What I love about this quote is that it is the basis for building a business, fixing a nagging problem in your own house, or curing a disease. It's multi-purpose in the best of ways.
In my case, it is the reason I decided I needed to figure out how to make my own coffee creamer.
Very long story shorter, we have been running in budget deficit mode for a bit of time now. That's not to say we've dumped our cheap ways or gotten back into debt. Honestly, we've been living as if the money was unlimited, shifting funds from one place to another, the way a mother shifts a baby from hip to hip, trying to find a comfortable position.
Except our baby had gotten heavy. We were tired of committing to "x" (usually some fun activity like a Taekwondo tournament or marathon or Groupon for Studio Movie Grill) and realizing that we were going to have to borrow that money from this pot to pay that pot. And, very frankly, since I run the budget, I was seeing this happening month over month and I got flat sick of it. And I put my foot down. HARD.
Literally, I pulled all the money left in the budget and divided into four envelopes and said to myself (and Mike) "If it isn't in here, then it isn't being spent." Thankfully, he agreed.
I've been watching those envelopes slowly dwindle down as the month is beginning to approach her end. I can tell, even now, that we will come in right on target, with maybe a nickel to spare.
(Huge sidenote: you know when you get the county envelope guaranteeing you the privilege of jury duty? Well, Mike's lucky week is this one. And, even luckier, he is seated on at least a week-long jury. And, luckier still, his boss is out this week and a Jewish holiday meant Monday/Tuesday were slow days in New York and, hence, in his own office at the house. And, beyond fortunate, is the fact that, after day one, Mike earned a stipend of $34/day. Now, that may not seem like much from the outside, but that is God's provision for us for the end of September, in my opinion. And, really none of that is "luck" or "fortune". In this house, it isn't even a coincidence. It truly is God working out those tiny little details because we finally started righting the ship of HIS money. Thank you, Lord!)
ANYWAY.
My morning addiction, especially now that it is cooler, is a couple of cups of coffee, preferably with a yummy, flavored creamer. But, if you've read any of what I've written lately, like this for example, you know that I really despise fake stuff. So, I decided to search the Internet and see if someone hadn't already figured out the whole "real" flavored creamer issue for me.
You won't be surprised to find out the answer is a resounding "YES!" At Deliciously Organic dot net, Carrie Vitt is knocking junk out of our collective diets with astounding results. Not only did I find several real dairy creamer recipes, I also found non-dairy AND sugar-free versions. A holy motherlode of goodness, I have to say.
I "invested" some of our envelope money on the ingredients, knowing that I could use them in a pinch for other recipes (but secretly hoping that the creamers I would try would be so good that I would selfishly use them all for my own purposes.)
So, here is the first experiment, hot off the stove:
Homemade Cinnamon Strudel Creamer (again, giving credit where credit is due, to blogger Carrie Vitt)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
4 Tablespoons maple syrup
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
Whisk together milk, cream, maple syrup and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from the heat. Stir in extracts. Strain through a fine sieve, pour into a glass bottle and store in the refrigerator for approximately 10 days.
Notes on making this:
1. I'm a dope; didn't read the whole recipe through and put the extracts in the pan with the other ingredients. Didn't seem to do any harm to my creamer, but I also used alcohol-free Frontier brand extracts; don't know what alcohol-based extracts would do when cooked.
Next time I'll add the extracts after the fact.
2. I don't own a sieve and don't intend to pony up good money for one anytime soon. I used a paper towel, neatly arranged in a regular colander, to skim off all the extra cinnamon. ONLY do this if you don't like spices floating in your coffee...otherwise, don't bother with this step and save yourself a bit of time.
Now the review: AMAZING. Maybe not amazing in the way you might think, though.
First, this creamer is RICH, thank to the cream. I gave myself a generous tablespoon in my travel-size cup and it was super velvety, the way whipping cream is when it melts into hot chocolate.
Second, the sugar isn't overpowering. That is my chief complaint about store-bought creamers: your mouth first responds to the sugar, then to the flavor. I could drink it straight, sans coffee, to quiet my taste buds, which demand MORE, MORE, MORE of that sugary-sweet flavor. In this recipe, the sugar is much less noticeable, which I personally liked.
Third, check out the difference in what you are putting in your body:
International Delight Caramel Macchiato
Water, sugar, palm oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: sodium caseinate*(a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, natural and artificial flavors, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, polysorbate 60,carrageenan,salt *sodium caseinate is not a source of lactose.
Homemade Creamer:
(Organic) milk and cream, (Organic) maple syrup, ground cinnamon, vanilla and almond extracts.
Fourth, the "nutrition". I know. There really isn't anything terribly redeeming about creamer. But, I figured you'd want to know!
Store bought (1 Tablespoon): calories, 35 / fat, 1.5g (1g saturated) / sugars, 6g
Homemade (1 Tablespoon): calories, 36 / fat, 3g (1.91g saturated) / sugars, 2g
Finally, price. My ingredients were organic this time around and also in the smallest packages I could find for budget purposes. This definitely added to the price point. Similar results can be had using non-organic ingredients (which I estimate would cut the price, roughly, in half). Also, I guessed at the cost of the extracts and cinnamon and tacked them on, even though I didn't have to buy them this time around.
Two-pack of Caramel Macchiato creamer at Sam's: 8 cents per Tablespoon.
The homemade version, all organic and at the highest price point possible: 17 cents per Tablespoon.
I think this fairly compares the cheapest to the most expensive pricing in town.
So, there you have it. If you'd like to stop over for a cup of coffee and try this amazing creamer, I'm home most mornings and would love to see ya!
Please check out Carrie's website for more amazing recipes
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