IMPORTING THE SUPERIOR POPSICLE:

Icy, spicy, cool: Handmade paletas — Mexican ice pops — have traditional flavors and cutting-edge style (Betty Hallock, August 22, 2007, LA Times)

SUMMERTIME is paleta time. These Mexican ice pops -- chock-full of chunks of fresh fruit and available in a hypnotizing array of colors and clear, not-too-sweet flavors -- conjure images of hot afternoons in the park, time spent on a bench under a shady tree, clear blue skies dotted with red, white and green balloons.

That's not just some idyllic Latino-Rockwellian fantasy. On a recent 80-degree-plus weekend in the courtyard of Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, a family of five took advantage of a park bench and a view of a replica of the Ángel de la Independencia, each of them holding fast to summer by his or her Popsicle stick. Customers at the nearby Paletería La Michoacana, a small, often crowded shop tucked into a corner of the plaza, lined up for paletas in flavors such as tamarindo, hibiscus flower and mango con chile. (If summer in L.A. had a flavor, it might be mango con chile.)

But if you haven't yet visited one of L.A.'s many neighborhood paleterías, you most likely haven't experienced fresh, handcrafted made-on-the-premises ice pops. Really, you've never had Popsicles or ice cream bars like these -- a treat so idolized that one city in Michoacán has even raised a statue of a paleta at the entrance to the town. [...]

Cucumber-chile paletas

Total Time: 30 minutes, plus freezing time

Servings: 9 (3-ounce) paletas

Note: From recipe tester Noelle Carter. Popsicle molds are available at select Bed, Bath & Beyond stores and online at target.com and amazon.com.

2 pounds (about 2 large) cucumbers, plus an additional half cucumber, divided

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

½ cup sugar

1 dried New Mexico chile pepper, slightly crushed

1 teaspoon New Mexico chile powder

1 teaspoon cayenne chile powder

1 teaspoon salt

1. Place empty ice-pop molds in the freezer to chill. Dice 2 pounds of the cucumber into 1-inch pieces; do not remove the skins. Place the pieces in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Strain into a medium bowl through a fine mesh strainer, pushing out the juice with some of the pulp. You should have 2 1/2 cups juice and pulp. Set aside.

2. Peel the remaining half-cucumber and cut it into half-inch-by-one-eighth-inch pieces. Set aside in a small bowl.

3. Add the lime juice, sugar and crushed chile pepper to a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.

4. In a small bowl, combine the chile powders. Strain the cooled syrup into the bowl with the cucumber juice, discarding the crushed pepper. Stir in the salt and one-fourth teaspoon of the combined chile powders.

5. Pour some of the mixture into each mold, leaving about a half-inch of space at the top. Stir several pieces of cucumber into each mold. Place lid on the molds and fit with the wooden stick. Place the molds in the freezer and freeze until solid, 2 to 4 hours.

6. Remove the molds from the freezer and run them briefly under warm water to loosen the paletas. Gently pull them from the molds and sprinkle the tops lightly with the remaining chile powder mixture to taste, if desired. Wrap the paletas in plastic wrap and return them to the freezer if not serving immediately. They will keep 1 to 2 weeks in the freezer.