Last evening we talked about ice cream flavours. Kevin, Kristin’s brother, told of a place in Vancouver with over 200 options, including curry (what kind he didn’t say though I guess yellow) and pear with blue cheese.

This morning, in that foggy place between sleeping and waking, I imagined that I was given an ice cream ultimatum: What ice cream flavour would you choose if you could only eat one flavour for the rest of your life. I hastily thought “hazelnut”.

What? Hazelnut? My sleepy brain didn’t choose so badly, and it chose quickly, but my sleepy brain apparently can’t remember past the last time it had tasty ice cream. Now that I am more alert, I am of course unable to choose.

Keeping in mind that my dream-ultimatum doesn’t bar me from eating full fat yoghurt, I think my childhood favourite of black cherry can be substituted should I ever crave it, as can most other fruit flavours.

Then are many varieties of chocolate that I like: chocolate mint, chocolate orange, mocha, chilli chocolate, on and on. But just one of these exclusively? I find plain chocolate ice cream to be good and all, but for pure chocolate, I’d rather mousse or a truffle or a warm cake. I’d also rather have chunks in it. Ben and Jerry’s makes so many good chocolate+stuff flavours. I don’t know about you, but I’d be afraid to commit myself to a flavour made by a company who might discontinue it, or go out of business. Even in my dream-land, I’m unwilling to risk losing access to my exclusive flavour. Other than heavenly hash, there are no ubiquitous, safe-from-obsolescence chocolate+stuff flavours, and I find heavenly hash too sweet.

The more I consider it, the more hazelnut doesn’t really seem like a stupid, rash choice after all. Yet while it stands on its own, it doesn’t pair all that well with things I like to have with ice cream: Hazelnut with pumpkin pie? Hrmm. Hazelnut and rhubarb crumble? Umm.

And when I consider it even more, I think vanilla might actually be my ultimate choice for my imagined eternity of sameness. It doesn’t try too hard, pairs well with everything, never goes out of style.

My friend David used to chide me for always picking vanilla. “31 flavours and you choose VANILLA? Every time?”

“No,” I’d say trying to defend myself, “French Vanilla.”