Well, I'm sure you don't need my front window to look out your front window to see how raw, rainy, and nasty it is out there today. Perfect ice cream sundae weather if you ask me. But I suppose I'm a bit biased. In any event, I hope you're enjoying this fine little Nor'easter. Before you know it, Nor'easter will take on a whole new meaning...So what's to do in a lonely ice cream shop on a rainy day in late September you wonder? There's no shortage of projects for me. Restock. Reorder. Organize basement. Pay bills. Then there are more interesting projects... Sort thru candy catalogs for ideas. Make some new JimArt cards. Blog.
Or dig out the Halloween decorations from the basement. Good idea. I'll have to get back to you with a shot or two of this year's display of gouliness, so for now let me just distract you with a few confectionary delights of the season...
Candy Bats...
Candy pumpkins...
And my favorite, the pooping tricky kitty...
Many more on the way...
Turning to hopefully more interesting topics, I wanted to share a link to a great new local blogger's blog....
Adventures in the Pioneer Valley: Watch Out Herrell's - Here Comes Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream!
In her blog 'Adventures in the Pioneer Valley', Valleywriter talks about her first visit to Mt. Tom's this week. It's a great little review. Made my day. And gave me a small feeling of redemption on my chocolate ice cream after the review in this summer's Hampshire Gazette piece that called my chocolate 'not the chocolatiest they'd ever tasted'. When I read that review, my defensive side stuck to its guns that they wouldn't know a good, classic homemade chocolate ice cream if it melted into their lap. But a part of me said, ok, so you (and perhaps a few others) want a really dark, strong, knock your socks off chocolate, I'll give you one! So I did some homework, tinkered in my kitchen, and came out with my very own 'double-dark chocolate'. I'm sure you've read my rants on this topic. So when I read Valleywriter's review of the new chocolate...
"Mr. valleywriter's chocolate fudge brownie was also rich, creamy and more chocolately than any other ice cream I've ever tried."
That made me happy. The pumpkin pie ice cream was a hit with them too...
"My pumpkin pie ice cream was super rich and creamy with just the right amount of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and allspice to evoke many a wonderful Thanksgiving memory. Actually, it tasted a lot like my favorite pumpkin cheesecake recipe (stayed tuned for that later this week). To boot - the pumpkin pie ice cream even had soft little chunks of pie crust sprinkled throughout! "
Thanks to Valleywriter for the kind words (and for the future Valley Advocate Best of vote!).
And one final word on the chocolate ice cream topic, and I promise not to rant about it any more. I invited my friend Trace back to the shop to try my newest 'chocolate experiment #1' and to offer up a quote to describe the experience. If only it had been Trace who wrote that Gazette article this past July. Here's what he had to say about the new DD chocolate vs. the original Mt. Tom's recipe...
'The new dark chocolate is flamboyant, colorful, bold, and satisfying...but the 'classic' is the subtle, nerdy, intriguing wall-flower that I fall for every time.'
Who would have thought ice cream could be so picturesque.
I hope you and your basement stay dry.
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