Thursday, November 8, 2007

I Scream You Scream...

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!

A few days back, as I was strolling through the ice cream aisle, trying to keep my eyes forward and my motivation to resist ice cream strong, I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye. There it was. In all of it's pink and red and green glory. Peppermint ice cream. I was able to resist buying a carton even though my instincts were telling me to buy every box they had. (It is a novelty at this time of year you know.)

I have spent the last few days being proud of myself for resisting the urge to buy the holiday treat so early in the season but yet, the craving would not go away. It would creep up and continually assault me until I ate something else, just as bad for me, but NOT Peppermint ice cream, and still the craving would continue. And, so, like any woman with an insanely strong sweet tooth, self discipline that can not compete, and an affection for any ice cream really, I caved. And I am happy. And I have no remorse. And I plan on buying another carton when this one is gone. Which, if the eating trend continues, isn't too far out!

You know how certain songs or smells will remind you of a person or event? Yeah? Well, I get that too. BUT with ice cream.

The peppermint ice cream that I am eating right this very moment (yummo!) reminds me of my little sister and of our birthdays. Our birthdays are two days apart in December. And so for many a SHARED birthday celebrations we were treated with peppermint ice cream. Every year at our birthday party, I used to wish that I could have a party just for me. I was tired of getting matching presents with a sister who was three years younger than me. I wanted a cake all my own. I didn't want Cindy to blow out the candles, and then add three more so it could be my turn. And yet, as I sit here eating this ice cream, reminiscing about birthdays past and thinking about our birthdays to come, I am wishing that we lived in the same city so that this year we COULD SHARE a party. So, Cindy, on our birthdays, I will eat more peppermint ice cream and will be thinking about you!

Here are a few other flavors of ice cream that make me feel all warm and thoughtful inside. (Who knew that ice cream could make you feel warm?!?!)

Mint Chocolate Chip- This flavor reminds me of, well, of me! It is MY FAVORITE. Kendon's too. Sometimes we get in ice cream funk and buy this over and over again. It still makes me happy though!

Bubble Gum- My grandpa and grandma Bigelow used to take us to a quaint little ice cream shop called Delsa's. It was a real treat to go there. My sisters and I used to get the bubble gum ice cream. We would spit the bubble gum chunks into a napkin and save it for after we were finished with our ice cream. The only problem with this plan is that the napkin would stick to the bubble gum. That would make for extra chewy gum. Yuck!

Root Beer Floats - Technically not a flavor of ice cream but this is my dad's all time favorite treat. I would be curious to know on average, how many root beer floats my dad consumes in a week during the summer. Just curios. I can not eat a root beer float without thinking of my dad. And my dad will always offer to make you a float too and he will ALWAYS make it for you. You would never have to scoop your own when dad is around.


Cherry Dip Cone from DQ- When I was going to school in Lewiston my roommates and I went to DQ every Thursday night before Survivor. I always ordered a DOUBLE dipped cherry dip cone. One night I asked the casheir girl, "do I know you? You look so familiar." She looked at me a minute and replied, "I think you know me from HERE!" Ya, I think maybe we should have watched the DQ habit a bit more closely.

Peach- When Kendon and I were first married and we bought LOTS more ice cream than we do now, we got adventurous and stepped out of our mint habit for a time. For a while peach was our new favorite. I never would even have thought to buy peach ice cream. Kendon has really taught me a thing or two!

Any weird out of season flavor. Like Peppermint in July - My grandpa Bigelow LOVED ice cream and when we ate at his house a meal was always ended with ice cream. Grandpa would buy a lot of his ice cream at some local mart that sold old ice cream at a discount. He was always bringing home weird or out of season flavors. Many times he would douse a sugar cube in lemon extract, put it on top of our ice cream and light it on fire. Ice cream on flambe! (flaum- bay) It made the ice cream taste like yucky lemon but it made grandpa so happy!

Raspberry Sherbet- My best friend all through high school and college, Camilla, loved to eat Sherbet. She is this TINY skinny little thing but has always been health conscious, hence her choice to choose sherbet. I always agreed to eat the sherbet, pretending to be happy that we were making a "smart" ice cream choice, while I was secretly wishing for something chocolate the whole time! Whenever we would go to TCBY, Camilla would order raspberries for her topping. NOT ME! I always chose toffee! I guess that is why Camilla can still wear a kids size 16 and I CAN'T!

Phish Food- I loved it when a boy was mean to a roommate in college because we would always "fix it" with ice cream. And we all know that sherbet can't fix a broken heart. No way! We were all about the YUMMY, loaded with chocolate, marshmallow and caramel, Ben and Jerry's Phish Food!


Okay, I need to stop. I have already put the ice cream up (only because I had been eating it for so long- straight from the carton- that it was melting.) But, if I keep going on and on about ice cream I am going to have no choice but to reopen the carton of deliciousness!

What is your favorite flavor?




16 comments:

Kim said...

Thanks for the reminder of the on fire, sugar cubes. I so loved that...loved everything about Gpa, but what a fond memory--now I am all smiles! XOXOXO

I usually love mint chocolate chip as well, but lately have been all into Pinkberry...healthy choice, but SO DELICIOUS. When you come visit Snap and I will take you there.

Nortorious said...

I'm in love with Peppermint too! Have you ever poured a little milk over it? Delicious. I've stashed it round the year, too. You are not alone, Lisa Marie.
Pinkberry is an insult to the tastebuds.

Paige said...

Ben and Jerry's New York SuperFudge Chunk. And when you ask your husband to get you some, you have to ask for it by it's FULL name. It's the rule.

Laurel said...

I am all about the rocky road. Always have been. But I have been recently converted to Schwan's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. And yes, it has to be Schwan's. It has the perfect mix of salt and sweet. Mmm. Lastly, my husband, the ice cream devil, has gotten me hooked on mint chip shakes. I don't like the ice cream, just the shakes. Okay, I might be a little passionate about things.

Bridget said...

Oh, don't get my husband started on ice cream. His grandpa owned an ice cream shop when he was a kid. Ice cream at my in-laws is not a luxury dessert, its a staple. Just as much as bread or milk is.

Isn't it funny how food can really bring back such fond memories?

Hollyween said...

I love love love ice cream. Lately my favorite is Frosted Rock (poor man's Cold Stone) and I get cake batter and sweet cream with raspberries and I have them keep the flavors separated so I can appreciate every bite. DELISH.

You might be jealous to know that I worked at Dairy Queen for two years. Cherry dip was ALWAYS my favorite. I still love the dilly bars too. I was pro at the signature curl on the top. People would ask for me by name. I'm serious.

Jessica said...

I would be tempted, if I wasn't already sick off of SweeTarts (obviously moving down Paige's Grading scale at this point.)

D-dawg said...

My fav. is also peppermint for sure! It is so delicious. I think it would be hard to have a b-day in December. Did that bother you? My daughters is Dec. 15th and I worry about it.

Now I need to go have a bowl of ice cream before bed!

Celia Fae said...

I always buy the peppermint but then I get sick of it right away. It doesn't have any chocolate in it.

I can't keep ice cream in my house. Everyone devours it the minute I get it out of the car, so I just don't buy it. Does that make me a bad mom?

I like chocolate with stuff in it, like nuts or marshmallows. I like to chew. My husband licks and he is always done after me and then I feel jealous.

Talia said...

What a DELICIOUS post! My favorite (i've only had it once) is Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. I tried it in Las Vegas and haven't seen it since! I'd kill for a scoop(or 10) right now! They have something similar in the stores now that my husband LOVES which is Cinnamon Buns. It's good, but no Oatmeal Raisin Cookie!

Arin Rohrbach said...

I'm going through the urges to buy peppermint ice cream too! It's one of my favorite. My ultimate favorite is mint choc. chip. Unfortunately my husband hates anything mint. He says it tastes like toothpaste. So I have to decide if it's worth buying a half gallon that I have to finish by myself. I may still have it in the fridge around July, but I usually decide it's worth it.

Kirsten said...

now i'm afraid to go shopping this afternoon--i might buy ice cream! and then attempt to eat it on the half hour drive to pick up phillip! (what a fun adventure, i might do it anyway)
strawberry is what makes my heart go pitter patter. and a nice big scoop of cookie dough or oreo wouldn't be turned down, either!

Grandma W. said...

You know your Grandma! If it is
chocolate, I eat it! I do love
Rocky Road though,or chocolate almond. However, I do like pralines and cream too! I got that habit from Papa. That or maple nut, carmel nut or anything along that line is his favorite!
Maybe we can go have something chocolate while you are here!!!
We love you!

Christie said...

When we lived in Boston, we drove up to Vermont and toured the Ben & Jerry's factory. Words cannot even describe the deliciousness happening in that place on a daily basis. Did you know that they were going to either make bagels or ice cream, but the ice cream machine was cheaper? Can you imagine the world without Ben and Jerry's ice cream and instead having Ben and Jerry's bagels? Thank GOODNESS they went with ice cream.

P.S. Have you tried to egg nog flavored ice cream? It's HEAVEN in a bowl, I tell you.

Jake said...

I was just telling my kids about my favorite ice cream sundae when I was little. It was called a "Pink Panther" and it was peppermint icecream with hot fudge and a banana. Lots of nuts and whipped cream too. Usually I am not an ice cream freak...but peppermint is too irresistable!

I knew we were soul sisters...

Katherine said...

Pistachio. It's so good! I am going to post one of my mom's recipes for peppermint dessert soon. You should check it out. It's a chocolate cookie crust with a layer of hot fudge sauce on top. You freeze it for at least 24 hours, and it is perfect.