1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 music 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:20,000 music 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:28,000 music 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:38,000 music 5 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:48,000 music 6 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:56,000 music 7 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:06,000 music 8 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,000 music 9 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,000 sunlight moonlight 10 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Ryan Haver's Dom Dorman, I'm so excited for today's program 11 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 because I fucking love ice cream 12 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 it's gonna be fucking sick 13 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 we're talking about ice cream today 14 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000 we're talking with Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream 15 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000 Mona Lipson, a very very good friend, dear friend and neighbor of ours 16 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 here in the northeast 17 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000 I was on Mona's website 18 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 and I mean the flavors 19 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 I have to come to where you are and try this ice cream 20 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,000 it's amazing 21 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,000 it's like as healthy as ice cream can be 22 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,000 I don't know if healthy is the word but it's very natural 23 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 it's very locally sourced 24 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 you know everything 25 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 if you want to know what's in your food 26 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,000 I mean that's great 27 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 it's really all you need to know 28 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 I saw one that was the December flavor 29 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,000 and it was like 30 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,000 what are those Italian cookies 31 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 like the red and yellow and green 32 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 the rainbow cookies 33 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 Napoleon 34 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,000 ice cream was that 35 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000 it's really exciting 36 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,000 we're gonna talk to Mona about Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream 37 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 here on the Sunlight Moonlight podcast where we speak 38 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 with folks who are being creative 39 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,000 for their work and working people who are being creative 40 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 elsewhere 41 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,000 Ryan Havers 42 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,000 it was good 43 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 nothing much to report 44 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,000 I had a session of TMS today 45 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 too much silliness 46 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,000 it's called transcranial magnetic 47 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,000 something 48 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 it's like a magnet 49 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 and it stimulates your brain 50 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,000 and it's supposed to help with depression 51 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,000 and there's over 80% of the people that do it 52 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,000 they have awesome improvements 53 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,000 it's not 54 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,000 it feels like a little twitch 55 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,000 it's a little bit like a little bit of a retinue 56 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,000 it's a little bit of a retinue 57 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 it's a little bit of a retinue 58 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 it's a little bit of a retinue 59 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,000 I had a electro stimulation 60 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,000 and I had knee surgery and I was rehabbing it 61 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 and that felt like that 62 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,480 I'm very excited about the holiday season. 63 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,440 We've got a lot of delicious food to eat. 64 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:45,280 And now. 65 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:46,120 You look great. 66 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:46,960 Thanks. 67 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:47,800 Yeah. 68 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:48,620 Thanks. 69 00:04:48,620 --> 00:04:49,460 You look good too. 70 00:04:49,460 --> 00:04:50,300 Thank you. 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:52,600 I like that shirt. 72 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:54,040 You're kind of, it's like, 73 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,680 almost like you have a green screen. 74 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,560 You're blending into your own background. 75 00:04:58,560 --> 00:04:59,880 Yeah. 76 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:00,720 I should get a green, 77 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:01,560 I have a green screen, 78 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:03,200 but it's not big enough. 79 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:04,040 But I would like to. 80 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:05,120 Maybe just behind your head 81 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,600 and then your head would disappear. 82 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:07,440 Yeah, yeah. 83 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:08,640 My head could be floating. 84 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:09,640 I'll put green. 85 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:10,840 Yeah. 86 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:12,720 I'll paint green on my neck. 87 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:16,840 It wouldn't be the first time. 88 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,120 Well, I think we had some technical challenges 89 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:23,520 preparing for the show today, 90 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,000 which were of course, 91 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,280 had a very easy solution 92 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:29,840 as technical challenges often do. 93 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:31,520 I think, Ryan, what do you think? 94 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:32,920 Do you want to get into it? 95 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,680 I think we just get into it. 96 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,080 Because I'm really excited to talk 97 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,600 with Mona about her experience and her story. 98 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:43,760 All right, what do you think? 99 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,000 Yeah, I think so. 100 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:45,960 And I think it's, 101 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,080 I want to point out also, 102 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,160 it's not just what I gather 103 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,120 from what I've read about Mona. 104 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,480 It's not just the ice cream, 105 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:01,560 but she's been able to merge her love of making ice cream 106 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,720 with social justice 107 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,240 and activism, 108 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:10,640 her love of activism. 109 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,160 So yeah, let's get into it. 110 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:13,000 I'm excited. 111 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,920 Yeah, I think it's a great fit too, 112 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,280 because yes, we've, 113 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:19,280 with Ryan and I both being musicians, 114 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:21,160 of course we've focused, 115 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,240 you sort of talk about what you know first, right? 116 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,320 And so with our program, 117 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,640 we've talked a little bit a lot actually about music, 118 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,400 but I think that in speaking about creativity, 119 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:36,840 food for me is a huge love. 120 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,000 I'm sort of an amateur cook here at home. 121 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,000 And obviously cooking and the culinary arts 122 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,680 require not only skill, 123 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,480 but an incredible amount of creativity and talent. 124 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,520 And so I think for this program, 125 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,200 the Sunlight Moonlight podcast, 126 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,280 I think it's important for us to branch out 127 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:59,280 and speak to creative people of all disciplines, 128 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,280 not just of the musical ilk, 129 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,280 but of the music as it were. 130 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,400 So without further ado, 131 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,400 I think we should bring Mona in. 132 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:14,720 Hello, Mona. 133 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:15,720 Hello, Mona. 134 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:16,720 Hello, everyone. 135 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,000 It's so great to have you here on the program. 136 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Mona Lipson from Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream. 137 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Mona, do you want to maybe do a quick intro 138 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,800 to talk about your jam? 139 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,560 Well, I don't make jam, nor do I jam, 140 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,600 but I do put jam in my ice cream. 141 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:41,320 It's lovely to be here. 142 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:42,640 Thank you so, so much. 143 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:43,800 Riveting radio. 144 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:46,320 Do we still call it radio? 145 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,320 Sure, sure, broadcasting, we can call it broadcasting. 146 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,040 Yes, well, it's a pleasure to be here 147 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:54,240 representing the culinary arts. 148 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,040 I actually always like to say, 149 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,280 when people ask me if I like cooking or baking, 150 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:02,080 I always say I do, but I like the arts and craft element to it. 151 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,520 So I always try to actually pick recipes or projects 152 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:07,760 that have more of that creative element 153 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,880 rather than just dumping all the ingredients, 154 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,200 throwing it in the oven, and then seeing what comes out. 155 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,320 I like the tinkering and the craftiness of it. 156 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:18,320 So you're spot on. 157 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,240 But ice cream, so I've always had, 158 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,280 obviously like many people, quite a love of ice cream, 159 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,320 bring so much joy to my life. 160 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:30,320 And back in 2017, I was gifted a ice cream bowl 161 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,720 that attaches to your KitchenAid mixer. 162 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,200 And I think, unlike most people that probably get excited 163 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,880 after the holidays, they use all their new gifts once or twice 164 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,400 and then they sort of go back into a cabinet 165 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,200 and never to be seen again. 166 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,640 The ice cream bowl never went into a cabinet. 167 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:51,640 It was pretty much in use full time until 2020. 168 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,200 And when 2020 happened and we all went into lockdown, 169 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,520 I knew that I was going to need to make ice cream 170 00:08:57,520 --> 00:08:58,760 for therapeutic reasons. 171 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,800 So it also has that element. 172 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:02,680 So the arts and crafts and the crafty 173 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:05,080 and the creative element, but also the therapeutic 174 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,400 and mental health benefits of ice cream 175 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,240 and making the ice cream. 176 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:11,600 But my freezer was full. 177 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:14,600 It couldn't make any more ice cream 178 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,160 without actually emptying out some of the ice cream. 179 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:18,360 And with us being in lockdown, 180 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:19,600 I wasn't quite sure how to do that. 181 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:21,120 Normally I would bring it to work 182 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:22,640 or people would come over. 183 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:24,760 So I decided that first weekend of lockdown, 184 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:28,680 I was going to pack my car with ice cream. 185 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:30,720 There was no traffic in the Brooklyn area 186 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:32,040 where I was living at the time. 187 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,280 And I dropped off ice cream to friends and family, no contact. 188 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,200 And I snapped a picture and I put it on Instagram. 189 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:40,320 And the next thing I knew, 190 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,160 random people on Instagram were asking me for ice cream. 191 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,640 And so this became a new tradition 192 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:47,400 every weekend of lockdown, 193 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,800 picking a few random people, some friends, 194 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,120 some family neighbors and dropping off ice cream. 195 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,760 And one thing led to another. 196 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,680 And I started meeting other people 197 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:57,040 who were doing similar things. 198 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,800 And so I would come home empty of ice cream, 199 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,160 but full of halls of stuff that people were giving me. 200 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,280 So cookies and brownies and plants and cocktails. 201 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,120 And I didn't know what to do with all these things. 202 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,360 So then I just said, well, I can put these brownies 203 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:12,280 and these cookies in the ice cream. 204 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,160 And so then they became more coordinated 205 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,600 and coordinated and elaborate ice cream swaps 206 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:21,240 where I would show up with ice cream 207 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,840 and then we would have planned out a certain swap. 208 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,760 And this idea hit me where I could actually use ice cream 209 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,360 as a vehicle to promote these other small businesses 210 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,640 or these other local makers and bakers 211 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,000 who are doing similar things. 212 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,000 And so this idea began forming of using ice cream 213 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:42,480 as this community driver. 214 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,160 And having spent at the time around 18 years working 215 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,040 in the nonprofit and social impact space, 216 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,480 I knew if I was going to start any kind of business, 217 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,600 it would always need to have that community element 218 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,600 like you were saying, Ryan. 219 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,680 So yeah, so that's how Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream 220 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,880 kind of came to be back in 2020. 221 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:03,600 It's been a bit of a side hustle ever since. 222 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,840 And yeah, I still continue to feature. 223 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:09,760 You can see here in my pints, it says, 224 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,240 you'll find a featured local maker, baker, 225 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,480 and producer packed into every pint. 226 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,680 So yeah, that is the concept of Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream. 227 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:22,200 That's, I mean, that's completely fantastic. 228 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:27,200 And it's really, I want to get into so much 229 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,160 of what you brought up. 230 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,320 First of all, the mental health aspect, 231 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:36,080 the creative release, the arts and crafts element 232 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,400 of what you're doing is so important to me. 233 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,520 It's one of the main reasons that I cook 234 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,360 is because there's something so fulfilling 235 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:51,360 and so calming about it to me to sort of like, 236 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,600 you know, have an idea, line up your ingredients, execute, 237 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,480 and whether it comes out fantastic or not 238 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:04,480 is sort of secondary to the actual act of just doing it. 239 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:05,600 Right? 240 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:08,600 I think it also takes you, 241 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:12,280 oh, it also, I think just takes you away from a screen. 242 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,480 So the other night, I got a little bit wrapped up 243 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:16,840 in making cookies because I just realized, 244 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:18,320 oh, I'm not looking at my phone, 245 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,440 I'm not looking at a computer, 246 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:20,920 I'm not looking at a television, 247 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,640 I'm not a musician, so I'm not sitting there, you know, 248 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,200 playing music, even when I read books these days, 249 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,800 most of the time it's an audio book and I'm multitasking 250 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,040 and I'm, you know, folding laundry, I'm in the car. 251 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,960 And so I find that one of the only times in my day 252 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:38,200 where I'm not staring at a screen is when I'm in the kitchen. 253 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,240 So yeah, definitely helps with that, 254 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,560 just screen break and mental health breaker. 255 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,640 I cook almost every day for my family. 256 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,000 And the other thing I really like about it is it's, 257 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,240 it's also a bit of service, you know? 258 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,640 It's not, it's like you're making something 259 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,400 for other people as well, which is kind of a cool thing. 260 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:04,800 I'm sure you probably get that because you know, 261 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,800 you're going out, you're selling it and yeah, anyway. 262 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,480 What is your, let's go back a little bit too, 263 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:19,480 because you're, the causes that you're sort of championing, 264 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:26,240 how is it that you can bring awareness or effect change 265 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:32,400 in those areas through the sort of the making 266 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,080 and the distribution of ice cream? 267 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:38,000 You know, well, first and foremost, 268 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,640 I want to support local businesses. 269 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:44,280 So it's bringing that extra awareness to them 270 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:45,120 through the flavor. 271 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:49,200 Now, there was a short time where I was running a subscription, 272 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,480 which is a great model for ice cream, 273 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,160 especially in the winter time when people tend to back off 274 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,360 of ice cream, but if you rope them in with a subscription, 275 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:58,760 they're eating it. 276 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:00,320 So when I was running the subscription, 277 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,360 in addition to the ice cream, members were getting a discount 278 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,320 for the community members featured. 279 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,840 So I was trying to help to, you know, incentivize purchases. 280 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,720 And then I was also making little videos 281 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,800 so that the individual creative producers featured 282 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:20,120 in each pint were getting a few minutes to talk 283 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:21,800 about their product and how they started. 284 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,200 And just that individualized aspect of getting to know 285 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:26,480 the people who make your food, 286 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,560 I think makes a really big difference. 287 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,680 You know, we're continuously seeing more people paying attention 288 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,320 to, you know, where their food and their products 289 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,240 and their services are coming from. 290 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,400 You know, do they have a social impact value to them? 291 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,800 And, you know, we see more and more in surveys and polls 292 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,520 that people want their products and their services 293 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,320 to have some kind of purpose to them. 294 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,720 You know, whether or not they'll spend more money on them, 295 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:54,920 I think that's still up in the air. 296 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,360 I think many people would like to and say they do. 297 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,120 Things have gotten very expensive. 298 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,440 But I like to think that from a competitive standpoint, 299 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:06,400 the social impact and the purpose element 300 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:07,960 is a major differentiator. 301 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:12,600 So if you have two ice cream products of the same maybe value, 302 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,240 if one of them has a social purpose and the other one doesn't, 303 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,400 I think more people are going to lean towards the one 304 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:18,400 with a social purpose. 305 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,960 So, you know, I'm hoping that I'm also making an impact 306 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,080 just in our consumerism alone. 307 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,400 And we're continuing to demand that the products 308 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,000 and the services that we consume 309 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,960 just are benefiting society rather than hurting them. 310 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,240 So that's just one element of how I'm using ice cream 311 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,640 as a point of activism. 312 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,520 Back in 2020 and 2021, I also helped 313 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,720 co-found a movement called Ice Cream for Change, 314 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,960 where we rallied hundreds of ice cream shops and operators 315 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,200 to donate a percentage of proceeds, 316 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:55,520 a percentage of sales on National Ice Cream Day, 317 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,240 which is in July, to donate them to various social justice 318 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,280 organizations and organizations that the individual ice 319 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:03,960 cream shop felt strongly about. 320 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,440 And so collectively, we raised about $100,000 321 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,280 back in 2020 and 2021, which was really exciting. 322 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,480 I'd love to revitalize it, but everyone's been so busy. 323 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,000 I think that was one of the highlights 324 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,920 or silver linings of COVID was just we had time 325 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:20,560 that we don't often have. 326 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,600 And so being able to use that time to make an impact 327 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:25,680 was really valuable. 328 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:30,800 So yeah, Ice Cream for Change was an exciting moment 329 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,040 during a very dark time. 330 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,600 And I got to start that with a woman named Maya Warren, who 331 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,000 is an actual ice cream scientist. 332 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,720 She has a PhD in food science, but she specializes in ice cream 333 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:47,000 and also happens to be the 25th season 334 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,200 winner of, what's the show? 335 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,880 Where they travel. 336 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:54,040 The Amazing Race. 337 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,400 The Amazing Race, that's it. 338 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,840 You can tell I'm an avid viewer of that show. 339 00:16:57,840 --> 00:16:59,240 But yes. 340 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,720 So Maya Warren and I are the co-founders of Ice Cream 341 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:03,320 for Change. 342 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,200 And she continues to inspire me. 343 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,400 And there's also just a great resource 344 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,320 when I have questions about how I make my ice cream. 345 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:13,560 That's like, that's fascinating. 346 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,680 First of all, the fact that there's an ice cream 347 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,520 scientist role in the world gives me hope. 348 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:20,720 Right? 349 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:22,760 Why didn't we do that? 350 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:24,480 That's amazing. 351 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,280 It almost gives us a lie. 352 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:26,960 Yeah. 353 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:27,800 Yeah. 354 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,560 I almost feel like that's like, if I were to ask my kids what 355 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,240 they want to be, I want to be an ice cream scientist. 356 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,000 I'm not to belittle it or anything, 357 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,400 but it almost sounds made up. 358 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:41,040 Right. 359 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:42,280 That's awesome. 360 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,000 It's like I want to be like a marshmallow astronaut. 361 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,200 Yeah. 362 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,040 I've seen her dissertation, too. 363 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:49,200 It's like this thick. 364 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,240 It's all about the melting points of ice cream. 365 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,200 It's very fascinating. 366 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:53,840 She's like a chemist. 367 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:57,120 But yeah, so those are some of the ways in which I use ice 368 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,840 cream to try to make the world a slightly better place, 369 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,360 while also just filling our bellies 370 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,360 with delicious, yummy treats. 371 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:09,600 It really, I mean, it's a very, it's a very, 372 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,080 you're covering a lot of ground with that approach. 373 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,360 It brings me, we're here talking to Mona Lipson. 374 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,720 Miss Mona makes ice cream on the Sunlight Moonlight 375 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,120 podcast. I'm Tom Dorman. 376 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:23,880 I'm here with Ryan Havers. 377 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,760 It makes me think back, Mona, I feel like Ben and Jerry's 378 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,720 were probably one of the first food companies that 379 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:35,320 comes to mind that I could think that would do things 380 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:40,120 purposefully in a sense of trying to either raise money 381 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:43,680 for charity or raise awareness around certain issues. 382 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,680 And I feel like that, at least in my life, 383 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:48,560 that's what I remember. 384 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,320 Because I don't remember food being a vehicle for educating 385 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,880 people or, you know, do you understand what I'm saying? 386 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,000 And I feel like that tradition is sort of like, 387 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,400 I think it's pretty cool that it's still ice cream. 388 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:02,240 You know? 389 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,720 Yeah, so Ben and Jerry's and Patagonia are like the gold 390 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,720 standard, the originators of how you can take a product 391 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,920 and a brand and actually build a purpose around it 392 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:15,880 and integrate it into the business model. 393 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:17,280 And it's not like an afterthought. 394 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,600 It's actually part of their core DNA. 395 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,040 And so I continuously am looking at Patagonia 396 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,080 and looking at Ben and Jerry. 397 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,480 There's a few others that come to mind as well. 398 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:30,520 Eileen Fisher is another great brand. 399 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,480 REI is another great brand. 400 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:37,600 And yeah, they've really incorporated social justice 401 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,040 and activism and impact and purpose 402 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,840 into who they are, into core elements of who they are. 403 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:47,000 And that's exactly what I want to try to be and do, for sure. 404 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:52,600 I distinctly remember Briars being a huge activist. 405 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:53,800 So let's do that. 406 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:55,040 I don't remember that. 407 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:56,720 I'm going to challenge you. 408 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,920 I'm going to challenge that. 409 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,680 I do remember Briars was one of the first ice creams 410 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,600 where I actually noticed specks of vanilla in them. 411 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,600 And I don't know if it was real vanilla, 412 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:09,120 but we're not going to bash Briars. 413 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:12,000 But I had a funny story this past summer. 414 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,080 I was at a local food festival and a little girl 415 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:18,720 purchased one of my vanilla's and she said to her mom, 416 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,440 she's like, there's something in my vanilla. 417 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,760 And I looked at it and I was like, oh, no, that's the vanilla. 418 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,920 She had never had vanilla ice cream with actual vanilla 419 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:29,120 beans in it. 420 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:30,840 So yes. 421 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,920 Vanilla is expensive. 422 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,400 I mean, everything that goes into ice cream is very expensive. 423 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:40,320 Unfortunately. 424 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:46,040 I bought, I forget what I made, but I bought Madagascar, 425 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,080 vanilla, and it was like 20 bucks for like two or three 426 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:49,560 stocks. 427 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,560 And I was like, oh my goodness. 428 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:58,160 But you know, Ina Garten famously has her own vanilla. 429 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:02,640 And it's basically a gigantic jar of vodka. 430 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,400 And she puts her own vanilla beans in it. 431 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,680 And she's had the same jar, I think, for over 30 years. 432 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,320 So she's making her own extract. 433 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,600 A good trick for those of you listening 434 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,560 who want to either make ice cream or things with vanilla, 435 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,880 you can buy vanilla paste, which is different than the vanilla 436 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:20,400 extract. 437 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,440 So there's little to no actual alcohol in it. 438 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:29,080 But it's a little bit less expensive and less time consuming 439 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:30,720 than scraping the seeds off. 440 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:35,480 So that's usually my go-to is a really good vanilla paste. 441 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:35,840 Wow. 442 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:37,200 See, that's really helpful. 443 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,960 If I learn nothing else today, vanilla paste. 444 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,400 And Breyers, growing up, we were a Breyers family. 445 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:46,920 Breyers vanilla and strawberry. 446 00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:50,560 And I do remember the specs of vanilla in there. 447 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:55,640 It's a very, the ingredients for Breyers are very basic. 448 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,120 It's sugar and vanilla. 449 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,040 It's a good ice cream. 450 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,120 Yeah. 451 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:08,960 But I don't remember them Ryan being social justice fighters. 452 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:13,160 They have a 5K every month. 453 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:14,920 The Breyers 5K. 454 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,360 The well-known Breyers 5K. 455 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,400 Well, this is fantastic. 456 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,600 Mona, you and I have spoken previously off air 457 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:29,480 about the size and mission of your business. 458 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:34,560 I'm a very pushy capitalist. 459 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,960 And I think you've got such a great thing going on. 460 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,080 Can you talk a little bit about your position 461 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,400 as far as the size and scale of your business 462 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:51,240 and the sort of your goals and approach 463 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,040 of what you want to accomplish? 464 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:54,800 Yeah. 465 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,440 Unfortunately, I picked a product that, first of all, 466 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,520 is not shelf stable, which makes it very difficult, 467 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:05,240 both to transport and for people to buy. 468 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:07,440 They really have to be going pretty much straight home 469 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:08,760 to their freezers. 470 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:10,320 Or they have to consume it immediately. 471 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:11,920 It's also very seasonal. 472 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:14,000 And for all of you out there that are going to say, 473 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,680 I eat ice cream in the winter, sales don't show that. 474 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,520 So it is definitely a tough product. 475 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,600 And I think it's a reason why we don't see as many ice cream 476 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,680 shops as we do coffee shops. 477 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,680 I know here in the community where I live, 478 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,760 people have been asking me to open up an ice cream shop. 479 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,000 And I'm like, there's kind of a reason why there isn't one. 480 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,080 It's very difficult. 481 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,880 And you probably want to partner. 482 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,480 So from a capitalism standpoint, 483 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,560 you probably want to partner with a candy shop 484 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,160 or some other products as well, just 485 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,960 given the seasonality of ice cream. 486 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:49,720 The ingredients are very expensive. 487 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,280 And then I make it worse for myself 488 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,400 because I am sourcing from local small businesses. 489 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,560 So that's also going to be a premium for me. 490 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,720 And I'm not just, I'm not buying, first of all, 491 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,320 things in huge bulk quantity. 492 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:06,560 And I'm not buying from large, well-known consumer food. 493 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,480 I'm not buying from Cisco foods. 494 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,680 So it is a premium product. 495 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:17,320 And I hope that people that purchase my ice creamer 496 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,120 want to support those kinds of businesses 497 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:20,200 and those kinds of products. 498 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,520 But it doesn't necessarily make for the best business case, 499 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:25,880 unfortunately. 500 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,160 If somebody out there wants to help me figure it out, 501 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,480 I'm very open to ideas and suggestions. 502 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,840 So the combination of the seasonality, the difficulty 503 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,360 transporting, and sourcing from local small businesses 504 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:39,880 definitely make it more challenging. 505 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,440 As of now, my goals and hopes for the future, 506 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,280 I recently left the city. 507 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:46,200 I left Brooklyn. 508 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,920 And I moved my business up to the Pound Ridge, Katona, 509 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,560 Mount Kisco area. 510 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,280 And it's been a joy. 511 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,560 It's been just wonderful getting to know the local community 512 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:58,240 out here. 513 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:02,720 It's been much easier getting involved in local events. 514 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,080 And so that's what I'm really hoping to do, 515 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,720 is participate in more local events, 516 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,760 do some potentially, whether it's private events or community 517 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,720 ones, I've done some birthday parties. 518 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:16,640 I think that's really what I'm looking to do. 519 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,000 We're going to take a little bit of a break over the winter 520 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,320 to do some testing, try some new flavors, 521 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,520 maybe build out some fun ice cream merch, 522 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,720 and diversify my product line a little bit. 523 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:31,360 But being up here in a smaller New York community 524 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:35,320 has been a really welcome change to the business. 525 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,120 And I'm embracing it. 526 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,120 And so that's what I see the future, 527 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:42,640 what the future has in store for Miss Mona Makes Ice Cream. 528 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,200 And I have a very cute little ice cream cart that 529 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,400 has a lambrella with fringe. 530 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,040 And so that's what I show up in when I do events 531 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,640 and local opportunities. 532 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,040 It is very cool. 533 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:00,640 And we're so happy to have you up here. 534 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,880 We were, you know, Mona and I have known each other 535 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:06,200 for a while now. 536 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,320 And we are sort of towny neighbors 537 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,200 and frequent the same places. 538 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:17,720 And Mona has her workshop kitchen and storage facility 539 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:19,920 here in the town where I live. 540 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,480 And so it is a very sort of familial, local feel 541 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:26,920 to what you're doing. 542 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,840 And I think it's just great. 543 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,440 How so this is knowing that you called it yourself a side hustle. 544 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,120 We talked about scale and the seasonality 545 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,880 and the local sort of nature of it. 546 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:46,560 How do you manage having a full-time job that is not ice 547 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:52,160 cream based, is not as delicious as your sort of side 548 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:53,640 hustle? 549 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:59,040 How do you manage time-wise and your focus and your energies? 550 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,480 How do you manage that with a full-time job 551 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,680 that is not ice cream based? 552 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,040 So if I'm being totally honest, usually my answer 553 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:08,800 is I don't have kids. 554 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,920 And so ice cream is a child. 555 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:13,240 That'll do it. 556 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,320 I probably spend the same amount of money on this business 557 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,920 as most people spend on daycare and childcare also. 558 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:21,840 I also have a nonprofit organization 559 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:22,720 that I started. 560 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,840 It'll be 20 years this coming year in Guatemala 561 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:26,920 where my mom is from. 562 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,240 And so between the ice cream and the Guatemala organization, 563 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,920 in addition to my full-time job, yeah, 564 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:35,960 it's challenging. 565 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,480 A lot of nights and weekends for sure. 566 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,600 It helps that our upcoming trip to Guatemala 567 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,160 for this nonprofit is in April. 568 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,400 So during the slow ice cream season, 569 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:45,880 I can focus on the nonprofit. 570 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,920 And then that'll be winding down April, May. 571 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,560 And I'll pick back up the ice cream on nights and weekends. 572 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,880 But there's a lot of nights where I'm in the kitchen 573 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,080 and I'm thinking, why am I doing this? 574 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,360 I could be out with friends. 575 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:01,640 I could be sleeping. 576 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:03,320 So it's a lot of nights and weekends. 577 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,320 I have a great collaboration with the Katona Reading Room 578 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,640 where they've allowed me to set up my ice cream machine. 579 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:13,000 And so after 3 PM when they're no longer using the kitchen, 580 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:13,800 I can be in there. 581 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:15,760 And so you might find, you might see the lights on 582 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,760 at the Katona Reading Room kitchen at 9, 10, 11 o'clock 583 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,400 at night when I'm there churning ice cream. 584 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,840 You know, it's not that hard when you have kids. 585 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,280 You just have to learn to neglect them. 586 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:33,480 I was going to say, Ryan, look at how much fun 587 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,800 we could be having if we didn't have children. 588 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,960 Oh, you know, I love my kids. 589 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:40,360 They're fun. 590 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:41,480 I have fun with my kids. 591 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:43,560 But making ice cream is fun too. 592 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,440 I mean, I guess we could make ice cream with children, 593 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:46,880 but that's a whole other. 594 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,720 I mean, I'm just a big kid, which is part of the problem. 595 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:55,200 So yeah, I never grew up Peter Pan's syndrome. 596 00:28:55,200 --> 00:29:02,520 So what kind of sparks an idea for a new batch of ice cream? 597 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:03,800 Like, where does that come from? 598 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:08,040 Is it like, what's your sort of inspiration for that? 599 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,800 So it's definitely the community members that I partner with. 600 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:15,320 And so for example, there are these incredible scones 601 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,240 at the kitchen table over here in Poundridge. 602 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,680 And the woman that makes them runs a local catering business, 603 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:22,640 Elvis events. 604 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,760 And I've been tinkering with her scones 605 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,640 for the last few months, trying to figure out 606 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,200 a new flavor with them. 607 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,520 And then working with her on some of her other products 608 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,000 that she makes and being able to come up 609 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:35,400 with those flavors together. 610 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,240 So a lot of the and most of the inspiration 611 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,320 comes from just the community members 612 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,760 that I want to work with or I try one of their products. 613 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,400 And like, this has to go into a flavor of ice cream. 614 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:46,600 Yeah. 615 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:47,800 And if you had to pick. 616 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:49,840 I have a few questions. 617 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:51,480 But like, if you had to pick, do you 618 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,720 have a favorite Miss Mona flavor? 619 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,120 I was waiting for that question. 620 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:00,080 It's like asking, like, who's your favorite child? 621 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:00,680 Ryan. 622 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:02,680 Well, we. 623 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:03,840 You have a favorite child. 624 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:04,480 Yeah. 625 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,560 You know, the other one. 626 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,120 No. 627 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,040 So oddly enough, I tend to be, you know, 628 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:12,800 I have a sweet tooth and I love sweets. 629 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,360 But I actually really like my more savory flavors more. 630 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,680 So I make a basil with pistachio brittle 631 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,760 from a great small business called brittle and beyond. 632 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,480 And that basil flavor is one of my favorites. 633 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,960 I do a sweet corn flavor. 634 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:33,640 I source the corn from a local farm this year in Stanford. 635 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,840 And I mix that with a jalapeno jam from a business called 636 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:37,880 the Jam Sam. 637 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,160 That was one of my favorites. 638 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,840 And then I've done a variety of goat cheese flavors 639 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,080 with different fruits, cookies. 640 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:47,640 And that's that's also been up there. 641 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,360 This year I did a goat cheese with an apple cinnamon 642 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:54,040 mandel bread from a local business called Sparks Kitchen 643 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,000 that also has a deeper social impact purpose to them. 644 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:58,160 So yeah. 645 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,160 Sparks Kitchen, not Sparks Steakhouse. 646 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:01,600 Right. 647 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:02,160 Yes, yes. 648 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:03,280 Big difference. 649 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,280 Rare. 650 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:06,360 And it's my boss. 651 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:06,880 I can't remember. 652 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:07,800 Paul Castellano. 653 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,240 Paul Castellano got murdered. 654 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:09,600 I just want to. 655 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:11,520 Gun down. 656 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:12,320 No murder. 657 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:13,320 No murder. 658 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:19,160 Gun down in cold blood on the east side of Manhattan. 659 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,920 Have you, first of all, those flavors sound amazing. 660 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:24,920 They're so like, God, I got it. 661 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,120 I'm going to have to I'm going to get down there sometime 662 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:30,760 after the holiday. 663 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:33,960 Well, I probably should mention how people can get the ice 664 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:34,460 cream. 665 00:31:34,460 --> 00:31:36,480 That might be important. 666 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:41,120 And so right now, if you go to MsMonaMakesIcecream.com, 667 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,360 you can sign up for my email list. 668 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,200 And you'll be alerted when I'm doing events. 669 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,320 You'll also be alerted when I'm doing a local drop. 670 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:53,560 So most of my purchases are done as a pre-purchase and pickup. 671 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,480 So the best way to get my ice cream 672 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:58,000 is to really sign up at MsMonaMakesIcecream.com. 673 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,120 And you'll get all of the updates of where I'm going to be 674 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,000 and when ice cream is available. 675 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,960 And also, you should follow me on Instagram, 676 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,120 which is at MsMonaMakesIcecream, because lots of updates 677 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:08,640 on there, too. 678 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:09,800 I have already done that. 679 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:11,720 I have already followed you. 680 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:13,560 Yay. 681 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,800 I'm following you on Instagram. 682 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,720 All right. 683 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:23,400 Have you ever had anyone that have you ever met anyone that 684 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,360 just doesn't like ice cream? 685 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:30,840 I mean, obviously, there are some of those who can't have dairy. 686 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,400 So I do usually try to make a, I know, and I feel for them. 687 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:36,920 I mean, we should all have dairy in moderation. 688 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,760 Take a latte and get over it. 689 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:39,260 Yeah. 690 00:32:39,260 --> 00:32:40,640 Do it yourself. 691 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,000 Geez. 692 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,600 I do make fruit sorbet. 693 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,680 So I haven't really explored the non-dairy world. 694 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:49,320 The problem with non-dairy ice cream 695 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,360 is you just end up having to add a lot of extra stabilizers 696 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:53,320 and emulsifiers. 697 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,640 And what you said, Dom, at the beginning of the call, 698 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,320 like the conversation, you want to know what's 699 00:32:58,320 --> 00:32:59,040 in your ice cream. 700 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,920 And so those non-dairy flavors have a lot of extra. 701 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:04,920 They really turn into a science experiment. 702 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:06,120 So I tend to stay away. 703 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,440 And I'll just really work on some really delicious fruit 704 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:10,760 sorbets. 705 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,920 I've done a raspberry cilantro that I thought 706 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:16,520 was really special. 707 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,200 I even had cilantro haters taste it, and they liked it. 708 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:20,200 So. 709 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,880 I'm not a, I'm a cilantro in moderation person. 710 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:28,120 I don't dislike cilantro, but I think it's overused sometimes. 711 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:34,400 And I think, especially in South American or Mexican cooking, 712 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,440 it's like this catch-all where it's like just throw 713 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:37,640 a bunch of cilantro in there. 714 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,000 That is not, I'm not a fan of that. 715 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,600 I can take in moderation. 716 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,000 What about, does gelato have dairy in it? 717 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,720 So gelato is more milk based. 718 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:49,880 So less cream, more milk. 719 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,720 That's one of the biggest differences of gelato. 720 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,320 The way it's churned is a little bit differently, too. 721 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:57,840 So you need a machine that has a gelato setting. 722 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:00,280 And then obviously it's stored in a slightly different 723 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:01,080 temperature, right? 724 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:03,280 It's a little bit softer. 725 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:04,520 It's not as cold. 726 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,800 So there is a slight different elements between gelato 727 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:08,280 and ice cream. 728 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,840 But one of the biggest ones is it has a lower fat content. 729 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:12,960 So less cream, more milk. 730 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:14,960 Do you make gelato? 731 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:15,960 No. 732 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:19,800 I, my, my recipe is a pretty high fat content. 733 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,920 So a lot of, a lot of cream. 734 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:23,920 It's about 16% fat. 735 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,520 Yeah. 736 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,120 But it's, I mean, if you're going to do it. 737 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:28,960 Do it. 738 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,600 Like it's ice cream. 739 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:31,320 Yeah. 740 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:31,800 Right? 741 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,960 So there's a different like texture and mouthfeel. 742 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:38,200 Gelato is still very, very creamy. 743 00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:40,880 It's not, it's just the components are a little bit 744 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:41,720 different. 745 00:34:41,720 --> 00:34:42,360 It's delicious. 746 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:43,120 I love gelato. 747 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:44,040 Who doesn't love gelato? 748 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:45,120 Who doesn't? 749 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,080 I love gelato. 750 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:51,200 You know, back in the day when I used to, you know, tip 751 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:52,800 the bottle. 752 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:53,560 Oh. 753 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,040 Oh. 754 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:57,560 I remember those days. 755 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:58,160 Yeah. 756 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,560 You remember. 757 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:05,880 I found a company that made wine ice cream. 758 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:07,680 Have you ever done anything like that? 759 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:09,320 So I have. 760 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,320 I just for the holidays, for the Thanksgiving holiday, 761 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:16,400 I did a tipsy tea day flavor that I call with whiskey, 762 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:18,480 which is also one of my favorites. 763 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:23,520 And I've done a sorbet with mezcal. 764 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,920 And I've also done two other ice cream flavors 765 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,560 with some other liqueurs. 766 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,920 So not, I haven't done wine, but I've done different alcohols 767 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:32,840 and liqueurs. 768 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:33,640 Quite delicious. 769 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,160 It does change the melting point of the ice cream, 770 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:37,400 right? 771 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,680 Because alcohol freezes at a different temperature. 772 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,800 So ice cream really is a science. 773 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,680 And I've tried to educate myself as much as possible. 774 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,160 I have a stack of ice cream textbooks, actually, 775 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:49,400 believe it or not. 776 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,360 So sometimes you have to change the ratios when you're 777 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:53,880 making ice cream with alcohol. 778 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:55,280 Otherwise, it doesn't freeze at all. 779 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,880 And it's just a soupy mess. 780 00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:58,440 Wow. 781 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,960 See, these are the things that I don't think about. 782 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,080 Like, you think you just make ice cream and put it in the freezer. 783 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,360 But these are, and now I can sort of tell the question 784 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:12,560 around retail and like, hey, just open a store. 785 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,840 This is like some serious, because it's different than, 786 00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:20,520 so like cooking is kind of like, OK, if you mess it up, 787 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:22,560 you can add salt. 788 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:24,440 You can add citrate. 789 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:25,920 You can add acid. 790 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,840 You can balance things out after the fact. 791 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:31,720 Baking is more sort of precise and scientific. 792 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:35,040 And if you don't nail it, this seems like a very sort of, 793 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,880 it's akin to baking, but it's more, 794 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,800 because everything has to be exact. 795 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:44,040 Like, can you riff when you're making ice cream? 796 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:45,600 Like, can you go on the fly? 797 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:49,080 Or does it have to follow a very specific recipe? 798 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,240 So if you're asking a true ice cream scientist, 799 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:55,520 there actually are ratios that you need to abide by. 800 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:57,960 Otherwise, it's going to get too grainy 801 00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,600 or it's going to get too icy. 802 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:01,640 But there's a certain level of riffing. 803 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,200 I think it also depends on if you're 804 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:05,840 using extracts and flavorings, which are not 805 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,080 going to alter the protein and the sugar levels. 806 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:14,120 But then it becomes, again, less true food. 807 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,440 So for example, if I'm putting roasted marshmallows 808 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,760 in my ice cream, I'm putting in actual roasted marshmallows 809 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,400 and not a roasted marshmallow flavoring. 810 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,720 Granted, there's probably a lot of chunked marshmallows. 811 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:26,360 But anyway, right. 812 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,720 So if you add flavoring, you don't 813 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:29,880 have to worry quite as much. 814 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,720 That's not adding fats and it's not adding sugars. 815 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:35,840 But I did have one big fail a couple of years ago, 816 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,200 and I had to throw out like 70 pints of ice cream. 817 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,520 I was making a tahini flavor. 818 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:42,040 And it worked really, really well. 819 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,160 And my home machine came out delicious. 820 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:48,040 And then when I took that exact same recipe 821 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:50,120 to the commercial ice cream machine, 822 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,200 the speed at which it was incorporating 823 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,040 and sort of spinning the fat was different. 824 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:00,200 And so all of that extra fat from the tahini just curdled. 825 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,720 And it was unedible. 826 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,640 And I had to throw out a lot of ice cream. 827 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:07,360 So I couldn't fix that. 828 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:13,280 When my tahini curdles, it's not a good scene. 829 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,680 If I had a dime for every time, my tahini curdles. 830 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:17,880 Tahini is pureed. 831 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:19,120 That could be the name of a band. 832 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:22,320 It's pureed sesame seeds, right? 833 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:24,040 Yes, it's kind of like peanut butter. 834 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:24,600 Yeah. 835 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,400 But it's just a peanut that's sesame. 836 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,160 I think that could be a good name of a band, you know? 837 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:31,720 Tahini curdling. 838 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:33,120 Tahini curdles? 839 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:34,680 Tahini curdles. 840 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:35,760 Tahini curdles. 841 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:37,080 That could be our band name. 842 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:42,680 I am trying to bring up, Ryan, I'm 843 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,160 trying to bring up Mona's website. 844 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:46,840 Oh, here we go. 845 00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,120 So let's check this out. 846 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:53,080 So this is, I'm going to try to spotlight this, this is going 847 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:58,360 to be Mona's, this is fantastic. 848 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:02,400 So this is Mona's, the cutest little ice cream cart ever, 849 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:03,560 right? 850 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:04,520 It's a vest. 851 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,400 This is what you bring, Mona. 852 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:10,480 This is what you bring to the festivals and the fairs 853 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:12,160 and stuff like that. 854 00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:14,840 That along with about four other coolers. 855 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,400 Doesn't fit as much ice cream as I would like, but it works. 856 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:18,280 That's right. 857 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:19,640 That's right. 858 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:23,040 And then we've got some of your, oh, the record review. 859 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:25,600 You know, when you're in the record review, Mona, 860 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:27,520 you know you've made it. 861 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:29,800 This is our local town paper here. 862 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:32,200 And I just wanted to show some clips here. 863 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,120 Sorry for my scrolling. 864 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:38,720 But look at how amazing this ice cream looks. 865 00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:43,880 Like that, I just want it. 866 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:50,760 And these fantastic flavors that you've come up with. 867 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:54,760 Do you take requests ever, Mona? 868 00:39:54,760 --> 00:39:55,040 Yes. 869 00:39:55,040 --> 00:40:00,440 So I do birthday cakes, which will be based on customized 870 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:01,160 flavors. 871 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:05,520 And for the right price, we can do some custom pints. 872 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:10,040 But normally then you'd have to buy at least three pints that 873 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,680 gets made in a serving. 874 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:17,240 You did scroll past probably one of the most impactful ice 875 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:20,000 cream moments I've had. 876 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,400 I'd love to share that if you have another moment. 877 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:23,080 I'm going to get it back. 878 00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:25,560 Way to go down. 879 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,040 Sorry, guys. 880 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:27,560 OK. 881 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:31,200 But it was, you know, we talked about this being my side 882 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:31,720 hustle. 883 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:36,800 And so last January, I was unfortunately 884 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,720 a third round of layoffs. 885 00:40:39,720 --> 00:40:42,360 I was working, doing social impact for a tech marketing 886 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,720 company, and this weird tech recession 887 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:45,440 that we've been having. 888 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:46,640 And it was a really rough day. 889 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:48,240 It was probably one of the best jobs I've 890 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:50,160 had with an incredible boss. 891 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,280 And by around 3 o'clock, everything gets shut off. 892 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:56,040 Those of us that have been laid off know how it goes. 893 00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,240 And all of a sudden, I'm like, well, 894 00:40:58,240 --> 00:40:59,920 I guess that's the end of that. 895 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:01,800 Let me check my ice cream email. 896 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:03,600 I don't have work email to check. 897 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,880 And I notice that I have hundreds of submissions 898 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:11,160 from my website where it says, sign up here to learn more. 899 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:12,880 And I'm like, I'm so confused. 900 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:14,280 Is this a bot? 901 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:15,560 Did I get hacked? 902 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,840 And I opened one of the emails. 903 00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,080 And where it says, how did you learn about Miss 904 00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:21,480 Mona Makes Ice Cream? 905 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,840 It says, read about you from the New York Times. 906 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:26,440 You must be blowing up. 907 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:27,560 And I'm thinking, what? 908 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:28,320 New York Times. 909 00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:29,320 What are you talking about? 910 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,040 I just got laid off for my job. 911 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:32,400 And so I do what anyone would do. 912 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:34,600 I Google my name in New York Times. 913 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:37,840 And this little article comes up. 914 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:42,240 And it was part of a larger article about favorite foods 915 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,920 and restaurants for Valentine's Day. 916 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:47,960 And it happens to be written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning 917 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:50,080 journalist Jodi Cantor. 918 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:52,280 If you're not familiar with her by name, 919 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:54,240 she is one of the two journalists that 920 00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:56,000 broke the Harvey Weinstein case. 921 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:56,960 Oh, right. 922 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:58,840 Had a movie made after her. 923 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:03,280 And her and her husband had been customers of mine in Brooklyn. 924 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:07,760 And she said that an ice cream cake that I made for her husband 925 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:10,000 and he gave to her as a gift on Valentine's Day 926 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,640 was one of the most special Valentine's Day gifts she 927 00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:14,120 received. 928 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:15,560 And that's really all that it took. 929 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:19,240 It was just a little note by being amazing and incredible, 930 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:23,120 Jodi Cantor, that blew up my email and my Instagram. 931 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,760 But it just so happened to come on this awful, terrible day 932 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:28,360 where I got let go for my job. 933 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:31,880 And the timing and life, right? 934 00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:32,920 What are the chances? 935 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:34,920 And she had no idea, obviously, that that 936 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:36,560 had been a really hard day for me. 937 00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:38,640 So really special moment. 938 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:42,360 And I finally had a chance to thank Jodi in person 939 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:43,320 back in September. 940 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:45,280 She was up in the area. 941 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:51,040 Just really grateful to have supporters like this speak 942 00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:55,320 for my little brand, especially on such difficult days. 943 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:56,280 That's a cool story. 944 00:42:56,280 --> 00:42:59,240 It's a great, and it's really a great example 945 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:03,000 of a door closing and a window opening. 946 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,680 And the quote down here, I'll just say from Jodi Cantor, 947 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:10,600 in the New York Times, speaking of Inside 948 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:13,840 was a custom ice cream cake he had somehow procured 949 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,360 from Miss Mona, an ice cream company that now operates 950 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,960 as a monthly CST, community-supported treats. 951 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:24,760 This was the best dessert I have ever eaten. 952 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:26,120 Thank you, Jodi. 953 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:28,000 That's incredible. 954 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,720 The best dessert I have ever. 955 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,880 I mean, I couldn't even. 956 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:34,960 That's a hell of a compliment. 957 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:36,200 Let's just call it what it is. 958 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:36,760 Yeah. 959 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:37,760 It's very grateful. 960 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:38,880 That's a hell of a compliment. 961 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,480 You can't get any better than that. 962 00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:41,600 That's fantastic. 963 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:47,800 And I'm really, the ice creams are extremely fantastic. 964 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:54,040 The textures of the ones that I've had that you've either 965 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:57,600 gifted me or that I have purchased in a sort of public 966 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:01,840 event, food truck event, the textures and the flavors, 967 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:04,160 of course, are extremely good. 968 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,920 The textures really stand out to me. 969 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:14,360 They taste homemade in a sense of not half-assed. 970 00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:16,720 I don't want to say home. 971 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:17,480 You say homemade. 972 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:22,680 It's like, oh, here's a homemade burger that's not 973 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:23,560 Pat LaFrieda burger. 974 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:28,160 But this is like, I made this myself, like a house burger. 975 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:29,000 It's not like that. 976 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:34,000 It's more of like, you can tell it's made with care and intent. 977 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,720 And very high quality ingredients. 978 00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:40,320 Well, this is the issue is when you try small batch ice cream, 979 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:41,240 it's hard to go back. 980 00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:43,280 And this is, again, is part of the issue with scaling 981 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:44,200 an ice cream business. 982 00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:47,200 Because you really do lose that quality when you go to a 983 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:50,320 co-packer or when you try to scale. 984 00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:54,120 So I think if you're out there and you have a small local 985 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,120 ice cream shop, go for it. 986 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:58,760 You know, frequent them, buy from them. 987 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:00,600 It's not an easy business. 988 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:04,600 Help keep them alive, especially in the winter time. 989 00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:08,320 I'm going to go around the country and sell. 990 00:45:08,320 --> 00:45:11,840 I'm going to be like the Willy Loman of your business. 991 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:13,560 I'm just going to put the foot in the door. 992 00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,240 You have to try this ice cream. 993 00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:19,520 I'm going to need some refrigeration. 994 00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:21,360 Bring me a spoon. 995 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:22,080 A big spoon. 996 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:23,760 I'm going to show you something. 997 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:25,120 I have a flavor, by the way. 998 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:33,440 If we could do like a blueberry pie with like a hot wings 999 00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:38,120 and like a baked beans, just think about it. 1000 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:39,360 Well, it's not that crazy. 1001 00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:43,440 I have done a barbecue sauce flavor with camembert cheese 1002 00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:45,200 and candied bacon. 1003 00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:47,920 So anything is possible. 1004 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:49,080 Wow. 1005 00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:51,800 That's called the cardiologist, right? 1006 00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:53,200 That's what we're going to call it. 1007 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:58,840 It also had a very specific audience like that ice cream. 1008 00:45:58,840 --> 00:45:59,640 I would say so. 1009 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:00,600 This is fantastic. 1010 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:03,160 We're here on the Sunlight Moonlight podcast. 1011 00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:08,200 We're talking with Mona Lipson, who is Ms. Mona Makes Ice Cream. 1012 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:11,160 For all of this information and anything 1013 00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:14,640 you want to learn about Mona and her craft, 1014 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:18,840 go to Ms. MonaMakesIceCream.com. 1015 00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:21,640 Congrats on landing the dot com. 1016 00:46:21,640 --> 00:46:24,000 It's not a dot net. 1017 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:25,520 It's not a dot biz. 1018 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:29,960 The real thing, Ms. MonaMakesIceCream.com. 1019 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:30,920 I am Dom Dorman. 1020 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:32,280 We're here with Ryan Havers. 1021 00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:35,200 Mona, at this point in the program, 1022 00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:38,960 we move on to a couple of different segments, one of which 1023 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:40,960 is a newer segment that we've introduced 1024 00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:43,400 over the last couple of episodes. 1025 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:44,680 And I want you to be a part of it. 1026 00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:47,960 Sometimes we do this in front of the guests, 1027 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:52,400 and sometimes it's just Ryan and I. 1028 00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:55,720 But today, I want you to be here for this, 1029 00:46:55,720 --> 00:46:58,640 because we're basically family. 1030 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,560 You're not a stranger. 1031 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:04,960 And so this is the part of the program. 1032 00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:07,200 And I have my timer ready to go. 1033 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:09,320 This is the part of the program where Ryan and I 1034 00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:13,000 fight for one minute. 1035 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:18,040 So and it's a Ryan, don't bring Mona into this. 1036 00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:19,640 No, I won't. 1037 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:21,840 Because we like Mona. 1038 00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:23,120 I won't bring Mona into it. 1039 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:27,000 I will bring ice cream into it, but not Mona. 1040 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:31,160 All right, so I'm starting the timer in 3, 2, 1, and it's fight. 1041 00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:32,040 OK. 1042 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:34,560 If you were to come up with an ice cream flavor, 1043 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:38,360 it would be stupid, I'm sure, and nobody would like it. 1044 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:40,600 That's you've never. 1045 00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:43,760 I bet you've never even made ice cream. 1046 00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:44,360 I've made ice cream. 1047 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:45,680 Because you can't. 1048 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:46,880 I've made ice cream. 1049 00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:47,760 I don't believe you. 1050 00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:49,400 I have. 1051 00:47:49,400 --> 00:47:50,160 I have. 1052 00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:52,600 Look me in my eyes and tell me you've made ice cream. 1053 00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:55,000 I have the attachment. 1054 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:56,480 That doesn't mean you've made ice cream. 1055 00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:57,440 I've made ice cream. 1056 00:47:57,440 --> 00:47:58,320 I'm going to ask your wife. 1057 00:47:58,320 --> 00:47:59,560 I've made banana ice cream. 1058 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:01,200 I think you're lying. 1059 00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:03,440 Again. 1060 00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:04,920 You can't even help yourself anymore. 1061 00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:05,880 You can think whatever you want, buddy. 1062 00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:07,280 You can't even help yourself anymore. 1063 00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:09,080 You can think whatever you want. 1064 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:11,200 Not full of ice cream lies. 1065 00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:13,360 For someone to lie about ice cream, 1066 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:16,040 that's like that's intentionally evil. 1067 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:17,560 How much I make ice cream? 1068 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:21,000 I'm going to start a company called Miss Ryan's. 1069 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:23,720 Miss Ryan makes ice cream. 1070 00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:24,880 That's a lie, too. 1071 00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:26,800 And then you'll, and then you're going 1072 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:29,040 to have so much egg on your face. 1073 00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:35,160 All right, that's it. 1074 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:36,040 Fight is over. 1075 00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:39,400 I don't know about that. 1076 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:40,400 You can't do that, Ryan. 1077 00:48:40,400 --> 00:48:41,480 There's a P rated fight. 1078 00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:45,600 There's a, it gets so much worse, Mona. 1079 00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:48,200 We were trying to be nice because you're here. 1080 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:49,960 We try not to fight in front of company. 1081 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:53,920 It's hard to, it's hard to be mean to you. 1082 00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:56,360 I don't have a problem being mean to you. 1083 00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:57,080 I know. 1084 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:02,160 We're having a great time here on the Sunlight Moonlight 1085 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:04,720 podcast where we're talking with Mona Lipson. 1086 00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:06,760 Miss Mona makes ice cream. 1087 00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:08,720 At this point in the show, Mona, we 1088 00:49:08,720 --> 00:49:14,880 want to move on to a segment that does actually include you. 1089 00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:17,080 And I did give you a little bit of warning. 1090 00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:20,040 Most people don't get warnings, but again, family here. 1091 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:26,280 So this is the part of the show called Easy Uneasy. 1092 00:49:26,280 --> 00:49:30,440 And this is where Ryan, being the nice guy that he is, 1093 00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:33,480 will ask you a pretty easy question. 1094 00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:37,600 And then I, being my cantankerous self, 1095 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:42,120 will follow up with a question that may make you uneasy. 1096 00:49:42,120 --> 00:49:44,480 So Ryan. 1097 00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:45,840 I'm ready for it. 1098 00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:48,320 You think, I mean, most people think they're ready. 1099 00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:52,160 And then the time actually comes like right now. 1100 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,560 And not so much. 1101 00:49:54,560 --> 00:49:55,560 I laugh when I'm nervous. 1102 00:49:55,560 --> 00:49:56,680 Can you stop? 1103 00:49:56,680 --> 00:49:57,040 OK. 1104 00:49:57,040 --> 00:50:00,440 So Ryan, do you want to go first? 1105 00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:01,920 Yes. 1106 00:50:01,920 --> 00:50:04,040 Is it OK to put pineapple on pizza? 1107 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:10,720 You think that's an easy question? 1108 00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:11,560 No, you can't. 1109 00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:13,160 You can't put pineapple on pizza. 1110 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:14,960 No. 1111 00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:16,040 OK. 1112 00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:17,480 Just hard no. 1113 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:20,160 It's hard no. 1114 00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:21,600 Then maybe it's a flatbread. 1115 00:50:26,120 --> 00:50:28,240 Is there a difference between flatbread and pizza? 1116 00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:28,840 Yes. 1117 00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:29,440 Yes. 1118 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:29,920 Yes. 1119 00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:31,600 Yes. 1120 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:33,320 I don't like flatbread pizza. 1121 00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:35,400 I think it's, I think it's fucked up. 1122 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:37,520 I think it's a dodge. 1123 00:50:37,520 --> 00:50:41,080 Make pizza or don't. 1124 00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:45,760 Don't give me something that somebody would make 1125 00:50:45,760 --> 00:50:48,800 if they almost have the ingredients for pizza. 1126 00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:52,760 But don't, but still really want pizza. 1127 00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:55,720 Listen, you can put pineapple on pizza. 1128 00:50:55,720 --> 00:50:59,800 You can eat the pineapple, pineapple, pineapple, pineapple 1129 00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,680 on the pizza. 1130 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:03,400 I'll eat it. 1131 00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:04,400 I would eat it. 1132 00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:09,600 I'm not going to say no, but it's not my go-to. 1133 00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:11,560 What is your follow-up? 1134 00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:13,720 Not easy or uneasy? 1135 00:51:13,720 --> 00:51:15,200 What is your go-to? 1136 00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:24,200 By the way, your partner has a ridiculous habit around pizza 1137 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:25,760 that I will talk about in a second. 1138 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:27,120 We're here to talk about you. 1139 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:28,440 What is your go-to pizza? 1140 00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:31,200 What's your favorite pizza? 1141 00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:33,680 I love a good mushroom slice. 1142 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:34,720 That's probably my go-to. 1143 00:51:34,720 --> 00:51:35,200 Straight up. 1144 00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:37,840 Just mushrooms. 1145 00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:39,160 And that's it. 1146 00:51:39,160 --> 00:51:39,440 Yeah. 1147 00:51:39,440 --> 00:51:41,640 I mean, as you were mentioning, my partner, 1148 00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:43,320 he loves meat on the pizza. 1149 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:45,520 So normally, if we're going to share, 1150 00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:47,640 it has to be like a mushroom and a meat, 1151 00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:49,840 whether it's sausage or a meatball. 1152 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:53,920 But growing up, going to the local slice shop, 1153 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:55,840 it was always a slice of mushroom pizza. 1154 00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:56,320 OK. 1155 00:51:56,320 --> 00:51:57,680 That's my wife's go-to. 1156 00:51:57,680 --> 00:51:59,320 That's her favorite. 1157 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:00,000 I will say so. 1158 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:01,760 I knew I liked your wife. 1159 00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:06,560 Mona's partner's ridiculous habit 1160 00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:09,200 is that no matter what pizza he is eating, 1161 00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:13,480 he immediately, before tasting it, on every slice he eats, 1162 00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:15,720 he immediately puts on crushed red pepper 1163 00:52:15,720 --> 00:52:19,640 and grated Parmesan cheese. 1164 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,240 Sometimes garlic, salt, and oregano. 1165 00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:23,640 I like a little garlic salt. 1166 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:31,600 But I like to taste it first. 1167 00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:36,080 Lately, I do really like putting the hot honey on the pizza. 1168 00:52:36,080 --> 00:52:39,080 That's become a bit of a go-to. 1169 00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:42,480 Well, really quickly here, I know, Ryan, you have to drop. 1170 00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:45,640 We want to finish up with just a very quick question 1171 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:49,120 and answer, an uneasy question. 1172 00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:53,160 How often do you change your sheets? 1173 00:52:53,160 --> 00:52:54,960 Not enough. 1174 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:56,960 OK. 1175 00:52:56,960 --> 00:52:58,360 I don't think any of us do. 1176 00:52:58,360 --> 00:52:59,520 Ryan, any? 1177 00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:01,040 That's not any. 1178 00:53:01,040 --> 00:53:05,760 Who changes their sheets more than once or twice a month? 1179 00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:09,800 Well, that's not the question, though. 1180 00:53:09,800 --> 00:53:11,040 Here's the real answer. 1181 00:53:11,040 --> 00:53:13,160 The last time I changed the sheets 1182 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:17,360 was about a month ago because the dog threw up 1183 00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:19,440 in the middle of the night. 1184 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:21,600 So I was forced to change them a month ago. 1185 00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:23,920 You kind of do have kids. 1186 00:53:23,920 --> 00:53:25,280 I have a dog. 1187 00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:26,360 They throw up. 1188 00:53:26,360 --> 00:53:29,160 Ryan, any final thoughts here on the Sunlight Moonlight 1189 00:53:29,160 --> 00:53:31,120 podcast with Miss Mona? 1190 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:33,160 Mona, I can't wait to try your ice cream. 1191 00:53:33,160 --> 00:53:35,960 I signed up, so I'll get the updates. 1192 00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:38,160 And thank you so much for being on. 1193 00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:39,240 Thank you so much, Mona. 1194 00:53:39,240 --> 00:53:42,000 We had such a great time. 1195 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:45,360 And I can't wait to taste more of your ice cream. 1196 00:53:45,360 --> 00:53:48,440 Until next time, MissMonaMakesIceCream.com. 1197 00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:50,160 I am Dom Dorman. 1198 00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:51,840 That is Ryan Havers over there. 1199 00:53:51,840 --> 00:53:56,000 And this is the Sunlight Moonlight podcast. 1200 00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:57,040 Take care, folks. 1201 00:53:57,040 --> 00:53:58,800 Take care. 1202 00:53:58,800 --> 00:53:59,800 Bye. 1203 00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:21,640 MUSIC