Inside the house with windows and doors closed, my son could still hear the tune of the ice cream truck. His canine hearing must have kicked in as he tilted his head to the side and said, “The ice cream truck is coming.”

Sure enough, 30 seconds later I saw the ice cream truck from our kitchen window. It was slowly making its way down the street in search of ice cream-crazed kids.

I couldn’t let my son eat alone, so I purchased an ice cream too. It’s a good thing I joined in because I found out that July is National Ice Cream Month. This discovery led me to information on the history of ice cream. Did you know that in 17th century England, it was decreed that ice cream only be served at the royal table?

Another piece of history tells us that President James Madison’s wife set an air of expectancy when she served ice cream at the president’s inaugural ball (www.leewardlaw.com/scream.html).

It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that “kids and common folk” got their licks of ice cream. Fast forward to today where anyone can celebrate National Ice Cream Month. What will you do to celebrate? How about challenging a friend or family member in finding the most fun facts about ice cream? Here are a couple of facts to get you started:

• The United Stated produced 1.55 billion gallons of ice cream in 2007.
• 90% of U.S. households buy ice cream-related products every year.

When you tire of searching for facts about ice cream, try your hand at making homemade ice cream. An article at caboose.com lists an easy recipe for making ice cream. The ingredients are:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup milk or half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons rock salt
• 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g. Ziploc)
• 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
• Ice cubes

Directions:

1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag and seal it.
3. Put the small bag inside the large bag and seal it again.
4. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
5. Wipe off the top of the small bag, open it carefully. Enjoy!

If you want to make more than one scoop of ice cream, you have to double the recipe. A half cup of milk only makes about 1 scoop.

After enjoying your ice cream, relax with a book about ice cream. A book by Lee Wardlaw titled, "We All Scream for Ice Cream!” gives the scoop on America’s favorite dessert. The book is said to be suitable for “serious creamologists who need frosty facts for school reports.” It is also a good choice for the “occasional banana-splitter looking for chilly fun on a hot summer afternoon (ages 8 years & up).”

How will you celebrate National Ice Cream Month? Any excuse to eat ice cream works for me.

Angela Verges is a writer and mother of two who can easily be persuaded to have an ice cream cone (if it’s mint chocolate chip on a sugar cone).