My family was hit with Covid in October of 2020, when my kids’ classes were having regular sessions and virtual learning was something everyone wanted to forget about. It happened to be that my son’s birthday was during that time, and he was a little disappointed about missing out on celebrating with his friends. I decided to invite his friends to my backyard and set up an ice cream party for them with lots of toppings — some creative ones, some classic — a few different flavors of ice cream, some drizzle-able sauces, and even fresh hot waffles to house all that good stuff.

We all stayed inside, gathered around the kitchen window, with the boys screaming through the window catching up like old friends. They were very creative (and adorable) with their waffle toppings, but what I loved was watching them come up with great flavor combos that were very specific. I’ve always thought there’s more genius to that than just taking a bit of everything and dumping it all together to create the world’s most random razzle that has a level of sweet that’s so high, you can no longer taste anything anymore.

This week, we celebrate summer with four new frozen desserts by Michal Frischman that would make Häagen Dazs jealous. We’re also launching a super exciting new contest featuring Tuscanini Vanilla Gelato (with a focus on the plant-based version). You dream up great ice cream flavors/add-ins/toppings/bases, test out your combo, write up the recipe, and send it in to win big! We’ll be printing our favorites so you can have ice cream desserts for Shabbos meals all summer long.

CHANIE NAYMAN
Food Editor, Family Table
Editor in Chief, Kosher.com

Chopped

I make tuna a few times a week, and while I love it in a salad, I do not love chopping it. One day I thought of buying this herb chopping tool on Amazon to help speed up the process. It really works!

Water-the-Melon

Here’s another 95-degree-day idea. Combine ice cubes, cold watermelon, and a few tablespoons of juice of your choice in a blender. Oh, and make sure to have milkshake straws on hand for instances like these!

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 800)