Creamer for Your Coffee

We are getting ready to make the 17 hour drive to the upper peninsula of Michigan to visit my family's lake house.  I have inherited from my mother a love and desire to bake and prepare so I wish that I had time to bake up all kinds of goodies.  But working every night but tonight leading up to our trip does not really give me a chance to do all kinds of baking.  So instead I'm trying to do a little bit here and there.  Tonight I put together the crumb topping for Overnight Challah Bread French Toast to fix for my family for breakfast.  It's so easy and all I have to do is throw it together the night before and then toss it in the oven the next day. 

I also made some Cinnamon Strudel Coffee Creamer to add to our coffee in the mornings.   Right now our house smells so delicious from the cinnamon, almond and vanilla that it's making my mouth water.  Because I am trying to follow a diet that does not include dairy, fruit or carbs, I used almond milk and heavy cream to make it thick and creamy.  I also left out the syrup with plans to use stevia to sweeten each cup to taste.  Right now it is sitting on the stove while the flavors all meld together.  I am planning on straining the mixture through a mesh sieve and storing in the refrigerator once it cools.  This creamer just takes your coffee to the next level.  I have tried several of the coffee creamers from the above link and this remains my favorite.  Several times I have tried to eliminate coffee from my diet and it just never works.  Coffee is just so good that I can't live without it.  The caffeine headaches are something I can get past, but the desire for coffee, is something I can't.  Munchkie's Daddy has been both emotionally and physically addicted to coffee since he was in high school, but he's too good for even any creamer that I can create.  He is a "purist" and only drinks it black (I think he's just a coffee elitist).

If you're not a coffee drinker but think this creamer sounds good, it also tastes great in a cup of tea or hot chocolate.  For obvious reasons, these are enjoyed more in the winter time.  However, on the upper peninsula of Michigan,  the mornings are cold and crisp, the perfect morning to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee with a delicious breakfast casserole.

For my coffee creamer I used-

1 pint (~2 cups) heavy cream
1 1/2 cups almond milk
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Light and Refreshing

In the winter I'm all about hot chocolates, hot teas and coffees to snuggle under the blankets with.  In the summer I'm drawn to cold refreshing drinks, such as my obvious obsession with ice tea.  With my new mint plants I've been experimenting to see what I can use them in.  Some drinks have been bad.  Very bad.  Tonight I decided to try out a few things after I found some coconut flavored sparkling water.  This one is pretty good.

2 sprigs of pineapple mint, crushed up
1/2 a lime's juice
small squirt agave nectar
ice cubes
coconut flavored sparkling water

Now I just need to figure out something with the chocolate mint that actually tastes good.