Time for a little more cuisine of the obvious. For a couple of years now, each summer has a Ben & Jerry's flavor I like best. 2006 was Oatmeal chocolate chunk with cinnamon ice cream, chunks of oatmeal cookies and dark chocolate. Last summer, it was brownie batter. The brownie batter made the chocolate deepen the chocolate flavor. This year, I surprised myself. A friend gave me the idea of peaches and ice cream--went to the market, and they were out of Breyers vanilla, soI picked up some Ben & Jerry's.

It's marked as fair trade vanilla. I'm not sure that I've ever had a vanilla like it. It's like smelling vanilla extract -- intense, multi-layered and almost chocolaty (maybe because vanilla is used to make chocolate these days.) I've been cutting farmer's market peaches over it. The vanilla is a perfect compliment to the peaches. Even though I usually like chocolate better, this summer is all about vanilla.

Photo by Jacy for LAist