Coffee, Whipped Cream, The Finer Things In Life

Ah, that first cup of coffee in the morning, there is nothing better in the world. It is manna from heaven and I don't know what I would do without it. The day does not start off right without a large, steaming cup of freshly brewed java.

Some days I add a small amount of Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix and a squirt or five of whipped cream. Today is one of those days. Although it is an absolutely gorgeous morning the current temperature is only 47*.

While the lower 48 states roast and toast in a record breaking heat snap, we continue experiencing a less than warm summer. That is by no means a complaint. I would much rather be cool and comfortable than sweltering in 100* temperatures.

So here I sit reading my daily e-mails, relaxing, and enjoying a delightful cup of coffee. My husband and I are self proclaimed coffee snobs. Pre-ground Folgers just won't do, we find it tastes like ground cardboard.

Our coffee beans must come whole, preferably a good French Roast or Columbian bean. Each and every morning one of us will grind the whole coffee beans to a fine powder and make our pot of 'mud', thus the need for a little something extra like the hot cocoa mix and whipped cream, a little something to take the edge off.

It occurred to me that there is not enough whipped cream in the world. Again, I am particular about my whipped cream. It has to be homemade or Land-O-Lakes Whipped Light Cream, nothing else will do. When I get a wild hair and feel the need to make homemade whipped cream it is always icy cold cream mixed with just enough Splenda to make it slightly sweet.

Last night was one of those 'wild hair' nights. I was thrilled to find Costco had absolutely ripe, deep red California strawberries, beautiful peaches, and large containers of deep purple blueberries. What a treat, especially considering they were not priced high enough to require parting with an arm, leg, or pint of blood.

Due to higher fuel prices, groceries are at an all time high. It is not unusual to find myself passing by some of my favorite things - I absolutely refuse to pay $4.00 per pound for tomatoes. Rather, I'll take a short ride to our local greenhouse and buy their beautiful hothouse tomatoes - 5 pounds for $5. Their tomatoes are far better than anything grown 'outside' and on a good day they will have boxes full of beautiful green tomatoes.

A serious sweets attack hit last night, and I knew the fruit bowl and fridge were full of wonderful treats. Of course I had a pint of fresh whipping cream stashed away in the back of the fridge, a girl never knows when the craving for whipped cream will hit. The temptation was strong! I knew eating the fruit by itself would be the healthy choice, but like I said, there is just not enough whipped cream in the world.

Pulled the Kitchenaide mixer out of the pantry and made a beautiful lightly whipped bowl of cream with Splenda. Peeled and sliced the ripe peaches, washed and hulled the strawberries which got sliced very thin, and picked through the blueberries to find the most plump and juicy of the flat.

The result was a beautiful parfait of fresh fruit and lightly whipped cream. It doesn't get much better than that and does not take much more to put a smile on my face.

Today will be yet another very busy day so I knew starting off with a great cup of coffee was exactly what was needed. Mmm, just took another sip. If the rest of today is as good as this cup of coffee I will be one happy woman.

Oops, could not resist the urge to check the Land-O-Lakes site to see what type of delicious recipes they had listed this month. Here is the recipe for the photo above:


Crust Ingredients:


1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla


Filling Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 TBSP. freshly grated lime peel

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, cut into 8 pieces

Topping Ingredients:

LAND O LAKES® Aerosol Whipped Light Cream, if desired

Freshly grated lime peel, if desired. Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 1/2 cup butter and 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, milk and vanilla.

Beat until well mixed. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of ungreased 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Prick dough all over. Bake for 14 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup sugar, lime juice and 1 tablespoon lime peel in 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved (1 to 2 minutes). Reduce heat to low. Beat eggs and egg yolks in small bowl with wire whisk.

Stir small amount of hot sugar mixture into egg mixture using wire whisk. Gradually stir egg mixture into remaining hot sugar mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 160°F and is thickened (6 to 8 minutes). Remove from heat.

Stir in 1/2 cup butter, 1 piece at a time, until mixture is smooth. Let cool at room temperature 15 minutes.Pour cooled filling into cooled, baked crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and lime peel, if desired..

Enjoy!