Sometimes, dreams really do come true.
Regular readers of this blog (or anyone who knows me personally (or anyone who has just been in my proximity)) know that I have a mild interest in ice cream. I’m not going to say this is a recent development. I’ve always liked ice cream. But over the past few years, it’s ramped up dramatically. Why? I don’t know. Is it a good thing? I don’t know that either. I’ve had a wonderful summer of sampling the ice cream fare around town and have generally come out of those experiences pleased.
None of this, however, holds a candle to the ice cream that haunts my dreams even after a decade of distance. Please understand that I know how pretentious this sounds, but it is a story that needs telling. In 2014, I took a trip to Italy around the time of my first wedding anniversary. It was a lovely trip. We went to Rome and saw the Vatican. We went to Milan and saw the Last Supper. We went to a wine tasting in the lakes region. We saw the statue of David in Florence. These were all cool, I guess. They were fun ways to pass the time in between meals, I suppose. But the most important thing that I discovered during that trip was at a small gelateria whose name is now lost to the sands of time. The flavor that will never leave me was a pear and pecorino gelato. Incredible pear flavor, salty little surprises with a delightful pecorino flavor. Cold, sweet, balanced, salty, fruity, perfect.
Another development that has changed the game is that I now own an ice cream maker. Now I have the power. True power. Power that begs to be flexed. I’ve churned out a few different ice creams. I put out a couple of pretty traditional flavors: strawberry and vanilla. I’ve also put together a few different sorts of flavors: vegan curry banana, vegan sweet corn, and honey lavender. The curry banana was an absolute revelation. It was the perfect weirdness that absolutely baffled the senses. The honey lavender was pretty good. The flavor hit the balance pretty well, but I don’t know if the honey did the textures any favors. The sweet corn was a disaster. I missed the step where you were supposed to sieve the pureed sweet corn, and it was more like eating frozen corn baby food than anything else. I let the power go to my head. I became, for the moment, Icarus.
However, my hubris is not limited by my failures, and I stand on the precipice of history. After a few weeks of realizing that I had the power to manipulate ice cream and bend the flavors to my will, I took a chance and googled, “Pear and pecorino gelato.” There is very little on the internet that has any indication that it was anything other than a fever dream. Very little, except this: The Pear and Pecorino Gelato.
That’s right. It exists. Not only does it exist, but it is within reach.
What is my reason for writing about this? None really. I’m just excited and wanted to share it. I can try to put some sort of moral on this, so bear with me. Good things come to those who wait? Persistence can be a reward? The anticipation of something might overshadow the reality of it? You never know how you might be inspired to try new things? Our memories are never replaceable, but we can’t give up our pursuit? Does anybody else have any ideas? Why did I write this? Why is this on a church website? Why did you just read this? If you have any better ideas about what this means than I do, please let me know. I’ll be sure to edit it to look like I already knew what I was trying to say, and I may even give you credit.
Peace,
Rev. Jeff Fox-Kline
If you'd like to respond to any of Jeff's questions above or share any of your insights, we invite you to do so! Stop by our church! Give us a call! Send us an email! To learn more about Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, contact our office or visit us to chat! We're located at 1200 S. Winton Road in Rochester, NY in the town of Brighton. We'd love to hear from you.
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