In the summer, there’s just nothing like homemade ice cream to cool you down on a hot afternoon. And while it is surely much easier to run and buy some, there’s just something about making your own. It’s a process. I remember as a kid sitting on the carport at my grandparents’ house with all my family anxiously waiting for the ice cream to finish freezing. It was an opportunity to sit and chat. If we were using the hank crank maker, we kids would take turns sitting on the top of the freezer covered with a beach towel to keep it from moving around. Eventually we graduated to the electric kind, but somehow that hand-crank version tasted better. Ice cream flavors back then were usually just vanilla or chocolate, but occasionally my grandfather would make his peppermint ice cream. And while it might seem different, that is what summer tastes like to me. I sure to do long from some of that cold, pink ice cream that seemed even colder because of the peppermint. Continue reading →

Customers say good home cooking is what you’ll find at The Downtowner Restaurant in Selma. And that’s not all. The food spot is so popular, residents joke that if you’re looking for someone, they’ll likely be able to be found in the restaurant, too. Continue reading →