A Soft Spot for Soft Serve
Here’s a topic appropriate to a warm Saturday afternoon during a sunny, spring long weekend (or it’s a long weekend up here in Canada, at any rate. Victoria Day, don’t you know…). You have probably found, as I have, that as people get older it becomes more and more difficult to buy them good birthday presents. After all, when you are a child you have no means of getting the things you so desperately want. But as an adult you can usually just buy the things you want and need. Every year when my wife’s birthday rolls around I try to find something to buy her that will surprise her and be at least somewhat exciting. This year I found the perfect gift. Or that’s how she described it. So I post this for the benefit of other men who may be scrambling to find a good gift.
Aileen has a soft spot for soft serve. When she was pregnant it was not at all uncommon for me to head out late at night on a run to McDonald’s to buy her a hot fudge sundae (with extra peanuts). Though no longer pregnant, the ice cream cravings continue to show up quite regularly. Without a baby in her belly she hasn’t had the leverage to get me to do quite as many late night jaunts to the store. But knowing of her love of ice cream I came up with a great gift idea. Since her birthday a couple of weeks ago she has often said that this is the best gift I’ve ever gotten her. I choose to believe that this means that this gift is exceptionally good rather than that the rest have been exceptionally bad.
The Cuisinart Ice-45 Mix It In Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker is a marvel. In about 20 minutes it takes 1.5 quarts of sugar, cream and milk and turns it into really good ice cream. It has the unique ability to mix things like M&M’s, peanuts and sprinkles right into the ice cream as it dispenses it. With the purchase of a bottle of chocolate fudge, we can now make the equivalent of a McDonald’s sundae in twenty minutes without having to go out of the house. The other night we tried frozen yogurt (raspberry) and found that really delicious as well. And it made enough for four adults, two children, and a baby.
You can see this little machine at Amazon by clicking here. If you do end up getting ahold of one, here’s an important tip: make sure the freezer bowl is really, really cold. That means you’ll probably need to put it in a chest freezer or turn your refrigerator’s freezer down a few degrees. Since we did that we’ve had no trouble and it makes perfect ice cream every time. And now the ball is in my wife’s court to blow me away when my birthday comes in December!
Comments (16) »
1. Pastor Paul Martin
May 19, 2007
4:02 PM
By the look of it, the best gift she could give you would be a membership at your local fitness club!
2. Julian
May 19, 2007
4:35 PM
I was looking at this (after you suggested it to me, Tim), and I noticed that if you get the super hardcore professional grade one ($185 as compared to $125 where I was looking) you don’t have to freeze the bowl first. Pretty fantastic, eh? Pay $60 extra so you don’t have to keep the bowl in the freezer?
3. afrikaner
May 19, 2007
5:54 PM
TIC
4. afrikaner
May 19, 2007
6:15 PM
ps. If you want you blog counter to go through the roof again - why not post this article as “Home Schoolers Make the Best Softserve”. Then your site will again hit the top ten - this wek it has slipped to only the top 50.
(Independent studies have show that homeschooled familes have more time to make softserve, are better educated to read instruction manuals - they know the meaning of dilutions, weights, volumes, times, etc than NHS, have pesticide free, antibiotic free, anthelmintic free, organic milk - home grown of course. The sugar of course comes from a store which does not support child exploitation, and is grown sustainably by other home schooled families in third world countries. The machinary itself comes from a home school home industry in Canada and not from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, India or the Phillipines. The design for this soft serve maker is freely available to all homeschoolers on the internet but must never be passed onto non-HS as they might use it to produce the drug ‘ice’ or in other devious ways. Also don’t ever let George W Bush know about it - he may invade you illegally, thinking you have a weapon of mass destruction and every one knows the USA would then never be able to extricate themselves from your home as you have so many children to defend your soft serve maker, which also substitutes for an oil rigg…. Hey thinking about weapons of mass destruction - someone should invent one against the pope…. but thinking about it more - there is one - the word of truth…. silly me. Hey this blogg site doesn’t include theology - right!)
5. afrikaner
May 19, 2007
6:28 PM
ps. If you want you blog counter to go through the roof again - why not post this article as “Home Schoolers Make the Best Softserve”. Then your site will again hit the top ten - this wek it has slipped to only the top 50.
(Independent studies have show that homeschooled familes have more time to make softserve, are better educated to read instruction manuals - they know the meaning of dilutions, weights, volumes, times, etc than NHS, have pesticide free, antibiotic free, anthelmintic free, organic milk - home grown of course. The sugar of course comes from a store which does not support child exploitation, and is grown sustainably by other home schooled families in third world countries. The machinary itself comes from a home school home industry in Canada and not from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, India or the Phillipines. The design for this soft serve maker is freely available to all homeschoolers on the internet but must never be passed onto non-HS as they might use it to produce the drug ‘ice’ or in other devious ways. Also don’t ever let George W Bush know about it - he may invade you illegally, thinking you have a weapon of mass destruction and every one knows the USA would then never be able to extricate themselves from your home as you have so many children to defend your soft serve maker, which also substitutes for an oil rigg…. Hey thinking about weapons of mass destruction - someone should invent one against the pope…. but thinking about it more - there is one - the word of truth…. silly me. Hey this blogg site doesn’t include theology - right!)
6. Jabbok
May 19, 2007
6:56 PM
OK, here it is…. what you should get for your next birthday!
Click Here
I hope the link works!
7. Tim Challies
May 19, 2007
7:15 PM
“I noticed that if you get the super hardcore professional grade one ($185 as compared to $125 where I was looking)”
But does it make soft serve? That makes all the difference…
“By the look of it, the best gift she could give you would be a membership at your local fitness club!”
That’s harsh. I hope Susan gets you a theology course or two! Yeah, that’s it!
8. Pastor Paul Martin
May 19, 2007
7:20 PM
I thought you would tell me I need Latin lessons!!!
9. Tim Challies
May 19, 2007
7:27 PM
“I thought you would tell me I need Latin lessons!!!”
Well, that, too.
10. Ellen B.
May 19, 2007
10:39 PM
Well done young man. You are learning well. Keep that keen eye on what your wife loves and it will go well for you for many more years!
11. Ellen B.
May 19, 2007
10:40 PM
Well done young man. You are learning well. Keep that keen eye on what your wife loves and it will go well for you for many more years!
12. Brian @ voiceofthesheep
May 19, 2007
11:27 PM
ps. If you want you blog counter to go through the roof again - why not post this article as “Home Schoolers Make the Best Softserve”.
No…to drive up the hits, it should be titled, “Why I Don’t Eat Home Schooler Soft Serve.”
13. juliet
May 20, 2007
12:11 AM
Fabulous… I’ve never seen such a machine before, sounds WAY more fun than a breadmaker thing.
BUT As a wife… what she may soon miss is: YOU going to GET the treat and bring it back. So to be especially wonderful YOU need to fill the machine, push da’button, make the soft-serve ice cream and serve it to her, and/or clean up… or at least now and then.
Being doted on by your husband is heavenly. That’s MY favorite flavor!
14. Nath @ Reformed Geek
May 20, 2007
1:42 AM
“Aileen has a soft spot for soft serve. When she was pregnant it was not at all uncommon for me to head out late at night on a run to McDonald’s to buy her a hot fudge sundae (with extra peanuts).”
The cravings for soft serve only started once she got pregnant? You’re lucky Tim. My wife has always had a soft spot for soft serve, and I regularly have to pop to McDonald’s to purchase the Australian version (Super Chocolate Sundae with a Flake in the top). I don’t complain though, as I have a soft spot for it as well.
You know, this present could be for our wedding anniversary, as I know we would both benefit from it!
Thanks Tim!
15. Richard
May 21, 2007
3:48 PM
Thanks, Tim, my wife’s birthday (And our 26th anniversary) is coming up. Must be a God-thing! Amazon is shipping it in time!
16. Lee Munger
May 21, 2007
6:15 PM
Hey Tim one of my friends has a soft spot for Soft serve as well, we call it his belly!