You can also do it the really old fashioned way -- the same method that has long been used to make sorbet. Just pour the mixture into a baking dish, and set that into your freezer. Also, you will need a heavy glass or metal bowl, an electric hand mixer, and a bowl of ice big enough for the first bowl to sit in. Put the heavy glass or metal bowl and the beater attachments for the hand mixer into the freezer at the same time as the ice cream mix to chill them. When its almost but not quite fully frozen, use a fork to break it up into small lumps about the size of a nickle or a little less. Then put it back into the freezer about 10 minutes to set up a bit again. Now, working as quickly as possible, take the pre-chilled heavy bowl out of the freezer,and set it in a bath of ice cubes in the 2nd larger bowl. Quickly transfer the ice cream mixture into the chilled bowl, and beat it as much as possible with the electric mixer ONLY until the lumps are broken up, and it begins to whip up a bit. Then, back into the freezer for another 15 to 30 minutes, until its not at all "melty" but still a little soft. Repeat the beating/whipping process several times -- the idea is to whip as much air into it to make it creamy and fluffy as possible, without melting it too much at each whipping. The chilled bowl, the ice bath, and the chilled beaters help, but beware that the very act of beating it creates friction between the bowl and beaters, which makes heat, so this process is a balancing act between beating in air and melting the ice cream. Done right, which isn't at all hard to do with just a little practice, this method does work, albeit it will never be quite as fluffy as commercial ice creams you are used to, which not only incorporate a large volume of air into the mix using specialized equipment, but which also generally use gums and stabilizers which prevents the product from melting and turning liquid as fast as a pure, cream and milk only product will. Good luck.

Yes.

I have never heard of Blue Bell until now, but its not available in California, darn :-( Sure sounds good ! My hubby loves Ice Cream, but I never buy it for myself, I do enjoy a cone from McDonalds once in awhile though and if we had a speciality Ice Cream Place I would probably like it, like 31 flavors. A few months ago they started putting in a Cold Stone shop, got it half built and we got excited about it, and then they just stopped , left and put in a small subway :-(

I haven't seen a Good Humor truck in ages. I'd guess there are several reasons. One being that we now live in the era of "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid" that keeps kids indoors lest the boogie man get 'em. (There are no more pedophiles now than ever, IMO.) Gas prices are probably another reason. And...all the mothers are at work during daylight hours when the truck would circulate through a neighborhood. The last Good Humor truck I recall seeing regularly was parked at an intersection between two forest preserves west of Winnetka (Illinois). HIkers and bikers would stop for an ice cream. marita -- Oh, ick, the wooden paddle! Kids who brought their lunches could buy a carton of milk and one of those cups at my grammar school. (Back when mothers were home all day, and most kids went home for lunch.)