Some Cool TreaTS To BeaT The TuCSon heaT
by Catharine Sutherland
Not lucky enough to spend Tucson’s hottest months basking in cloudy Vancouver? Buck up and cool down with the Old Pueblo’s newest twists on unique—and still good for you— frozen summer treats! When temperatures crank up
past 100 degrees, you can turn to one of our Sonoran Desert jewels, the colorful prickly pear fruit, for a hot pink, mouthwatering escape. Jeau and Charlie Allen introduced Prickly Pops!, all-natural popsicles made from the fruit and juice of local, handpicked fruit, last year at the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market annual Prickly Pear Harvest Market. An immediate hit with market-goers, Prickly Pops can now be devoured weekly at three local farmers’ markets and other area events. Visit
PricklyPops.com for details. “Our Prickly Pops are unique
to Tucson because we sell wild and heirloom Sonoran Desert flavors, among others,” says owner Jeau Allen. “Prickly pear cactus inspired our business and is by far our best seller year-round.” Don’t be fooled, though—
Prickly Pops now come in a whole
scrumptious range of ice-cold flavors. Seasonal pops feature mesquite and saguaro fruit, as well as mango, melon, and gorgeous Tohono O’Odham yellow-meated watermelon. Tantalizing new recipes in development include savory heirloom tomato-basil, salsa, horchata and Mexican chocolate (look for them by the end of summer!) Most flavors are naturally fruit-sweetened; for those that need a sweetness boost, the Allens use only organic evaporated cane juice. “Paletas de frutas, or ice pops,
are the closest you can come to eating pure, plain fruit,” Allen says. “An ice pop is a quick and healthy way to cool down your body’s core during our scorching summer heat.” Ironically, it’s Tucson’s scorching
sun that keeps another new city favorite, Isabella’s Ice Cream, frozen
on the road. Thanks to solar panels on the roof of “Minty,” a fully restored, 100 percent electric 1927 Model T Ford that carts Isabella’s treats through the streets, the truck’s freezers promise Tucsonans a cold dip of delicious ice cream all over town. “We are the only green solar and
electric ice cream truck that we know of,” says Kristel Johnson, co-owner with her husband, Dominic Johnson, of Isabella’s Ice Cream. “We also serve all-natural, pure ice cream that has no stabilizers or fillers.” Born of a desire for an
environmentally friendly ice cream truck with zero “creepiness” factor that Tucson families could feel good about, the Johnsons launched Isabella’s (named after one of their young daughters) last fall. The duo’s charming antique truck toting small- batch, French-pot method ice cream
NaturalTucson.com
July 2011
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