original apple cider, strawberry, raspberry or blueberry. All the flavors come in cans or bottles, decorated with hilarious illustrations and bright colors. I think I’m in love. I’ve been most keen on the peach, peachy keen if you will, but I’m really excited to get my hands on the others soon!

OLIVER BOOZY HARVEST POPSICLES
Yields 12 Popsicles
*THESE POPSICLES ARE FOR ADULTS, THEY CONTAIN ALCOHOL*

Ingredients

6 small baking apples, cored, peeled and thinly chopped. Peels and cores reserved
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance Margarine, melted
1 cup water
2 250ml cans Oliver Beanblossom Peach Hard Cider
3 large peaches, pitted and sliced
pinch of sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with foil.

Toss together sliced apples, margarine, and brown sugar. Spread apple mixture onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until apples are tender enough to pierce with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the reserved peels, cores, and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain liquid into a large measuring cup. Discard peels and cores. Combine 2 cans of Beanblossom Peach Hard Cider with the apple juice.

Assembly

Place a few small peach slices inside the popsicle mold so the line the sides. In the middle of the mold, place a few apple slices. The mold should be about half way full.

Fill the remainder of the mold with your apple juice-hard cider mixture and insert a popsicle stick. If the popsicle stick doesn’t seem to stay upright, try spearing an apple or peach with it, then inserting it into the popsicle.

Once all the popsicles have been assembled, sprinkle each with a dash of sugar.

Freeze for 6 hours, or until completely solid.

To remove popsicles from molds, run the mold under hot water for 2-3 seconds, until the treats are easy to remove.

THE REVIEW

I think I’m a popsicle obsessed cook. I loved the tart flavor of the cider, combined with the sweet, frozen peaches. The fizziness of the hard cider also translated to the popsicles, adding a little kick to the popsicles. The peaches and apples were somewhat soft, so it was easy to take a bite of each piece of fruit and still taste the cider.

These treats may be cold, but they have the flavor of fall. There is a balance of peach and apple flavors, while the butter and brown sugar sweeten things up just a little bit. Something like a peach-apple cobbler (adding that to my list of things to make…).

Also, they’re Hearty Herbivore created and tested..

….and Boyfriend approved!!

Now, who wants to go to the Oliver Tasting Room with me? I hear The Vallures are playing soon….