Mondays & Memories of My Mom – We all Scream for Ice Cream!

Happy Monday! Happy Canada Day! Happy summer! AND, last but not least, happy Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day!

The cold, wet, Michigan winter and spring is long gone – for now – and the “dog days of summer” are upon us! Let’s face it, occasionally it’s just too hot in the summer time to cook anything in the oven. So, on those days, why not eat out? …As in outside! Who doesn’t love backyard picnics with char-grilled food on beautiful, sunny, summer days?

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

At our house ‘eating out’ meant roasting hotdogs in the front yard. But, then, we didn’t know of many restaurants where 5 children, who hated green vegetables and spilled catsup on the tablecloths, were welcomed. I had to learn to cook by default…the way I saw it, as long as my husband could get marvelous fried chicken at home, why should he take me to Colonel Sanders’? – Gloria Pitzer [“No Laughing Matter”, This Cook is Rated X (or) Yes, Gloria! There Really is a Colonel Sanders (no date available)]

Personally, I don’t remember misbehaving like that! Maybe my two brothers were the culprits. But, in a way, I can relate to what Mom was saying! When my three kids were young and full of ADHD (one with an emphasis on the “H”), it was difficult to go to a sit-down-and-be-served-with-real-plates-and-silverware kind of restaurant.

Our special treats of “eating out” became picnicking in the yard or at a park, that is, weather permitting… if it was winter, it was always at a Burger King or McDonalds that had a designated play room/area for the kids to run around in between bites of their hamburgers and fries. It’s those rough winters that make us Michiganders appreciate the summer months even more than most others!

The Great Lakes region, in which I grew up and continue to live, is all about celebrating summer; especially after a long, hard Michigan winter! Any excuse for a yard party or backyard barbeque will do! I remember Mom & Dad taking all of us kids on boat rides up and down the St. Clair River, sometimes stopping along the way somewhere for a special ice cream treat! I can almost taste the Blue Moon ice cream now! I miss ice cream!

I have many great memories from my childhood of family, summer weekend vacations to places like Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island (MI), Cedar Point (OH), Tahquamenon Falls (MI), Niagara Falls (Ontario) and so on. Every year, while my siblings and I were growing up in the Algonac/Pearl Beach (MI) area, there were always picnics and various backyard barbecues to have or to attend. Our parents created so many awesome memories, about which we can happily reminisce – well, speaking for myself, anyway.

Summertime also had another special meaning for our family, as Mom and Dad’s first born and last born children – my oldest brother, Bill, and my younger sister, Cheryl – ironically, share July 3^rd as their birthdays (9 years apart)! The rest of us, Mom and Dad included, have winter birthdays. Birthday traditions and memories that Mom created for each of us, as we were growing up, included our choice of birthday cake and icing flavors, as well as our choice of what we wanted to have for dinner. AND we, also, got to choose what TV shows we wanted to watch that night! That was always a really big perk way-back-when!

I continued those traditions with my own children and I still do cake, ice cream and a meal for each of them, even though they’re all grown up now. Every year, every birthday – we still have a family dinner (or lunch, depending on the schedule of the birthday person) to celebrate the event! They still get their choice of what they want for their birthday meal (homemade or eating out), what kind of cake (or brownies, or something else to represent the “birthday cake”) and what kind of ice cream. My oldest daughter, Tara, has carried on these traditions with her son, as well.

#CreativeIcecreamFlavorDay

#NationalCreativeIcecreamFlavorDay

Today happens to be the national observance of “Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day”! Great information about the celebration can be found at https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-creative-ice-cream-flavors-day-july-1/ and https://www.nationaldaystoday.com/national-creative-ice-cream-flavor-day/. This day is annually commemorated to trying (and/or developing) a new flavor of ice cream. What a great idea for a hot summer day…unless, like me, you can’t have ice cream…at least, not the kind you can buy at the grocery store or at your favorite ice cream shop!

As I said earlier, I miss ice cream! I remember, as a child in the early 1970s, going out to get ice cream for a special summer treat! Back then, the mind-blowing, multi-fruity flavor of “Blue Moon” ice cream was probably the number-one choice (at least for kids) in Michigan!

The beautiful, “Smurf-Blue” color was mesmerizing – and hilarious at the same time when it stained our lips and tongues blue for a little while! Searching for the history of when “Blue Moon” ice cream was first developed (which I had always thought was by a Michigan creamery like Hudsonville’s or Stroh’s Ice Cream), led me into a mish-mash of various claims of origin.

There are a lot of big, national food companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Frito-Lays and Mars, just to name a few; who run big PR campaign, asking the public to come up with new flavor ideas and, then, have a public-voting “contest” on the ideas through purchases of their favorite flavors – two words – marketing genius!

I can’t have ice cream anymore, due to my low-carb life style. Even the “Carb-Smart” brand has more carbohydrates than I want to spend on one small treat. But, I remembered that Mom used to make ice cream at home, with heavy whipping cream(whipped stiff), sweetened condensed milk, sugar, vanilla and other flavor enhancers; using only a mixer, instead of buying one of those kitchen gadgets you only use a couple times a year.

Heavy whipping cream is practically free of carbs, but not the sweetened condensed milk and sugar, nor some of the flavor enhancers. I did some experimenting of my own and found that a pint of heavy whipping cream, whipped stiff with 2 small boxes of sugar-free orange gelatin and a few drops of orange extract created a wonderful imitation of orange sherbet, once mixed and frozen. The whole thing was practically carb-free! However, I still have to remember “everything in moderation”!

I could do the same with any sugar-free gelatin and flavoring available. I wonder how root beer flavored ice cream/sherbet would taste! I’m continuing to do some homemade ice cream experiments this summer, using Mom’s recipe for homemade sweetened condensed milk but substituting in products that are more low-carb friendly. I will definitely let you all know if I come up with anything good to share!

Use the Twitter hashtags, #CreativeIcecreamFlavorDay and #NationalCreativeIcecreamFlavorDay, to post your own creative ideas for ice cream flavors on social media!

MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

ICE CREAM SPECIALTIES

MANY OF THE GOOD MEMORIES we have of our own youth have been centered around situations in which we enjoyed a soda or a Good Humor on a stick… I can remember when the Boston Cooler came into popularity and when the ‘slush’ was offered at every 4^th of July carnival or amusement park…

HOMEMADE ICE CREAM – WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER

Making ice cream at home can be simple and accomplished without the advertised gadgets for electric ice cream makers – or the kind that Grandma used with the rock salt and the hand-operated crank. In fact, just a freezer container and an electric mixer can give you a very good dessert product that will be reminiscent of any you enjoyed from a commercial food company…

When memories visit you, years from now, you will probably recall among the famous ice cream places were Dairy Queen, Baskin-Robbins, Howard Johnson’s, Sanders and Friendly’s restaurants – as well as the famous specialties like Sander’s hot fudge topping, Eskimo pies, Spumoni (with chunks of cherries, almonds and pistachios included) – as well as, creamy, thick malts and milk shakes. These will remain favorites of an adoring public of loyal fans…

I must say, Sanders doesn’t just create chocolate delights – while they do have a large variety of products – the best things that they create are the memories!

In closing…

The following summer rerun is from one of my earlier blogs, Made With Love.

Michiganders (especially southeastern ones) know all about the mouth-watering, luscious, milk chocolate delights put out by Sanders’ Chocolatiers! As their company slogan once said, “When it’s from Sanders, even a little is a big, big treat.” I have a lot of great family-time memories of when Mom made this special treat for all of us – and it was especially fun to help her make it too! I mean, who wouldn’t LOVE to lick that spoon when done? I remember, as well, when I made it for my own kids while they were little – and it was a big treat for all of us! Here is what Mom had to say in her original book, Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret Recipes, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3^rd Printing) about the Sanders Company; plus, her favorite make-alike version of their hot fudge sauce (as always, asking only for proper credit if you care to share it):

MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

SANDERS’ HOT FUDGE was one of the nicest experiences I had in working with imitations of the famous recipes, for John (Jack) Sanders, the grandson and president of the company founded by his grandfather, Fred, was one of the sponsors of Warren Pierce’s radio show [found on WJR – Detroit]. Imagine my reluctance to share with his listeners my version of Sander’s hot fudge. I had previously had so many threatening letters from food company lawyers that I didn’t know what to expect if I heard from the Sanders people! To my amazement, the letter we anticipated did arrive only 2 days after I gave my version of the hot fudge recipe to Warren’s listeners. The letter, however, said – if it wouldn’t ruin my fun in trying to duplicate these famous dishes, would Paul and I and all the kids kindly accept an invitation from Jack Sanders to tour their Oakman Boulevard Bakery and Confection plant and meet their Head Chef, Edy Mader. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship, between my Secret Recipes and Fred Sander’s products and, I learned, encouraged many out-of-state orders for their products whenever I talked about them during my frequent radio visits around the country.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE – Like Sanders by Gloria Pitzer

Recipe Number 1 – Mom’s favorite!

Ingredients:

14-ounce can Eagle Brand milk

14 ounces light corn syrup (use EB milk can to measure)

¼ pound butter* (*per the “free sheet” copy; the cookbook – as written in 1983 – calls for ½ pound)

12 ounces Nestlé’s milk chocolate candy bars – Do not substitute on brand of candy!

a few drops vanilla extract

Instructions:

In top of double boiler, over simmering water, combine all ingredients as listed, stirring about 15 minutes until smooth and melted. Cover and continue cooking for at least 30 more minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes. Cool and put through your blender in small portions, using on/off agitation on high speed until mixture is satiny-smooth. Makes 1 quart. Keeps refrigerated up to a month – reheat in top of double boiler over simmering water. Freezes well up to 6 months.