This post and all its delicious fresh ice cream, mix-ins, and waffle cones are brought to you by Marble Slab Creamery.
One thing that I missed when I lived in California, and there wasn’t much, was the change of seasons. Actually it was not so much the change of seasons but the rituals and traditions that happen when you live in a seasonally-focused location like Rhode Island where I grew up. From apple-picking in the Fall to decorating for Christmas, to my mom sticking fake flowers in the dirt before Easter brunch because it was still snowing (sorry Mom, you’ve been outed.) It actually did look real though, try it. One of my favorite Summer traditions and fondest memories of childhood was going out as a family for ice cream. Yes, I know this child is wearing a blazer, I don’t ask questions.
We would all sit on top of a picnic table enjoying our treats. Whatever flavor we wanted. My brother and step-dad ordered pistachio, the twins ordered bubblegum, my mom’s favorite was black raspberry, and I mixed it up but my favorite was peppermint stick. I would pull out all the mint candies and then eat them at the end. One scoop in a cone or bowl. With three kids we had to be frugal, none of those fancy toppings like peanuts or hot fudge, ha. We didn’t get to eat out or travel much but my memories of these nights eating ice cream as a family, surrounded by laughter and crickets, with the stars above make me feel like we had everything we needed. Didn’t we?
Now that I’m a mom, it’s really important to me that my kids experience the joy and comfort of seasonal traditions. Since it gets quite toasty during the Summer months in Texas, family ice cream outings are the perfect excuse to venture into the steamy air after the sun has gone down. During the day we hide like trolls.
So at this point, you understand that I love family traditions and that I love ice cream so when our friends at Marble Slab Creamery invited us to Direct Your Delicious™ by coming in and trying their new unlimited mix-ins, we picked a sunny Spring day and made a little family outing of it.
While I encouraged Quinn and Gordon to get creative, after all the mix-ins are unlimited, they went pretty simple with their recipes. Strawberry with strawberries and walnuts for Quinn. Milk Chocolate with Oreos and chocolate chips for Gordon. I did cheesecake ice cream with fresh raspberries and caramel on a freshly made Heath bar chip cone. It. Was. Amazing.
The kids loved watching the owner of the shop, who has been in business in the same Fort Worth location for 15 years, masterfully mix up our recipes (on a marble slab obviously) while telling us about how all of the ice cream and waffle cones are made fresh in store featuring local ingredients. Think about that. They actually make the ice cream right there in the shop!
While we were enjoying our treats, a steady stream of regular customers came through. The TCU tennis team, 2 pregnant ladies (aww) and a young couple on a date. I really felt like it was a local hangout. While the folks at Marble Slab mixed up delicious concoctions for their guests, Gordon put his own new found ice cream mixing skills to work.
He was promised a job in 13 years. Don’t you want some of what he’s putting down? Ha. For now we will leave it to the pros.
Find Marble Slab Creamery on Facebook, Twitter and click here to find a Marble Slab Creamery near you.
#slabhappy your Instagram posts from Marble Slab Creamery, I want to see your ice cream masterpiece!
