CANTALOUPE AND VANILLA ICE CREAM

This brings back such beautiful memories.  Food touches all our senses, therefore, allowing memories to resonate more easily.  Enjoy!!!  My Dad and I certainly did.

When I turned sixteen, my long lazy days at the beach were over. It was time for me to go to work for my Dad. I liked working with my Dad at the dry cleaning plant, but I wasn't use to being in the city when it was hot. Since I'd been born, my folks had taken my brother and I to the cottage as soon as school was out. We stayed there until the day before school started. They did this to keep us out of crowded places in the hot city, and therefore lessen our chances of exposure to the polio virus.  Fear of polio was one of the reasons my folks bought the cottage. After the city heat and the dry cleaning plant, even an air conditioned dry cleaning plant is hot; the ride home with my Dad to the cool lake was pure heaven. Just about everyday, we'd stop at one of the farm stands to pick up fresh vegetables and fruit for dinner. One of our favorite treats to ourselves were miniature cantaloupes. Cut in half, they made a perfect bowl for vanilla ice cream. When we got home, we would chill the melon. After dinner, Dad would ask Grandpa if he’d like a piece of melon. We'd wait, hoping. When he'd say, "NO", Dad would give me his sheepish grin and I'd fix us melon sundaes. When Grandpa wanted melon, it was no problem, the ice cream melted into the dish instead of into the melon bowl as we would cut the melon in wedges. We could have bought extra melons. I think we just liked the ritual and the private joke. Melon and ice cream is no joke, it is scrumptious.

CANTALOUPE AND VANILLA ICE CREAM
1 wedge of cantaloupe or muskmelon
1 or 2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Clean seeds out of melon and fill with vanilla ice cream.

Clean rind of melon with cold running water.  Cut in half.

Remove seeds from the melon.

Melon ready for ice cream.

Scrumptious!  Enjoy!!