Ice Cream Diaries  15                                                             April 5, 2005
Hello again from Buttontown (I just learned that Easthampton was the home of the USA's first button manufacturing mill in 1848 by Samuel Williston in case you get that Trivial Pursuit question.)   It's pouring outside, April floods, so I'd better get to work before the Pond crests.  How are you?   Can you believe a shiny new baseball season is underway?   Strange to not have that 'this is the year' feeling toward our beloved Sox right now.   Alas, it's not the complete set of idiots to start this new year, but I think we all hope Theo can pull a few great pitchers out of his magic wallet before we trail the Yankees by too many games.   No matter what happens this season, though, no one can take away that warm and fuzzy feeling we all get when we think about that amazing Yankees/Sox series last season (as long as you're not Stanley, one of my Sunday coffee regulars and diehard Yankee fan who never misses an opportunity to tell me the Sox's 15 minutes are over).   There have been many tremendous Patriots victories since Coach B. came to town, but none felt quite so emotionally satisfying as those games four thru seven.   I think I'm still tired from that week.    Ok, enough sports reminiscing.   Have I at least put you in a positive emotional state for episode 15?   It' like my secret to being a good cook.   Lots of wine before the first course.   Speaking of first courses, it's probably time get on with the dairy drivel, or risk going into a page five, and I don't think you or your boss want that.    So let's get to it.
Easter again proved to be the strongest candy holiday in the set.   In fact, the Saturday before Easter was my best day ever!   As good a run, or hop, as it was, I'm actually a little relieved it's done.   After days spent molding chocolate Easter figures, I was beginning to have dreams about chocolate bunnies and angry marshmallow peeps covered in chocolate attacking me with toothpicks.   With only Mother's Day to go (sorry Mom, I didn't mean to say 'only') on the candy holiday calendar, I can now keep my eye on the core business of ice cream.   My Easter ice cream creation this year was Easter Bunny Tracks (in keeping with the Moose, er Deer, Tracks theme).   Chocolate with malted eggs and marshmallow peeps with some chocolate chips in there to keep 'em guessing.  It took a few tries to get the name down.    Started with Easter Bunny Roadkill, then toned it down to Easter Bunny in a Blender. For the kids of course.   I still thought Easter Bunny Stew had a shot, but after a short debate with Christina (she was pulling for Easter Bunny Trail, hopping down the bunny trail sort of thing), tracks it was.   Not a great seller, but there were a few people that couldn't get enough.   The obvious risk of a holiday themed flavor is what to do with the 2 gallons you have left the next day.   Easter Bunny hangover?   Luckily, it's still selling (as are the remaining chocolate dipped peeps), and I probably won't have to toss it or use it to fatten up my neighbors.    Disclaimer: My neighbor buddies are not fat.  In fact, I can confidently say just about all of them could kick my butt on a mountain bike up Mt.Tom)  While we're on the topic of new flavors, I came up with a few other ones recently.   With a little recipe help from Jane at England's Microcreamery in Haverhill (If you live anywhere near there, go.  It's a cool place and great ice cream), I brewed my first batch of Guinness Ice Cream.  Just in time for St. Paddy?s.   It wasn't a big seller but it did turn out to be a marketing bonanza.   People were intrigued by it, many wanted to try it (many more than actually got it.   Admittedly, it is a bit of an odd marriage).  See Mom, I use the 'm' word once in a while.   And it gave me a great line to use during the St. Paddy's Day pub crawl in Northampton I joined that weekend.   In fact, I was introduced this way more than once, 'I'd like you to meet Jim.  He owns that new ice cream place in Easthampton, Mt.Tom's.   He has Guinness Ice Cream.'    Continuing the beer and ice cream theme, I was asked last week by the Brass Cat bartenders across the street to come up with a 'Green Monster' flavor.   In honor of the new Sox season.   Since it had to be green, mint was the likely choice for the base (I guess Pistachio might have worked too).   I added red peppermint pieces for the Sox and white chocolate chunks for the baseballs and voila!, Green Monster.   I'll tell you a secret about the chocolate chunks if you promise you won't tell anyone.   They were actually dismembered unsold Easter Bunny pops.   Now you know where bad chocolate goes to die.   Willie Wonka wouldn't even give up that secret.    A couple new flavors that weren't as timely, but actually tasted much better have been Mocha Heath Bar Crunch, and one caffeine packed Java Crunch.   I used a batch of my Indigo Roaster organic French Roast to get a really rich coffee flavor and topped it off with a swirl-in of chocolate-covered espresso bean pieces.   I think it's going to be good for my flavor creation creativity to have a couple hundred jars of goodies on the other side of the ice cream kitchen wall.   Stay tuned.
Things are definitely ramping up as the warmer weather melts the ice on the pond.  I was even able to put the outdoor tables and chairs out a couple times last week.  That extra daylight hour at night, thanks to springing forward, is helpful too.   It's definitely getting tougher to scoop solo in the shop now, so I just hired my first new recruit of the season, Michaela.    She's the younger sister of one of my fit neighbors.   She seems really nice and enthusiastic so I'm confident she'll be a great addition to the '05 team.  And in case you were wondering, Betty is now a teller at one of the local banks.   I see her there occasionally, and she seems pretty content thanks to a bigger paycheck, benefits, banker's hours, and no more ice cream stains on her sleeves.   I guess the only downside for her is she'll have competition for employee of the month.
I am right now enjoying one of my few remaining Mondays off.    I'lll be extending the hours and cranking it back up to seven days a week starting at the end of the month.   The Mondays off have been nice, whether to catch up on laundry, errands, and sleep or to make mini-getaways North (had a great ski day at Killington with Christina the flavor namer), East (caught up with a few buddies, although I'm still trying to get to see my buddy John, Donna, and the boys), and South (Ikea run for heavy spoons and a stainless steel worktable, among other things).    I'm looking forward to the improved cash flow that, with luck and continued good word-of-mouth, will come with the 'season', but I have been a little spoiled by the winter.   Making brownies, buying milk and other supplies once a week instead of almost daily, not having to keep such close tabs on important things like cups, cones, & hot fudge, and of course, making ice cream only a couple times a week versus constantly.   Needless to say, it's still a much better feeling to see the shop full of people rather than the slow and steady pace of the winter.   One thing I've noticed is that no asks 'how's business' when the shop is busy.
At the risk of sounding gloaty (is that a word?  My spell checker doesn't think so), I wanted to share a couple satisfying conversations.   A woman came into the shop the day after she had been in to buy candy for party goody bags.   During that party, one of the kids said, 'This candy is as good as 'Mt.Tom's'.   Nice.  Another favorite is from a woman who came in to buy an ice cream cake and said to me 'Herrill's recommended you'.   After letting me hold a quizzical look for a few seconds, she continues, 'I called Herrill's (for those not familiar, Herrill's is a very well known and successful shop in Northampton owned by the guy who started the ones in Boston originally under the 'Steve's' name) and the girl on the phone said, 'No, we don't have ice cream cakes.'   'Well, can you tell me where I can get one?'   To which the girl hesitatingly replied, 'I'm not supposed to say this but try Mt.Tom's'  Very nice.   Which reminds me of one more.   I have a great customer who comes in all the time for a pint of peppermint stick, hence her self-proclaimed name 'peppermint stick lady'.   Although she's recently taken a fancy to my new cake batter flavor and might be changing or hyphenating her name soon.    She mentioned she was in Herrill's recently and made a little bit of a scene when she told the girls at the counter, 'This place is nothing like Mt.Tom's.'  To which they said, 'What do you mean?'   She quickly responded, 'Mt.Tom's is much better.'   Don't get me wrong, Herrill's really is great ice cream, but I can't help but enjoy when a customer puts me in the same category or better.   Let's face it, it's hard to be humble when somebody tells you you're better than a local institution and not that you belong in one.   Thanks again to Dad of course.
Ok, enough with the self-admiration.   I hope I didn't overdo it there.
A couple people have suggested I set up a blog for the diaries, and I always thought it might be a good idea, but just never got around to investigating.  Well, turns out it's really easy to set one up, and even better, it's free.   Since it has been getting tougher to keep it fresh and to make time to write new installments of the Diaries, especially with my busy season just around the corner, I think now is the perfect time to test out the format.   Since a web-log or blog is always accessible, it should be easier for me to maintain and you'll get nearly real-time action.    Rather than jot little notes and funny stories in my notebook all month then spend a bunch of time crafting an episode, I'll just go to the blog and toss it right in.   A little here, a little there.   And I'll be able to have more links to cool stuff along with more photos.   I think the email format has been great for the first year.  I've gotten to share the experience with you all, and I now have a handy set of memoirs I can read in my rocking chair or Adirondack chair at the lake house someday.   So with that, let me tell you where you can find me from here'   It's http://icecreamdiaries.blogspot.com/
I thought what better way to transition the Diaries then to send it off with our lovable band of bad boys, Rudy and the gang.   Root Beer Rudy's only been in once or twice since we last chatted.   Seems he's been spending most of his free time in what his younger brother Reej calls, 'lockdown'.   He got caught smoking by his Dad yet again.   I guess he's not very good at smoking on the sly.  I?ve even caught him lighting up in the back parking lot a couple times.   So it appears that Root Beer Rudy has migrated to more serious and carcinogenic forms of leisure.    His buddy full pint came in recently, and I hardly recognized him.   I felt a bit like Richard Dreyfuss in Mr. Holland's Opus, watching my 'kids' growing up in front of my eyes.   It's only been one winter and FP was about a foot taller and grew facial hair.   I suppose if you?re a parent, you're thinking, 'of course kids that age are going to look different that fast.'   As for Reej, although he only comes in the shop after some form of a windfall like Christmas paper route tips or birthday money, he's now my favorite character.   I think my friends Greg and Mary would agree.  They got to enjoy his little show last time he dropped in.   Reej was in rare form.   While he devoured his large pepp stick bowl and before he followed that up with a 22 ounce shake, he told us about the new kid in school he helped introduce to New England hospitality.   It turns out that a fun thing for kids to do to other kids these days is to stuff them in a locker.   Reej, having lived through the experience at least a few times himself, decided this Midwest kid needed the same life experience.   I don't quite know how he got this farm kid in there, but I did enjoy Reej's line to him through the locker vent, 'I don't think you're in Kansas anymore.'   Kids can be so cruel.   I asked him how do you get out of the locker?   To which he casually replied, 'whenever they feel like letting you out.'      A few minutes later, a bunch of young ladies came in and joined Reej at the bar.   I couldn't help but snap a shot as he worked his little harem, giving all the ladies his best witty banter and suave brace-laced grin.   He wasn't too happy about my taking the shot (seems he doesn't like how he looks in photos), but it was worth it.
Well, I will leave you for now with Reej, his lady friends, and what's left of his shake.   As always, thanks for listening, and see you next time at the blog.   And now that it's just about ice cream season again, I hope you can make a trip out here soon to say hello and grab a cone.
Take care,
Jim