The Important things in Life: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

When I was 13, I babysat for the Peterson's up the street every Friday night (only now do I know how much they loved me) for $2.50 an hour and a pantry and freezer stocked with Mint Milanos and Bryer's Mint Chocolate Chip. I spent all of my hours delighting in minty sweets, talking on the phone, and watching TGIF. It was a 13-year-old heaven.

I have loved mint chocolate chip ice cream for years, the white mint in particular (the whiteness seems to sharpen the flavor, purify it). For decades I've thought Bryer's made the very best. And then, a year and a half ago, I discovered Hagen Daz Light Mint Chocolate Chip. OH the goodness. I may or may not have eaten a whole pint when I was pregnant with Eden. And I may or may not have done this a couple of times. Feast your eyes:

The tragic news is that they have STOPPED MAKING THIS ice cream. My friend Kim called the company to ask why (one of the many reasons we must be friends) and was told not enough people were buying it -- obviously because they hardly stold it ANYwhere.

The good news is that they began making this:

and five (really made up of only 5 ingredients) +
comes pretty close...