Book Entry 91: 1970 Homemade Ice-Cream

             

             Another recipe calling for lots of eggs is homemade ice-cream.  The summer of 1970 we made lots of ice-cream.  We made vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, chocolate chip, and banana.  I always followed the recipe exactly how my mom had given it to me.  It always turned out perfectly delicious!

          James Weathers, a friend, and our cousin Reggie Jantz were visiting one hot August day.  We decided to make homemade ice-cream.   While the guys went to get the ice and cream I started the mixture.  I chose to make banana because I had a big bunch of bananas ripe and ready to use.  

The recipe calls for three ripe bananas.  I had eight ripe bananas.   I kept adding one at a time until all eight were in the blender with the sugar and a little milk.  I figured if three bananas give ice-cream such a yummy flavor surely eight bananas would make it even better!  When the guys got back I added the cream to the mixture and they started turning.

 

When the cranking was finished we covered the mixer with burlap and more ice to let it ripen.  The hardest step in making homemade ice-cream is always the hour or two of letting it stand before scooping it!   When the waiting was over we uncovered the container moving ice and salt carefully away from the lid so none would get in the ice-cream and ruin it.  

I was proudly scooping heaps of ice-cream into the three giant cereal bowls the guys were holding.  When it was my turn I scooped mine, covered the remaining ice-cream with the lid, and started eating.  I had noticed while scooping the consistency of the ice-cream was different from usual.  It usually felt a lot like a Foster Freeze soft ice-cream cone.  I figured it was because of all the bananas I’d put in this batch it felt and looked a little thicker.  It was sticky!  I’d had trouble getting some to come out of the scooper.  

When I took my first bite it felt odd on my tongue.  It felt like glue!  It tasted like sweetened mashed bananas.  That doesn’t actually sound too bad but it was.  I looked at the guys.  They had all left their lawn chairs and were standing strangely close to the back fence.  The all had their backs to me.  They were talking and laughing but they weren’t eating ice-cream!  

They were all so sweet.  I think they were afraid to upset me.  I was after all, in a delicate condition, seven months pregnant.  We were all young and inexperienced with situations like this.  When I spoke to them they slowly turned toward me with sheepish looks on their faces scrapping their empty bowls.  

 

When I offered them a second helping they were all kind enough to put their bowls forward and let me fill them again.  I took just a little bit more for myself.  When I took my bowl and the ice-cream mixer into the kitchen I looked back at the guys as the glass door was sliding closed.  They were all standing at the fence again.  I saw ice-cream dropping from their bowls to the ground on the outside of the fence!

I put my dishes on the counter and hurried back into the yard.  All three of the guys had a little ice-cream left in their bowl.  They made sure I saw each of them putting big bites of ice-cream into their mouths.  They smacked their lips and bragged about how good the ice-cream tasted.  We all sat in the shade for a few minutes while they cleaned their bowls.  When I offered them a third helping they said in unison they were full.  

I already loved Larry but I loved James and Reggie too after that day!