Buenos días!

This week I have been bitten by the travel bug. Not only have I just confirmed a trip to Melbourne and a trip back home to the UK, but I also have a girls vacay in Mexico to look forward to this summer – arriba, arriba!

I SO EXCITED for Mexico – cue the Pointer Sisters and a hairbrush for a microphone moment. I am a HUGE fan of Mexican food and can always be found at Fogõn, our local Mexican restaurant, for Thursday Happy Hour, where I blissfully fill my face with taco’s, tortilla’s, torta’s and tequila shots – why is it that so many great Mexican things begin with a T?

Last summer we holidayed in Puerto Vallarta, it was the first time I’d ever been to Mexico. I dreamt of the picturesque scenes that the brochure had promised: blue skies, a tranquil pool with crisp white sun loungers and a never-ending supply of chilled margaritas. However, the reality was somewhat different.

I didn’t need someone to tell me where the pool was, I could hear it as soon as the door of our taxi opened. The place was absolute chaos. It was as though the child catcher had given up on his thankless task and released his little prisoners at our hotel. There was more water on the patio than in the pool and you couldn’t see any water for the sea of giant inflatables.

Having convinced my husband not to book a taxi straight back to the airport, we decided to avoid the disaster zone of the pool and treat ourselves to some well-deserved Mexican food in the restaurant. Ouch – it was as if we had magically teleported ourselves home when the waiter proudly presented us with a menu offering french fries, hamburgers and hot dogs – nooooooo! Having taken advantage of the all-inclusive, “drink to forget” package, we retired to our room filled with disappointment, heartburn and burger breath.

We awoke the next day to what can only be described as a miracle. The children and their inflatables had all but disappeared, revealing a beautiful pool complete with swim-up bar and we spent the rest of the holiday relaxing in the sunshine and feasting on the most amazing Mexican food – not from the hotel, I might add.

My foodie discovery of this vacay was Mexican Horchata, a milky drink made with ground rice, sugar and flavoured with cinnamon – delicioso!

As my mind wandered back to memories of Mexico, and towards my forthcoming holiday, I was inspired to re-visit this milky Mexican beverage and transform it into cool and refreshing Mexican Horchata Ice Pops.

I added a little heavy cream to create a more milky pop and the result was outstanding – even if I do say so myself! In fact, it was so good I also made some Mexican Horchata Ice Cubes to add to my daily cup of cold brew coffee. In keeping with the Mexican theme, I used large Calaveras Skull Ice Moulds and Zombie Ice Pop Moulds as a rather early tribute to the Mexican Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday, but of course, you can use regular ice lolly moulds to make your Mexican Horchata Ice Pops Recipe.

Adiós!