Cucumber-Lime & Gold Paletas

For the Cucumber-Lime Paletas with Kiwi and Mint:
Yields 8 (2.5 oz) ice pops

12 oz (1.5 cups) cucumber juice from about 2 medium English cucumbers – peeled
6 oz – 8 oz (3/4 to 1 cup) mint simple syrup – depending on how sweet
you like it
4 oz (1/2 cup) fresh lime juice
20 g (1 cup, packed) mint leaves (from about 1 bunch)
2 or 3 kiwis – peeled and thinly sliced

For the Gold Paletas:
Yields 8 (2.5 oz) ice pops

12 oz (1.5 cups) fuji apple juice – from about 3 apples, cut in half and cored
8 oz (1 cup) golden beet juice – from about 4 beets, peeled and trimmed
1.5 oz (3 tablespoons ) turmeric juice – from about 3-5 pieces of
turmeric root washed and peeled
1.5 oz (3 tablespoons) ginger juice – from about a 5” piece of ginger
root washed and peeled
2 oz (4 tablespoons) simple syrup (or more to taste)

For the Cucumber-Lime Paletas with Kiwi and Mint:
Make the simple syrup. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup of sugar and 1
cup of water over medium-high heat, stirring until dissolved. Turn off
the heat, add the mint, cover, and steep 30 minutes to 1 hour. Strain
to discard the mint. Refrigerate up to 2 months.

Make the juice. In a juicer, juice the cucumber, measure out 12 oz
(1.5 cups), and set aside. Alternatively, coarsely chop the cucumbers
and purée in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh
sieve, measure out 12 oz (1.5 cups), and set aside.

In a large pitcher, combine the cucumber juice, the lime juice, and
the desired amount of simple syrup. I prefer to use 6 oz (3/4 cup) of
simple syrup, which makes a sweet but not too sweet ice-pop. Add a
full 8 oz (1 cup) of simple syrup for something a little sweeter.

Freeze the ice-pops. Divide liquid among the ice-pop molds filling
half way. Insert a kiwi slice in each mold and freeze until partially
solid and slushy in consistency, about 1 hour. Fill the molds the
remainder of the way and insert another kiwi slice and stick into each.
Freeze until solid, about 4 hours more.

For the Gold Paletas:

Make the simple syrup. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 of cup sugar and 1
of cup water over medium-high heat, stirring until dissolved.
Refrigerate up to 2 months.

Prepare the juice. Using a juicer, separately juice the apples, beets,
turmeric, and ginger and measure out the correct amount of each before
adding the liquid to a large pitcher. Stir in the desired amount of
simple syrup. I prefer to use 2 oz of sugar, which makes these
ice-pops taste more like a cold-pressed juice. Add a bit more for
something a little sweeter. An extra tablespoon of mango juice in each
ice-pop mold would be a nice alternative.

Freeze the ice-pops. Divide liquid among the ice-pop molds filling
almost to the top and insert a stick into each. Transfer to the
freezer and freeze until solid, about 5 hours. To prevent the ice-pops
from separating, carefully stir up the liquid periodically using the
stick in the first 1 hour. Once the ice-pops begin to set you can stop
stirring.