Strawberry Ice Cream at Mountain View Farm

Yesterday, I went to a Strawberry Festival at the MountainView Farm , formally Ole' Turtle Farm. Mountain View Farm is a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm. People buy shares and are rewarded with a weekly plethora (cornucopia optional) of fresh, chemical-free veg - from swiss chard to tomatoes to fresh cut flowers (those you have to pick yourself) to all your favorite herbs. It's a pretty great deal all around, and you don't even have to weed. Unless of course, you want to.

I was approached a few months ago and asked if I would whip up a couple tubs of strawberry ice cream for them, they'd provide the fresh strawberries, for their first annual Strawberry Festival. I said sure and instructed them to slice them up, add some sugar (4+1 to be exact), and just freeze them up until a few days before the event. The event was this past weekend. I got a chance to bike down there to check out the festivities. It was the first time I'd been there. Really beautiful. Great view of Mt. Tom. My friend Kim gave me a tour of the fields. Here's a shot from the flower garden...

The strawberry ice cream seemed to be a hit. It was gone halfway thru the event. Kim dropped by the shop midafternoon to grab an extra tub of vanilla to keep the crowd happy. It was pretty cool. People lounging on the edge of the field, under the trees. Kids frolicking. Guy playing a guitar and singing. Glad I stopped by...

Bats, Watermelon, and the always wicked good Winterpills

Caught a show last night at the West Whatley Chapel in Whatley, MA, located exactly in the middle of nowhere. The reward for successfully executing a challenging series of lefts and rights, a couple of which were identified by farm animals and mailbox styles, was one of the coolest shows I've seen in a long time. The venue was a hundred year old chapel fully outfitted with big potbelly woodburning stove, 95 wooden chairs, and a small alter/stage in the front. Close your eyes and picture the ultimate New Englandy scene... an old rustic white church, lush gardens of strawberries, tomatoes, and wildflowers all around, big old overweight black lab walking in front of your car as you tiptoe up to the grass parking lot. Guy with a beard, a pair of Wranglers, and a grin that only a stressless existence can provide, meets you at the front door to his little house of worship.

Upon paying the bargain price of twelve bucks to see what I consider the premier local band of an area rich in local indie music-makers, the hearty and somewhat hippie group is invited into the small chapel. Bre and I quickly find seats just a couple rows from the front. Within a few minutes, the place is full to its capacity of 95. The show was billed as 'acoustic' but the speakers and amps suggest there might be a few more decibels than that in store. It doesn't take long for the place to fill, and 7:30 on the button, the guy with the beard and the Wranglers makes his way to the stage to introduce the band. He explains that the first set will go until 8:20, so that we can all break for watermelon and the bats. The bats, hmmm. Free bat night at the Chapel? If I find a chilled glass of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA under my seat it will truly be the perfect night.

Needless to say, the Winterpills are amazing. They're so great to see live because not only is their music beautiful and melodic and heartfelt and honest, but they really seem to enjoy performing together and making people happy with their music. Phillip Price, the lead singer, injects just the right amount of funny or interesting banter between songs. Sure it was loud, but my ears weren't even close to ringing like a night at the Eleven's.

The band tries to break at 8:20 but are told 'the bats aren't ready yet'. So after one more song, the crowd grabs a slice of watermelon and wanders outside. As we mulled around the front of the church, sure enough, bats start flying out of the eaves of the chapel. I must admit it was probably the coolest intermission I've yet to experience.

After the bats had cleared the belfrey, we return to our seats for another hour plus of great Winterpills music. We are even treated to a taste of new songs from their upcoming EP coming out this Fall. It was one of those shows you just didn't want to end.

I couldn't locate a photograph on-line of the West Whatley Chapel so I just might have to go back and take one myself. When I do, I'll definitely post it up here. In the meantime, check out the watermelon wednesdays lineup, and if you've got a free Wednesday, check it out. Just leave extra time to find this little slice of paradise.

I scream, You scream, we all scream for Gelato?

I've been thinking about it for a year, and I finally did it. I made a batch of gelato. It's pretty darn good. And I'm not just saying that because I made it, and that I want you to come try it. Ok, maybe a little. I did some research during the 'off-season' and learned how it differs from making a regular batch of ice cream. I also discovered some good gelato ingredient suppliers, learned how to display and serve it. Having done the due dilligence, it was just a matter of giving it a try. It was actually fairly easy. It's extremely dense, which means low overrun, which means it's in and out of the batch freezer in no time. And it only takes a short blast freeze, and it's ready to serve, same day. Nice. Since it's low overrun and it's known for being strong and bold in flavor, it's pretty expensive to make. This means a single serving is about the size of a kiddie cup. You really don't need any more than that, since it's so rich and filling.

The tricky part is education. Explaining to everyone that gelato is italian ice cream

and why it has to cost more can be a challenge. And how is it made. The cool part is gelato is made with milk (0, 1, 2, 0r 3% fat), so it's much lower fat than ice cream. That's a nice selling point.

I'm just doing a flavor or 2 at a time right now, testing the waters if you will. If it flies and people seem hungry for more, I may add a dipper and stock a bunch of flavors, really give it a go. I don't really know of any other places in the area that serve it, maybe one or 2 bakeries, so it could be a nice niche for me... Stay tuned. Or better yet, come on down for a sample...

Happy 231st USA

I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and relaxing holiday. Tough to have it fall on wednesday, but maybe you got lucky and scored a five day weekend. Good on you. In any event, enjoy the day, and take a minute to think about how lucky we are to live in such a cool country. Sure, there's turmoil and war and immigration issues, among others, to solve, but there's still no denying that we live in the land of opportunity. Put down the newspaper. Shut off the news. Just look around at all we have. Beauty surrounds us. Food to eat. Freedom to speak what we feel, read what we choose, paint what we want, earn a living doing what we're passionate about. Many have sacrificed much to allow us the lives we enjoy today. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Happy 4th to you and yours. The red, white, and blue sprinkles are on me.

ICD Goes Blog (again).

Thought I'd start the blogging off with a couple cool cats in ice cream hats. Hope you enjoyed the latest installment of the ICD. This is where I'll be hanging out now... See you soon.

Stay cool.

What kind of Blog is this anyway?

Hey there,
Just wanted to post a quick in case you ended up here via Google or
while on some crazy cyber space walk. The Ice Cream Diaries dabbled
in the blog format for a little while, but went back to its original form,
a monthly entry stashed on my website. You can find the complete
collection here...

The Ice Cream Diaries

And this is my biz...

Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream
34 Cottage Street
Easthampton, MA 010127

Thanks a lot, hope to see you soon,

Jim

Thanksgiving in Easthampton... 

Happy Halloween... 

To Blog or Not to Blog, is that a question?

Well, for anyone who's actually checked up on me here at the ICD blog, you've quickly learned that I'm not the most dedicated blogger in town. This town or most towns I'd guess. Truth be told, I think I'm going back to the old format. I know you bloggers and bloggettes out there are saying, 'See, I told you he wouldn't last a month in b-space'. It seemed like a logical migration. Shorter, more frequent entries rather than the usual monthly (or so) 4 to 5 pager routed via the new snail mail, email. What I've learned, though, through this short blog experiment, is that although the entries are shorter and more random, the pressure to post never goes away. As opposed to the monthly pressure I used to start to feel 3 to 4 weeks after launching an episode. Also, after a couple conversations with friends and relatives (aka my Diaries subscribers) and just as many explanations of 'what is a blog anyway?', it's become clear that the monthly episode, shared via email and the website, is still the best way to go for the Diaries. I'll keep this blog open, and perhaps I'll use it here and there to share photos and such, in which cases I'll definitely let you know to look. So that's it from here for now. I'll keep my notes on the goings-on and antics of our spoon-waving band of lovable adolescents, and with a little luck and a rainy day, will scoop you a fresh copy of the Ice Cream Diaries soon. Right to your virtual doorstep. In the meantime, cover those tomato plants tonight and have an ice cream anyway, because you know... Life is short. Eat Ice Cream.

Jim

Spring on Cottage Street 

Spring Sprung

I suppose it doesn't take a rocket scientist or an ice cream chemist to figure out that ice cream sales are hugely dependent on the weather. As you know, Summer arrived early this year as the mercury hit almost 90 degrees a week or so ago. Since it came out of nowhere, I was a bit unprepared and definitely understaffed for the onslaught of new and returning ice cream customers. Those first 2 weekends in April rivaled the best weekends I had last Summer. Certainly a good sign for this, my second season. More typical Spring weather has returned though. Cooler temps and the more expected New England April showers are filling up the ponds and streams. The silver (and dry) lining I suppose is it's given me a chance to get caught up and better prepared for the real season. I'm now stocked up with all the important things like cups and coins and caramel, so I say bring back the heat!

A taste of Summer Action (hopefully!)

Wow, what a weekend! I forgot what it feels like to be 'in the weeds'. The place was jumping all weekend. As exhausting as it was, it was also very satisfying to see my first lines of the season. I remember Dad talking about having to make ice cream late into the night, but I was skeptical. Until this weekend. Closed up at 9:30 on Saturday night, ordered a pizza, and cranked up the batch freezer. About four hours and a dozen batches later, I was restocked and ready for an even warmer Sunday. And ready for bed. No Brass Cat for me that night. No need to feel sorry for me though. Took a little pressure of the tight money management that is the off-season.

With the cooler weather back (hopefully just for a short stay), I have a little time to catch up on things and get better prepped for that summer pace. And to think about what this blog will be about. And how to keep it interesting and spicey while keeping in mind that most of my family could be reading at any given moment. Do I throw in a story about a late night romantic tryst by the pond here and there (even if I have to fabricate it)? How much about the biz can I include without making it read like a commercial? Should I make it political? Yah, right. Will it be all about the madcapped adventures of Rudy, Reej, Full Pint, and the rest of the gang? Definitely about photos, although I didn't have time to take any this past weekend. I guess the answer is I don't really know. We'll both just have to just jump in and go with the flow.

ps. Thanks to Greg for linking me from his Easthampton New City blog

Welcome to the new medium of the Diaries

Well, here I am again. Getting with the times and evolving my loved, liked, or loathed Ice Cream Diaries to the hip medium of our fledgling era of broadband. Anyway, I'm not sure how this will work out, but as that mouse who had his cheese moved (Note my first hyperlink, blogs are all about links I'm told), you gotta adapt with the times. More importantly for me, I thought that with the 'season' just about to hit, I'd be kidding myself if I thought I was going to have time to sit down and whip up a full episode a month or so until probably October. By using the blog format, I can just drop a little in here, a little there, on rainy days, during the dinner 'lull', late at night when I can't sleep because I'm so hyped up from making 100 batches of ice cream that day. Makes good sense to me. I hope you enjoy this new approach, and please bear with me as I most assuredly will make a few mistakes as I climb up the curve and try to find the appropriate 'voice' for this kind of thing. If nothing else, I hope to add more photos than the less than occasional top 10 or whatever I did in the past. Let the blogging begin...