I have to say, I started a thread on facebook a few days ago after getting a text from my dear mama that was in Iowa visiting at the time. Her text is what got this whole thing started and I haven't stopped thinking about it since!! Her text??? "Driving all over Waterloo reminiscing...wish you were here."
There are a few things significant there! First and formost, I have the best mom and dad anyone could ever ask for! They brought me up in the most loving home! Little did I know the significance this one thing alone would have on me now as an adult and now adoptive mommy! I often wonder where and what my kids would be doing right now if we hadn't adopted them! GOD IS GOOD! I only pray I'm HALF as good as my parents were and still are as parents! While we were never "spoiled," they definitely gave us a RICH life by making memories that LASTED. They also made sure that I had made the single most inportant decision I'd ever make in my entire life and that is that I knew JESUS and invited him into my heart FOREVER!! And because of that, I'm FREE and forever grateful that that was of such high priority in my upbringing!
I am so grateful I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa! I haven't lived there since 1998, but let me tell you, that was one heck of a town to grow up in! I met some of the most wonderful people in my entire life there, won't ever forget my years from Kindergarten all the way up to my senior year of high school at the same school, had family that loved me all around (still do), and some of my most special memories were made in that town!
When I posted this on facebook about Penny Lane, my e-mail went crazy with all the responses of all my friends and family that lived there remembered about this sweet ice cream shop! All of us have sweet memories of going there! We remember the aroma almost more than the ice cream, the aroma of FRESHLY ironed waffle cones/bowls! :) And then I think secondly, we remembered BUBBLE GUM ICE CREAM! So, I decided to make some up (since it's my middle childs' birthday today - Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet Ezra!) and make a post for you all to enjoy whenver you can! :) And if you were all here, I'd just invite you ALL over for one HUGE ice cream party on my own back porch! :) But alas, I live to far from most!
Thanks so much for making memories in my childhood I won't ever forget! Hugs to you all!
So incredibly scrumptious! Simply no words!
This is the mixture in the ice cream machine towards the end!
2 1/2 c Heavy Whipping Cream
1 1/2 c Half & Half
2 egg YOLKS
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla
pinch of salt
2-3 drops pink food coloring or red food coloring
12 pieces of Double Bubble Gum
1 c colored gum balls (I picked out the pink, white & red cause it matched pink base) :)
In a saucepan combine all the Heavy Whipping Cream, H&H, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk together so the yolks are all blended in. Put over medium heat and start heating the milk. Once this is starting to get pretty warm, add the Double Bubble Gum pieces (NOT the gumballs) and raise the heat just a little so it starts to ever so slightly boil (not rolling), and continue whisking unitl all of the gum is pretty well melted (there will be a little residue, but don't worry yourselves). Once it's all been melted, pour into a tupperware container but don't scrape out the bottom of the pan as the residue will have settled and you don't want any of that! :) Refrigerate at least 3 hours, but better if overnight! In an ice cream maker (we have the countertop Cuisinart kind), pour the ice cream into your frozen bowl and let churn for about 30 minutes until it's semi-hard. Add the gumballs and EAT! I also put it in the freezer for about another hour for it to harden back up again to a little bit firmer than what an ice cream maker can get it! Then we eat! :)
Hope this hits home for many of you! :)