Every summer, my family searched high and low for a coveted box of New York Cherry Cheesecake ice cream.  Not just any grocery store would carry it, and even the ones that did didn’t always have it in stock.

It was the small-town-holy-grail of ice cream.

When I was in grade three we managed to secure a box during a sleepover with my best friend.  We happily devoured the ice cream, fearing no consequence.  Unfortunately, the next day I woke up with small red spots all over my body.

“Yikes, must have been the cherry cheese cake ice cream we ate last night.  Maybe you’re allergic.” proclaimed my concerned nine-year-old friend.

I felt itchy all over as I imagined my fate without my favourite ice cream.

Turned out, it was chicken pox.

While I’m positive that the ice cream had nothing to do with chicken pox, it is a fun memory that I always think of when I eat this ice cream.

What hasn’t changed?  New York Cherry Cheesecake ice cream is still hard to find in Saskatchewan.  (Thank you Twisted Sisters in Chamberlain, SK for carrying it!!)

I set out to make my own.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com