Tag: National Ice Cream Month

ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day But Wait There’s More

Allison

There are so many more shops I didn’t get to visit this month! I’d read about a food truck called Sweet Lo’s. I really wanted to try them—Lo makes the base, and I’m learning this is a thing in the ice cream world. I messaged them on Facebook and Lo herself wrote back to me, explaining they’re just selling in stores right now.

I really appreciated her response. So even though I didn’t get a chance to have an ice cream date with friend at a Sweet Lo’s location, I picked up a pint on my way home July 31st and had a spoonful just to say I tried it this month.

I’m not sorry. This was really effin’ good. (And remember, I’d just been to Ice Cream Heaven earlier in the day.)

Very soft, creamy, and a great balance of cookies. I wish I’d been able to sample more flavors, but I will definitely try more in the coming months.

While I was in the ice cream aisle, I spotted some goodies from a creamery I hadn’t heard of: Whidbey Ice Cream. I got a basic vanilla pop with a chocolate shell. Because dinner, I guess. Whatever, it was also good. If you see it in the store, it’s a good ice cream fix!

ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 31

Allison
Snoqualmie Creamery with Anne! Anne was with me on Day 1. We thought it would be fun to finish the month together, too. Anne also has a cutting machine and a tee shirt press. At the end of June, I made my ice cream shirt the same night I made my pizza shirt because they are the top two of my Favorite Eleven Foods. I wasn’t even planning to wear the ice cream cone shirt on Day 1 but Anne’s kids thought the paint stains on my other shirt looked like bird poop.
So when we planned for today, I asked her to make a matching ice cream shirt. She tie-dyed it, too. Can you imagine what a hit we were in Maltby, Washington (pop. 10,000)?
I made this little cake cone thing for my ponytail. Before you ask, no, I did not pinterest it. I imagined it and sketched designs and glued it all on my own. I only burned myself once in the process. Sadly, I forgot to ask Anne the height clearance inside her car or to factor in that my hair in a bun weighs about seven pounds. Between the responsibility of operating someone else’s car and trying to preserve my coif, Anne said, “You’re not a very aggressive driver, are you?”
Between the ride and my impossibly thick hair, the cone slid down all afternoon. Every time I started to take a photo, Anne would say, “Wait! Your cone is flaccid.” They didn’t give us funny looks at the diner. Really.
Once at the Ice Creamery, we tried nearly all the flavors. I was disappointed to learn that they do not offer a tasting flight! However, our server, Kaden, let me sample as much as I wanted. I tasted nearly all the flavors. They had ice creams, gelati, custards, and sorbets.
Anne got a dish with Salty Caramel and Mukilteo Mudd. I got a cone with Peanut Butter Fudge, which I couldn’t finish, because, sampling. It was the second most beautiful scoop I received this month. Also, so you don’t think I’m a jerk, I tipped him 400%.
On the way home, we stopped for water. Anne dug into her change purse for coins. “I have exact change!”
“We have plenty of pennies in the take-a-penny cup,” the cashier said.
“No,” said Anne. “I have a lot of coins.” Anne then hoisted the equivalent of a fifteen-pound kettle ball in loose change.
“Oh! That is a lot of coins,” said the cashier.
“You should have felt this purse before I took out the ten Sacajawea dollars!”
“How did you end up with ten one-dollar coins?” I asked.
“The Tooth Fairy brings them,” said Anne. “Then I exchange them for paper money.”
“Why doesn’t the Tooth Fairy just bring paper money?”
“I don’t know!”
“Anne,” I said, “you know the kids aren’t here, right?”
“UGH!”
Later, we debated whether Kaden spelled his name with one or two Ds.
“It has to be just one,” I said, “that’s the rule!”
“What rule?”
For the next two miles, Anne intentionally mispronounced every street sign and my cone popped off my ponytail.
I’m pretty sure we’re the AbFab of Ice Cream now.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 30

Allison
Ice Cream Cruise with Tom! I’ve wanted to do this for a couple years and this month was the perfect time to make it happen. It was a great outing for the penultimate day of National Ice Cream Month.
I treated myself to this cap from Molly Moon’s but I’m pretending it’s a thank you gift from the Ice Cream Lobby. (Bonus: it still smells like the waffle cones they make in the store.)
We were married in a restaurant in that brown building.
The boat tools around Lake Union while Captain narrates silly Seattle trivia: the houseboat he almost bought for $600 in 1962, the rusted out Russian spy ship, Dale Chihuly’s bathroom, the Sleepless in Seattle house.
Below deck, the ticket seller/deckhand/ice cream server sells floats and treats. I got a basic ice cream sandwich and Thomas got a Dove bar. We spotted our apartment from the water and had a little “aww” moment when we passed the spot where we got married. It’s a splendid day to be on the water.

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 29

Allison
Lots of ice cream in today’s ice cream adventure at the South Lake Union Saturday Market.
This is a newish market in our rotating neighborhood farmers markets. It has the feel of being a consolation prize for Amazon employees stuck working on Saturday. It’s only a block long and no fresh produce sold here, just prepared food. Once a month they have a theme and this month it’s ice cream. I was able to taste 3 shops I haven’t been to yet this month.
Sweet Bumpas’ menu
I started with Sweet Bumpas, which several of you have encouraged me to try. I opted for a scoop of the Fresh Mint Cocoa Crumble. I liked the sample, but the flavors were…overpowering for a whole scoop. I also sampled: Chocolate Malt (very good) and Chipotle Peanut Brittle (spicy good).
Perfectly blueberry, perfectly creamy, and perfectly frozen pop.
Next, I tried Seattle Pops. I bought a Blueberries and Cream Pop. Blueberry is one of my Top Eleven Favorite Foods, and this pop didn’t disappoint. It was creamy enough to be sweet and yet not overwhelm the blueberry. It was also iceberg-level-frozen: great for a hot day.
Ice cream sandwich from Street Treats: Snickerdoodle cookies and Coffee ice cream.
I made my way over to Street Treats. They sell ice cream sandwiches and it’s kind of fun to order. You get to pick your flavors on the spot. They give you a generous scoop in between two delicious homemade cookies. I sampled Coffee and Toasted Coconut ice cream flavors. I couldn’t really taste the coconut, probably because my tongue was still thawing from the popsicle. I got a sandwich with Coffee Ice Cream (made with Caffe Vita coffee) and snickerdoodle cookies. So good! Their shop is in the nearby Central District neighborhood, so I’ll be going back. When I went to tip them, I realized that I accidentally dropped my used sample spoons in the tip jar. The owner said, “Eh. They’re as clean as money, right?” So there’s that.
I sat down to eat the sandwich and found myself next to a bulldog. He was in a baby stroller. He was not the only dog in a baby stroller here, but he was the only one wearing a bowtie. Down the block, a busker played the Batman theme song on a violin.
There was a line about 70 people and 3 dogs deep for “rolled ice cream.” Every time I passed, I asked people if it was good. “I dunno! I haven’t tried it yet.” I talked with folks in the line for Hawaiian Shave Ice, and they said that the market doesn’t have the rolled ice cream very often.
“Is it good?” I asked.
“It looks good in pictures,” they said. Sure enough, when I got a closer look at the line, it went: order food, get food, stage photo, exit line. I re-applied my lip balm, which had started to liquefy in my purse, and decided to skip this one.
Being at the street market reminded me of a few icy goodies from back home that I really miss: the waffle sandwiches at Dorney Park and good ol’ Italian Ice from a truck. If you’re in PA, have some for me!
Tomorrow is the long-awaited Ice Cream Cruise—today’s event was accidentally posted as happening tomorrow, so I don’t have to double up tomorrow. Whew! There’s just two more days till the end of National Ice Cream Month. If you haven’t had an ice cream adventure this month, hurry up!
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 28

Allison
Canarino in Edmonds, with Kate! I was so excited to try this that Kate had to remind me to take a photo. This shop has a tasty selection. I sampled the Pear sorbetto, Dark Chocolate sorbetto, and Chai gelato.
My complexion has gone haywire this month (I refuse to see a connection, thankyouverymuch). This morning I made my own facial toner with tea tree and lemon essential oils and witch hazel. As I left the house, my husband said, “you smell like Lemon Pledge.” Fortunately, it was a warm morning and I drove with the sunroof open to off-gas my face.
But lemon was on my mind, I guess. I chose the eponymous Canarino gelato, with its lemony goodness and bits of cookies. Kate, who did not recoil from my vapors, had a combo of Amaretto and Vanilla gelato.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 26

Allison
Walter’s in Ballard with my friend Lisa! Walter’s serves Snoqualmie Ice Cream. Mine is Root Beer and Dutch Vanilla, Lisa got Peach (ice cream, not sorbet, though both were on the menu).
We both sampled the Cucumber Lime Sorbet, which I liked but Lisa thought it tasted like hand sanitizer. I was confused about that until she said “Bath & Body Works” and then it clicked.
Walter’s is a totally cute little place where you can get: ice cream, espresso, beer, and wine. If you sit outside you can pet all the neighborhood dogs whether you want to or not. The shop was apparently out of beer pretzels. The customer in front me said, “I should have brought my own nuts.”
Ballard: I should have brought my own nuts.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 25

Allison
Tomato Melon Mint at Frankie & Jo’s on Capitol Hill. This was so darn good! It tastes mostly of watermelon (which I love), but the tomato and mint really make it interesting. The texture is very, very nice.
Frankie & Jo’s is a “plant-based ice cream” shop. The ice cream is crazy flavorful. The few others I tried tasted magnificent but the textures were a little gritty for my liking. I sampled California Cabin, Gingered Golden Milk, and Chocolate Date.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 24

Allison
Tom and I went to Scoop Du Jour in Madison Park, where they service Olympic Mountain Ice Cream. I had a double scoop of Kentucky Pie (chocolate ice cream with Oreos and pralines) and the not-at-creatively named Vanilla Salted Caramel Swirl Fudge Brownie. T had the Kentucky Pie. The ice cream was good. I didn’t sample anything else there, though they had some interesting-looking soft serve frozen yogurt flavors.
We ate our cones outside, near a couple who were having cones with their young grandson. After a while, we heard the grandson’s little voice exclaim, “I ate it all, all the ice cream AND THE CONE!” His grandparents cheered and they walked to the park. Remember when we used to be praised for eating a lot of food? You go, kiddo. Eat it all.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 23

Allison
Coconut and Mora (blackberry) at Mora on Bainbridge. With Christine and Carolyn! We sampled nearly every flavor between the three of us. I went for the blackberry because it’s their signature flavor. I sampled some caramel chocolate, dulce de leche, Italian chocolate, mojito, and chocolate peanut butter.
 
Here Carolyn has Mora and Sabayan, Christine has dulce de leche and banana.
ice cream

National Ice Cream Month, Day 22

Allison

Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven Layer Bar at Mary Kaye’s house. This is a non-dairy ice cream made with almond milk and almost everything else thrown in: caramel, chocolate, graham crackers, and I don’t know what else. As with most Ben & Jerry’s pints, I could eat this in one sitting. What?