I'm dreaming of an Eskimo pie

Diana Uichanco

By the last week of January, "sweater weather" seemed to have vanished, making way for an unusually early hint of summer.

Gone are the delightfully cool early mornings in Manila, which is why these days find me daydreaming of nothing much besides digging into a Jack Frost Eskimo pie, straight out of the chiller!






Eskimo pie. The mere mention of those words conjures images of parka-garbed me basking in an endless field of snow. Eskimo pie is not an Eskimo invention but a positively delicious treat off Jack Frost Premium Ice Cream's menu which I got to try around Christmastime last year -- just a month or so after it was launched. Now, with the summery temperatures in February, it is again beckoning to me. To order or not to order -- that is the question.

One would think that such a decision is easy to make, what with these balmy afternoons that are fast becoming a daily occurrence (Valentine's week is also coming up, and if there's one reason to go for a special gustatory treat to share with your dearest ones besides birthdays, Christmas, and graduation day, it has got to be Valentine's day!). But in this age of endless choices (with sugar/ sugar-free, regular/gluten-free, instant/3-in-1/brewed/pressed/drip...), I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. 

Does one go with what one has tried and found thoroughly pleasing? Or is it  time for an adventure of sorts, a leap into the unknown? The Eskimo pie which kept me and  my tastebuds joyful for several days was blueberry cheesecake -- it was like enjoying a blueberry cheesecake, but immensely more satisfying. There's blueberry, there's cake, there's pie crust, there's ice cream. Delicious and delightfully cold! 





But do I stick to the same magnificent flavor, or do I set my sights on something new? Strawberry cheesecake does sound wonderful, too; same with Oreo cheesecake. However, since there's a barely consumed 300-g dark chocolate bar in the fridge and a just-opened jar of choco-hazelnut sandwich spread in the kitchen cabinet, Oreo cheesecake will have to be eliminated in this round. It's between blueberry and strawberry then!

But then hold on, there's the lemon mint ice cream flavor in Jack Frost's menu is as well, and coffee with bacon bits ("morning rush") sounds mighty intriguing. Ah, decisions, decisions! I'd better stick to the Eskimo pies for now and leave the purely ice cream option for when the summer temperature hits its peak in a couple of months. By then I hope to be enjoying a pint of that homemade ice cream from a hammock suspended between two coconut trees somewhere, serene lapping of ocean waves in the background. Or I could just be in my room, with the airconditioner on full-blast, decked out in sweater and bonnet while taking spoonfuls of frozen treats amid my snow-filled fantasy.


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