First off, we want to thank whoever made Ice Cream Month official. We don't usually need much encouragement to get the ice creams out, but having a whole month dedicated to it - during the peak of summer - certainly helped us justify our habits.
To kick July off, we decided we'd throw our hat into the ring to rival Ben & Jerry's or Häagen-Dazs and make our own ice cream. Although the recipe was quite easy, you certainly needed loads of muscles and stamina - thankfully our residents had that in abundance. After deciding the flavours for our DIY ice cream - we opted for mint choc chip, vanilla fudge, and rum & raisin (yum) - we got to work on the recipe... Using two zipper bags (one bigger than the other), we filled the bigger bag 3/4 full with ice cubes and some salt, and then in the smaller bag, we added cream and sugar (we had to eyeball these measurements...) and all the ingredients for our three chosen flavours. Then came the muscles. A couple of strong volunteers shook the bags until the cream started to change, before mixing it with a spoon. Phew. Exhausting, but definitely worth it. Once we could see the ice cream coming together, we put it into tubs and left it in the freezer overnight, ready to enjoy the next day. And that is exactly what we did... Our residents enjoyed their afternoon tucking into their very own Marchmont branded, homemade ice cream. It tasted even better knowing all the hard work that went into it.
To give our residents a break from the hard work of making their very own ice cream, we got a professional to come past Marchmont and do the work for us. The arrival of the ice cream van sparked much excitement among our residents because after all, who doesn't love a good old fashioned Mr Whippy? We all loved heading out and enjoying a cone in the sun, with plenty of memories of childhood visits to the ice cream van flooding back to our residents. It's a shame the van wasn't looking for any new recruits because I'm sure a few of the residents would love a shot in there.
Finally, to finish off the month, our residents spent a lovely afternoon making some ice cream sundaes. With three flavours and plenty of toppings to choose from, our lucky residents were spoilt for choice. Letting their creativity flourish and taste buds take over, our residents had a fantastic afternoon tucking into their very own sundae creations. It was a brilliant afternoon, and we have an inkling the whole month went down a treat... Flick through the gallery below to see it all for yourself!
