Prior to my 60-day cleanse, if you’d have asked me the theme for this summer, I would have answered, “It’s the summer of ice cream!” I am a sucker for the delightful summer treat, and there is simply nothing more deliciously sensuous. I don’t know what could make a person happier than a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream…and by person, I mean me. The summer of ice cream came to a very big halt when my 60-day cleanse started, but I did find a satisfying substitute, which I will share with you in a bit.

I consider ice cream the world’s best dessert, whether you’re eating it as is or topping your favorite vanilla ice cream with fresh peaches. Ice cream just screams stop and smell the roses. Everybody has a favorite ice cream place, and today I want to share some of mine.

Oink’s Dutch Treat in New Buffalo, Michigan, is near my cabin and practically irresistible. It’s a marvelous treat to enjoy after date night dinner. They have so many spectacular handcrafted flavors. They don’t ship, so you’ll have to come to New Buffalo to try it. It’s a lot of fun, because beyond the ice cream, the shop is crammed full of novelty pigs in literally thousands of shapes and sizes, including figurines, stuffed animals, posters, lollipops, and keychains.

I’ve often thought it would be a wonderful idea to enjoy a flight of various ice creams as a dessert. You know how most ice cream places let you sample the flavors? When I taste, I always buy, and I do tip well, so I feel fine about savoring a few samples before deciding. Recently I went into Oink’s with my friend Michelle. I’d had a couple glasses of wine and was pretty happy to be there. I said to Michelle, “Watch, I’m going to ask for ten tastes!” She finds me very funny, and moments like this really make her giggle. So that evening I basically went on a field trip from flavor to flavor—it was one of the better evenings so far this summer.

I’ve introduced the nocrumbsleft team to Oink’s too. Fernanda and Vivian have come to the cabin to work, and a few road trips we’ve taken have concluded with a scoop of ice cream. When Fernanda and Vivian work at my cabin for the day, I always send them home early so they won’t get stuck in traffic. Little did I know they were making a pitstop at Oink’s on the way home from work. I know this because I discovered it on their Instagram stories.

My history with Oink’s goes back even further. When my kids were little, we had a place in Harbert, Michigan, and our favorite activity in the area was going to Oink’s. It’s just so fun. In addition to my favorite, chocolate peanut butter, I also have to mention the compellingly named Michigan Pothole, and the one called Salty Jack. Oink’s is a magical place, and truly a unifier.

Jeni’s Ice Creams is a homegrown, small-town business created by real people, and I have to say that I am crazy about Jeni Britton herself. I met her when the first Chicago store opened. She’s a bright light making a difference in the world, and she started experimenting with unique ice cream flavors when she was 22!

She now has 65 shops nationwide, plus you can order Jeni’s online for delivery. I love their unique and seasonal flavors, and I’ve been delighted to be invited to events at Jeni’s. I’ve interviewed Jeni on my Table Talks podcast, and she’s a true foodie. You can absolutely taste the love, creativity, and artistry in the flavors she creates. I asked Jeni where she finds inspiration, and she said this: "I take inspiration from listening to the world around me—mostly what makes people feel loved, excited, motivated." She pulls ideas from nature, art, fashion, music, and everyday life, and her ice cream has a bit of magic in it.

I asked Jeni what other people say about her ice cream, and they say it’s like a first kiss! A current popular flavor is Golden Nectar Honeycomb, which is vanilla with bits of caramel butter candies, a hint of clove and ylang ylang. She says it’s just what we’d imagine the end of a warm summer day would taste like if we could freeze that moment and top it with cracked caramel. Her ice cream truly engages all the senses, probably because Jeni uses all her senses when creating her flavors.

I found out about Graeter’s a few years back when I received the most amazing gift at Christmas. A Crumble knew we were gathering at the ranch and sent a delightful gift box for my family and friends. I’ve been in love with the flavors ever since. The Cincinnati-based ice cream is deliciously creamy and sumptuous, and they’ve been handcrafting their French pot ice cream since 1870! It’s all small batch, and they originally sold it from a cart. I’m happy to say that in addition to stocking it in 6000 stores throughout the US, Graeter’s ships nationwide. Once you taste it, the rest is history.

What is it about ice cream? It’s just unbelievably seductive! One day last summer, Fernanda and I were working on a gluten-free crumble which was bursting with strawberry and rhubarb, and it was one of those super-hot days when I practically just wanted to go to work in my underwear. We made the dessert, served it a la mode, and then we served it to ourselves again…and again. We were frankly a little bit drunk on food, eventually devouring the entire thing, and I must admit, it was one of the most fantastic meals ever.

Recently, I discovered that frozen peach halves puréed with a fresh, ripe peach create a luscious dessert that’s a little bit like ice cream but fits into my cleanse. If you’re a follower, you know that my cleanse is helping me gear up to spend September in Italy. As you can imagine, I’m beyond excited to be tasting all the local gelato flavors with my favorite guy and, of course, sharing them with you virtually.