Source: Flickr Users whitneyinchicago and joyosity
There's nothing like fresh-churned homemade ice cream. It's cool, but melts in your mouth, creamy and smooth, and when compared to a grocery store variety, has a richer, cleaner, more pure taste. To make ice cream you need an ice cream maker and a little skill, but most of all, it requires patience. Many recipes are egg-based, and one of the steps involves tempering a ribbon-like egg yolk and sugar mixture with warm milk. If you aren't patient, the eggs will scramble. Patience also comes in handy while you're waiting for the ice cream to freeze! 
When mastering the basic procedure, start with vanilla ice cream. It's a flavor that can be enjoyed in every season, is loved by all, and pairs with a variety of desserts. Once you know how to make vanilla, it's easy to experiment with more complex flavors — you can stir in strawberry puree, or chunks of chocolate, or small pieces of Oreo cookies. To learn how it's done, keep reading.
By now you've probably noticed that this Summer we are officially obsessed with Popsicles. How delicious do these root beer float pops sound?! They're a combination of vanilla ice cream and root beer with a cherry garnish. —Erin Cooks
Not only is today National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, but it's the ice cream cone's birthday as well! Charles Menches is credited with inventing the ice cream cone when he began scooping ice cream into pastry cones at the 1904 World's Fair. Nearby ice cream venders caught on and historians believe that there were over 50 ice cream stands serving ice cream in cones by the time the fair ended on December 1st. By the next summer, people all over America were cooling down with ice cream cones. I prefer the thin, crisp standard grocery store sugar cone, so I'll be buying a box and whipping up a batch of vanilla ice cream. Purchase your favorite cones - or - and make vanilla ice cream to celebrate! For a classic recipe with flecks of vanilla bean, read more
The teen magazines I used to read in middle school always suggested that vanilla extract could be worn as a cheap, delicious-smelling perfume. But whenever I dabbed the foodstuff on my wrists like the magazines suggested, I just smelled like a cake in progress.
I love vanilla, though, so ever since I was a teen, I've been on the hunt for a natural, wearable vanilla fragrance. Here are a few I've found; if you have other favorites, please share!
Satu Vanilla Infusion Eau de Parfum ($48 for 3 ounces) is a crisp, floral-leaning vanilla scent that's more summery than sweet.
Two more wearable vanilla scents, so read more
