Hail to the Queen.

In the beginning, there was silence. Nothing, not even a cool breeze, disturbed the quiescent landscape. It was dull. And there were no frozen treats. All the land was dejected, still and motionless, all desserts were bland, mushy and warm.

Not very glamorous, darlings.

And then suddenly there appeared a wisp of chilly mist, a swirl of condensation. There was a brief glimpse of sequins. A tinkle of icy laughter. Harps strummed as if angels had plucked them. From within a billowing cloud of effervescence, a graceful hand emerged bearing a stick, on which was frozen something unseen before in the land, a ripe and fruity jewel of a confection. Faintly at first, then gathering in volume, a voice could be heard to emanate, and the words it spoke were..........

'HELLO, SWEETIES.'

The Queen of Pops had arrived.

Mango Rum Refreshers

(makes 6 4 oz. pops)

4 large ripe mangoes

juice of 6 limes

1/2 cup simple syrup

2/3 cup white rum

Bring 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Swirl around until all sugar is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat and place in refrigerator to cool.

Peel mangoes and remove pits, darlings. Chop roughly into cubes. Pulse mango cubes and lime juice in food processor in small batches, then puree until absolutely smooth. Pour into bowl, add rum and simple syrup, stir to combine. Pour into molds, freeze completely. Treat yourself whenever you, too, need to feel like fabulous royalty. In other words, often. ;)