Peter ponders ice cream

Preacher Pal had this bowl filled with this very cold creamy stuff.  Preacher Pal kept making yummy noises while eating.  I just had to investigate.  Preacher Pal called it ice cream.  It was rich and had streaks of chocolate through it.  Observing how Preacher Pal enjoyed this treat, I began to ponder the peculiar relationship between ice cream and humans.  It appears there are a plethera of tastes and textures to appease the most discriminating palate.  My favorite part of this particular treat is that it is cold, very cold.  I could swim in the cold ice cream and be happy.  Preacher Pal raised an eyebrow at the thought of all that ice cream wasted.  I believe it was the thought of bathing me afterwards so that my fur would be once again soft instead of sticky that caused that eyebrow to rise.

Back to ice cream.  Humans have very definite opinions on this concoction of milk and confection and .... making quite passionate pronouncements on which flavor is the ultimate ice cream experience.  These endless choices also seem to have endless commentary solicited or unsolicited when communities gather for celebrations and ice cream is served.  There are the purest who do not want their ice cream adulterated with syrup or whipped cream or nuts or fruit.  Some prefer their flavor free from additives.  Chocolate is chocolate and vanilla is vanilla unless of course it is French vanilla.  I wonder if you have to speak French to enjoy French vanilla or maybe travel to France?  Then there are others that have been the source of great creativity with the producers of ice cream products.  They want cookie dough in their ice cream, or nuts and berries, or berries and chocolate, or nuts and berries and chocolate and butterscotch or maple.  Personally, I prefer pistachio, peppermint stick, peach, passion fruit, pralines and cream, pumpkin pie, peanut butter cup, pecan, pina colada... I do realize there are flavors that do not begin with a "p" but every bear has their preference as well.

What I have found in my limited experience is that whether cup or cone (waffle, sugar or plain), or on top of a cake or pie, as a Sunday or other elaborate concoction, ice cream brings human people pleasure.  It is a party on a plate, or probably better served in a bowl.  One last thought on this beloved delicacy.  There appears to be a practice of making this at home that is sometimes lost in the frozen food aisles.  What I understand though, is when family and friends gather and bring out the bucket with its hand crank excitement builds with every turn.  I can only imagine licking the blades and enjoying the flavor and the cold, especially the cold.  One of Preacher Pal's friends has a ball for making ice cream.  I could bat that ball around with my paws and play with it until the cream became solid.  Wouldn't Preacher Pal love that! We could market this as Peter's Porridge.