Hey Y’all!
I find that it’s always a hard balance to know when to talk about something fun and light on here and when to approach the heavy and hard things. Especially right now because I am hyperaware of what is occurring around the world and in our hometowns and it is dark. So much evil. So many unknowns. So much fear. So much sadness. It’s just been one of those weeks in the news, you know? I find the news very hard to watch, but I also don’t want to be naive. The way I see it is the more I know, the better I know how to pray, even though I’m still more often than not at a loss for words. I’m asking the Lord to strengthen us, protect us, deliver us, have compassion on the oppressed, the afflicted, rebuild the ruins, bring light to the darkness and all the other words my heart cannot come up with. My prayers groan alongside the groans of the earth, of His people. Before I ever uttered one silly word, I did want to acknowledge the terror, the injustice and the hurt that is all around us. Lord, be near! Come soon!
Whew.
Now I’m going to try and make the awkward transition of talking about…gelato.
Yes. Gelato.
Why?
Because I’ve been ruined for anything else. And by anything else I mean any other ice cream. And while I realize gelato is not the same as ice cream, I still don’t know the difference between the two. After all, both of them have the essentials such as milk and lots and lots of sugar.
My palate is pretty consistent when it comes to ice cream and without fail, every time, I head for Blue Bell. Bless you people who don’t live in Texas but have Blue Bell delivered to your home state. You are blessed and highly favored. Recently, though, I’ve skipped Blue Bell all together and gone straight for this: Talenti Gelato. And more specifically, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup.
Y’all. I cannot be trusted with even a pint. It’s sinful. If I’m not careful, I can eat the entire thing in one sitting. In fact, usually I leave about a 1/4 to put back in the freezer just to make me feel better about life and my indulgence. And lest you think a pint is not big deal, I promise you that if I told you how many calories were in this one pint your mind would be blown. Let’s just say it hits four digits!
Consider this your PSA. Every now and then in the midst of turmoil and chaos, it’s good to sit down with a pint of gelato. And if you’ve not tried it, please do yourself a favor and get your hands on some. Ladies, since I’ve shared my secret weapon as of late, please feel free to tell me if I’m missing out on anything else!
Also, in other random news, I got home the other day, checked the mail and found a handwritten letter in the mail from a loved one. Can I just say that I hope handwritten letters never, ever go out of style? Do you feel that passionate about certain things you’re afraid might go extinct? I’m just here to encourage us to go postal occasionally. Let’s keep the forever stamp in business.
Y’all are the best. Thank you for always putting up with my random thoughts.
Have a happy Thursday!
I was looking forward to hear from you. You never disappoint. Blessings!!!
I have the caramel sea salt in my fridge even now.
Amen, sister! Erin, (great name, by the way) there must be something about caramel and girls named, Erin, right? Haha… My favorite!!!
😉
I am in LOVE with talenti! My fav today is coffee chocolate chip. I do believe it will be served in Heaven!
So, if you ever get the chance to try Jeni’s ice cream, you must! It’s probably about $400 a pint in stores near you (ok, really probably $10) but it’s worth it! She’s from my town, Columbus, OH, and has kinda become a national sensation. My fave flavors are salty caramel, brown butter almond brittle, and sweet cream with biscuits and peach jam. It’s hard to go wrong though. Try it!!! http://jenis.com/flavors/
Right now I love breyer’s chocolate ice cream, so good! The news can be depressing or even heartbreaking, but it certainly helps us pray more effectively against the schemes of the enemy.
Oh yes! I was ruined on pistachio gelato! There is nothing better! More comfort than homemade mac an cheese! Thank you for sharing Lindsee you are a blessing!
Hall-e-lu-yer to the Talenti Choc Chip Peanut Butter Cup… i’m actually on a diet, but I work out a little extra and eat a little less at dinner just to accommodate my love for this deliciousness! Glad its not just me 🙂
I’ve been blessed by your gelato sharing as I am also a Talenti pint-eater….Belgium Milk Chocolate!
Linds,
You are such a treasure!!! I love ice cream and gelato. I must try this talenti. 🙂 many blessings, sweet sister.
Hi Lindsee,
I don’t know if your post today was sort of in response to my comment from the last post or just God timing it in the special way that He does to speak to me but I really appreciated what you had to say. God is so awesome how He uses every way to speak to me if I just pay attention.
Re gelato, one time I tried tiramisu gelato. It had actual tiramisu pieces & was so yummy, I had to take a tub to go for my Mom! Today, I tried Mocha Double Double – ice cream though, not gelato. That was delicious too. I guess I don’t really know the difference between ice cream and gelato either.
Thanks for this. 🙂
Can I get an AMEN for the Blue Bell? I live in a state that calls itself South, but it’s way too North for me. So when I went to visit my son in VA earlier this summer I found Blue Bell at a grocery store….and yes…I packed 4 (that’s four) half gallons in a cooler bag with lots of ice and drove back 4 hours to my home. It was more than 4 hours because we stopped for dinner. I figured it was win-win…if the ice cream melted…I’d just eat it all with a spoon when I got home.
Thanks Lindsee! You truly are a blessing and I do believe if we lived in the same city we would be good friends! I typically lean towards the salty foods like the “itos” family (cheetoes, doritos, fritos) but the older I get, the more I’m willing to indulge in icecream/gelato! I will be giving this a try! Thanks.
Talenti gelato is also one my guilty pleasures! Love the sea salt caramel & raspberry chocolate
especially!
Oh my goodness!! I am so with you on the hand-written postal mail. I love sending out written notes to family and friends and there is nothing better than when you have a bad day and receiving a letter from a loved one. It’s like being presented with a little blessing from God.
I keep a pint of blue bell in my freezer for just these moments!! If y’all care to venture into town though, Sweet Cup in Montrose is sumptuous – though grabbing Talenti at HEB works pretty well too 🙂
Girl, you hit the nail on the head with gelato. I. Love. It. If you decide you don’t want
to risk a pint:) Kroger has tiny individual servings that come with a spoon. On the bottom
of the freezer section with ice cream!
Love ya
Can’t say I’ve ever had gelato … so I will have to take time out soon and hunt down some here… and oh boy all those flavours sound amazing, hope I can find a couple 😉
Thanks for the thoughts and bringing our mood up to MMMM-GOOD!!!
You are Fabulous! 😀
Talenti, and terrorism. What a combo!
In no way do I downplay the horror, but on a lighter note,I must say that I only recently discovered Talenti, and I thought I had been raptured! You must understand that I can’t stand ice cream. So for me this was extraordinary! I’m hooked. Caramel sea salt is my favorite!
I love the Salted Carmel Gelato by Talenti topped with Trader Joe COOKIE BUTTER!! I KNOW< I KNOW its calorie suicide but hey my theory is if i'm gonna do bad calorie day then IM GONNA DO IT BAD… So like I can literally eat a jar of Cookie Butter in five days it is found at trader Joe's and it is wonderful….:) some things should be enjoyed and devoured..
i am most definitely smitten with the coffee chocolate chip. it, hands down, beats haagen dazs coffee ice cream, and the chocolate chips make it absolutely divine. my daughter loves talenti’s german chocolate cake gelato. and yes it is an indulgence but sooo gooood.
Hi ! Here is the difference I found in looking it up…must say I have never known the difference but now am going to try some gelato ! ;0)
Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream. It starts out with a similar custard base as ice cream, but has a higher proportion of milk and a lower proportion of cream and eggs (or no eggs at all). It is churned at a much slower rate, incorporating less air and leaving the gelato denser than ice cream.
I was so in need to read your post.
I had just been on my knees with so many concerns and fears for my own and those who are suffering. Picked up iPad for my Bible study and noticed your post. I needed cheering up and just knowing others are just as concerned for the news we hear helped.
And the other thing is I know I have so many people in need of hand written notes and I can do that. Thanks for the reminder.
And on the ice cream….I was just thinking the other day that you needed to give us some more good ideas. I tried some of the things you recommended before and find you have good taste. So I added your ice cream to my phone so I can look for it. And I may pick up some extra bcz my granddaughter just started high school and I think she may need some cheering up.
Awe!!! I LOVE that gelato, and I have never looked at the calories.
FOUR DIGITS REALLY?!?!? That was just way TMI!!!
It seriously is delicious. I love the coconut flavor mixed with a little of the
chocolate flavor.
Just delicious!
Just ate a pint of Ben and Jerry’s hazelnut with a fudge center last week. I ‘ve never done that before! It was delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Finally! I can show my children that I’m not alone……
Blessings!
Lindsee (had to scroll up to check name spelling), you crack me up. As a fellow frozen chocolate fiend, I confess my sins one to another and say that Handel’s (local artisan ice cream made on each local site in NE Ohio) is worth the trip so make sure to try some when you visit. Even Ben & Jerry (yes, the famous ones) were favorably inclined when they visited our area. God is so good to let us taste and see that He is good!!!!
May we all enjoy His blessings and share them with one another. In Italy all the food tasted better, but the gelato was worth writing home about—even back before email existed! Glad they have shared it with the world.
Joy, Jennifer
I LOVE gelato (407 Café has the best!! Don’t have Talenti here in Orlando I don’t think) and I LOVE getting mailed letters! I have a friend who still writes me long letters on occasion that I save until I can sit outside with a cup of coffee and savor like a good book. And then I write her back. I miss those days before e-mail.
Yes, gelato can ruin a person, haha. The secret between ice cream and gelato, really there isn’t one. The difference is that gelato uses only milk (and sugar), whole milk, while ice cream uses mostly cream the more the better. But the real difference between the two is how it churns, gelato churns much more slowly than ice cream. How do I know? I just went to an ice cream making demo at Sur La Table and learned the ins and outs from an expert. It was so much fun and the ice cream they made was fabulous.
Talenti has fabulous sorbetto for those who can’t have eggs or dairy also. My daughter loves the raspberry and it’s gorgeous too. I concur with Jeni’s in Columbus…I’ve never had a flavor there I didn’t love. I had Blue Bell once when we were on vacation, I still remember it was Blackberry Cobbler, and it was to die for. But alas, I live in the north and we can’t buy it here.
Oh I need to try that, chocolate & peanut butter are my weakness. Though an ice cream you just *have* to try is Tillamook, best vanilla ever and their chocolate peanut butter is sooooooo good.
If you’re ever in San Francisco (specifically the Hayes Valley area), check out Smitten ice cream. It’s made literally right after you order it, they have only 4 flavors (3 year round, one seasonal) and they make their mint chip with *real* mint, not extract (oh, and their waffle cones are delicious). I love it!!!
I was pleasantly surprised to find this product in our small town grocery store so, of course, I was tempted to try some. I could not find the chocolate peanut butter flavor, but I did find the sea salt caramel variety.
One word: YUMMY!
I experienced my first gelato at Mall of America a couple of weeks ago. Had two kinds of salted carame. Yummy! l & then I topped those off with a second bowl of Texas Pink Grapefruit. So refreshing. FYI: I had the small containers do no guilt involved! I send out lots and lots of cards & notes to people& love getting them in return.
While I don’t do dairy because I’m allergic to dairy, I do do chocolate! My favorite is the peppermint chocolate by Ritter. It comes from Europe. If you’ve never tried chocolate from Europe you are so missing out! It’s incredible! American chocolate doesn’t compare, too many additives and way too much sugar. I hear chocolate from Belgium is the best, have yet to try it…..someday. :))
Lindsee, you have to try Southern Butter Pecan Gelato. It’s talenti, and in our “bulk shopping club” (up here it is called BJ’s Wholesale CLub” they sell the stuff in QUARTS. Welcome to the ruined-by-gelato club.
Wow! I feel like we just sat down together and shared confessions of an ice cream addict!! Haha I’m totally smitten with Talenti, but I must warn Y’all that TALENTI IS EVIL! That little pint calls my name from the freezer as I stand in front of my kitchen TV and watch depressing news stories. Before I know it, that little container is less than half full and that little evil voice says “oh, go on! It’s almost gone anyway and you KNOW it won’t taste as good the next day. I’ve gained 10lbs since I started eating that stuff! I’d never consider giving it up for Lent, though. Thank you for sharing, Lindsee. We even have the double “e” thing goin on 🙂
My husband and I have discovered Talenti and have made a pact never to let it into our home. So, when we are lucky enough to have a date night, we buy a pint and eat it in the car! We will also eat it on vacation. I hail from a Blue Bell state (MS), and we don’t bother with pints here. We almost always have a half gallon in the freezer.
Try Talenti’s Mediterranean Mint Chocolate Chip. It’s even harder to find than any other flavor but well worth the search! Polished my last one off yesterday. (tears)
I recommend the pistachio flavor of that brand of gelato. You will be pleasantly surprised:)…my daughter wrote a handwritten card to my mother two weeks ago, with hand drawn pictures of flowers and smiley faces, random things that a four year-old would think of; and when she got it in the mail, she was surprised and loved it:) She was like, “Should I write her back?” I was like, “Yes, go for it:)”
I read a wonderful article several years back in Readers’ Digest about loved ones cleaning out an attic after the death of their mother. They found a trunk absolutely full of letters to her, to relatives that had been saved & handed down and from her husband to her. They were priceless and gave such a richer, deeper picture of the person they thought they knew and relatives they never had the chance to know. Like you, I hope handwritten notes and letters never go out of style. I try to write to each of my 3 children at least once a year with love and gratitude for who they are and to my grandchildren so there will always be a connection there.