Your Own Ice Cream Parlor

Your house is now the main place for staycation. There's probably a pool set up along with a badminton ser or shuffleboard court. Add to the fun by creating your own ice cream parlor. There's so many good frozen products out there , the kids can have a field day.

Ice cream parlors were known for their elaborate sundaes and sodas. Make sure you have a variety of different fixings to begin. Start with the ice cream. There's always chocolate or vanilla but coffee works as does strawberry and chocolate chip mint. If you're worried about having two much dairy , then go for soy, almond or cashew milk ice creams. Oat milk ice cream is big right now and with good reason. Planet Oat's oat milk one tastes just like the dairy kind, creamy and rich. They not only have the usual chocolate and vanilla but also blueberry oat crumble,cookies and cream , chocolate peanut butter swirl and coffee fudge swirl. These work in any sundae or soda. As for the toppings, there are homemade and store bought. Hot fudge sauce is easy to make. Start with cocoa powder and cook with sugar , heavy cream and butter over a stove top. You can serve it freshly made or store it in a glass container. It can be reheated in the microwave or stove top for a second use. Caramel is another great topping, especially over vanilla ice cream. Smuckers has a sea salt caramel that's phenomenal. Of course there's whipped cream but now you can get non dairy  coconut  or almond nut milk Reddi-Whip, Toss a handful of nuts, M&M's or sprinkles for extra fun.Sliced fruit also is a nice topping too.

Ice cream sodas are  cool, refreshing treats. Many just plop a scoop or two into a glass filled with Coke or Pepsi. This is good but a real ice cream soda does have a bit more flair. Start with a root bear float. Put two scoops in a mug of well chilled root beer. It's the perfect marriage of flavors topped off with a good head of froth. As far as a true ice cream soda, start off with a seltzer. You can used a flavored one like cherry or raspberry for added taste. As for the ice cream, try a chocolate or vanilla one. Add one or two  tablespoons of chocolate syrup like U-Bet or Hershey's. Top with a fancy swirl of whipped cream. Add multi- colored sprinkles for extra fun. If you're not into ice cream then try an egg cream. This is the perfect summer treat. This deli special is just a mouthwatering mix of cold milk, chocolate syrup, namely U-Bet and seltzer. It's then just vigorous beating with a fork until a foam forms on top.Sip and enjoy.For coffee lovers there is the coffee float. It's just taking cold coffee, whether caffeinated or decaf, adding ice cream - try chocolate for a mocchacino vibe to it. Top with a generous squiggle of whipped cream. You can add a drizzle of chocolate or caramel too.

An at-home ice parlor is just one of the great aspects for a stay at home summer. Go wild with sundaes and sodas. Enjoy them as you catch sun and fun in your back yard.