Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 9, 2010
Kay's Cooking Corner
Kay Bona
July is National Ice Cream Month, so if you don’t already have a reason to eat all of the creamery concoctions out there, you do now. Thanks to Ronald Reagan. It was in 1984, that President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day.
I have a nice recipe for you, if you are in the still one of the ones that prefers to make it from scratch. Don and I were in Williams and Sonoma a few days ago and they were having an Ice Cream tasting. Yum. They had several different kinds with all the toppings. It was really good stuff, and of course we bought more than we’ll probably eat, but how does that old cliché go? We were “in the moment”?
If you like to cut corners when cooking (which happens as you get older), W&S has just the deal. It is a plethora
of flavored ice cream mixes, where all you do is stir them together with milk or cream and stick it in your handy dandy Cuisinart Ice Cream maker. Presto, you have ice cream in a matter of minutes.
That is how W&S present it. I’m sure if you have any kind of ice cream maker, it will work and taste just as good. The big thing here is that it is quick.
My mom and I were talking about how ice cream making has evolved. The above method takes about twenty minutes. Her method, when she was young and growing up in Dyess, Arkansas, took about - well almost all day, as far as I can tell.
You probably know that Dyess was the home of the “Man in Black” – or the late, great, Johnny Cash. Mom and Johnny were pretty tight I think. In fact, I think he had a crush on her. Or I could be wrong. I like to say that anyway. Sounds exciting. Back to ice cream.
Long, long time ago, in Dyess, Mom says they would get a one-gallon, galvanized bucket with a bail. In case you’re as uneducated as myself on buckets, a bail is a fancy name for a handle. Next, they would pour the ice cream mix in it. They placed that bucket into a larger one filled with the chipped ice (a 50-pound block delivered by the iceman). They would cover the ice with rock salt and newspaper to keep it from melting as quickly, and then two or three of them would stir with long spoons, while another would rotate the bucket back and forth until it was ready to eat. She said they would usually make two batches since there were six of them in the family.
Yup, that probably did take just about all day! But they had strong, cotton-pickin’ arm muscles, so it was probably quicker than I think. However, she did say that the Fourth of July was about the only time they performed this feat. I understand.
Boy, times have changed and are we ever spoiled. Sometimes I feel as spoiled as Zsa-Zsa Gabor on Green Acres (which is another trip down memory lane!).
So, I have run out of room for my ice cream trivia, although how to make ice cream in the 30’s and 40’s was trivia enough, huh?
Have a great ice cream month, and Mom, I’m gonna have you over for some W&S Ice Cream made with my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker - twenty minutes or less! This weekend when I have more time…
Pina Colada Ice Cream
3 cups whole milk
1 package (3.4 oz) Instant
Coconut Cream Pudding
1 small can (8 ounces)
crushed pineapple, drained
1 small jar Maraschino
cherries, halved
1 teaspoon rum flavoring
(optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl; mix on medium speed until well blended. Pour into prepared ice cream maker and freeze as directed. Makes about 1 quart.
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