gelati

Current work: revisions on fairground book
Listening to: Dire Straits
Reading: next on TBR

My name is Kate Hardy and I am an ice cream addict.

I think the worst one was when I was away on business in my ratrace job and persuaded my colleague that we should have dinner in the Haagen Dazs ice cream cafe. Back home, the department secretary (who was dealing with expenses) yelled across the room to me, 'You spent HOW MUCH on ice cream?'

Cue shock-horror from the entire marketing department. In my defence, the bill was lower than if we'd had a meal elsewhere. And it was very, very scrummy.

I used to make ice cream by hand. Though it never lasted long. (I married someone with a similar addiction. We have two children, both of whom have the same affliction.)

And for years I've wanted an ice cream maker.

Floated the idea past the kids yesterday. Verdict: ‘Brilliant. Can we help make it?’ (So that’s 75% of the household in agreement.)

Thanks to lovely commenter Brigitte letting me grill her (and reading reviews online), have decided to go with the sort with a freezing disk as it’s reasonably priced and the disk will fit in the freezer. (The posh Gaggia one, which needs no freezing whatsoever, was the equivalent of two Radley handbags, or two of the gold-and-glass beads for my Pandora bracelet. You can see where this is going, can’t you? Especially as I am in the city on Friday for a radio interview. And I will have to walk past Sonkai. Hmm.)

Rang Lakeland (note, this is on the list of ‘shops in which Kate Hardy is not allowed without responsible adult supervision’. As is House of Fraser. And Sonkai). One ice cream maker in stock. Goody. It has my name on it, ready for picking up tomorrow. B-u-t… I checked and it’s in a Very Big Box. Which means I’m going to need help manoeuvring it to the car.

So I took DH a cup of tea, making kissy noises and being all sweet. He wanted to know what I had done. (Ha. And to think he gets stroppy if I ask that question when he gives me flowers.) Confessed. He has agreed to come and be my muscle man. This is particularly piquant as he claims he is the main (possibly only) person on the ‘responsible adult’ list. (Son is trying to claim he is also on this, cough – I think not. Who forces me into Hotel Chocolat, then? And since when is 12 an adult – even if he IS taller than I am now?) I foresee purchase of oven cleaner, feather duster, new pegs and other such housewifely joys. With son and husband as my bag carriers. Lured with the promise of home-made ice cream.

What I’m really looking forward to involves 0% fat Greek yoghurt and fresh raspberries. Daughter thinks this is a fine idea. Except I need more raspberries because someone raided the fridge when she got home from school - and this is despite having a snack box full of raspberries in her packed lunch. Oink.

So today’s question is: what’s your favourite flavour of (home-made) ice cream? (And all recipes welcome!)