Reason to Buy Local/Seasonal #3

I think we have already established that I love French vanilla Coffeemate® in an unhealthy, Fatal Attraction sort of way.
The fact that there is a ton of crap in there combined with the fact that caffeine MAY trigger eczema breakouts has helped my decision to phase out coffee.  I made it through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  But this morning, I NEEDED a cup.  Needed it in the same way Tyrone Biggums needs his crack.
But we have no creamer in the house.
I did that on purpose.
But... (there's always a "but," isn't there?)...

Last night, HRH and I took a field trip to Udder Delights.  I may have mentioned it before - the best ice cream shop in the entire world?  Yeah - that one.  For dinner (cool mom moment!), HRH had the world's largest (and somehow magically refilled) kids' scoop of bright pink bubble gum (the most bubble gummy bubble gum flavor ever - it really tasted like gum instead of the fake-y flavor with which most may be familiar), while I indulged in a (large - duh) fudge brownie milkshake.  With whipped cream - you KNOW it's real cream and not filled with random multi-syllabic words as ingredients here; it's the only place I'll say "yes, please" when asked if I want whipped cream, to tell the truth.
OK, so while I have raved about UD before, it really is one of those places a person can go for a good great most excellent treat and feel completely at home.  The staff is knowledgeable and - more importantly - enthusiastic about their product and the business (both on this end and the Superstition Farm end).
To this end, HRH had her ice cream topped off, courtesy Farmer Casey (whom she may not have recognized without his signature hat, but she gave him a big hug anyway - wouldn't you, too?), and I received my shake for free for having filled up my punch card (I was shocked, thinking that it would be for the kids' scoop, which is less expensive), so I asked if they possibly had any cream in the back that they would be willing to sell me.  WITHOUT hesitation, a pint was packed up for me, and I happily handed over the debit card.
Just FYI, cream from the grocery store has two ingredients: cream (duh) and carageenan.  This is a sea kelp that is used as a thickener in many items, including my beloved Coffeemate®.  It's the ingredient I am really trying to avoid, for various reasons (just type "carageenan health concerns" into a search engine to get a hint), so why would I make my own creamer - I have found a recipe, as I think I mentioned before - if the grocery store cream has it in there, too?
This cream - only one ingredient: cream.  And, oh, what BEAUTIFUL cream it is.  Just look:

Don't you want to drink this?
I do!

No, wait - that doesn't really do it justice.  Look at how thick and lovely it is - you can't even see my finger (which was clean, thank you very much) under that luscious cream:

Yes, I licked my finger.

All right, so back to the coffee.  I made only a scant amount (one rather large cupful) and swirled in some of that cream, which almost melted, it is so thick, and my vanilla sugar that I always have on hand.
The result - it does NOT taste like my Coffeemate®.  At all.  It's very different.  But it's amazing.  Beautiful AND amazing.

The speckles are REAL vanilla bean.

This is going to be an occasional treat, rather than an every morning thing.  I am working to drink my black tea (hopefully going down to green or white tea later), but sometimes, on special days, I most certainly am going to pop into UD to get some cream for my coffee (and perhaps try my hand at some fun ice cream recipe, courtesy David Lebovitz, with the rest).
So... reason to buy local/seasonal #3 - you know exactly what you are getting, and they will even spoil you just a little bit, like the "fun" members of the family (don't you want to be the "fun" relatives, too?)!  Plus, at least in this case, you can meet the lovely ladies who make your favorite treat - all 8000 of them (I'm talking about the cows, in case you suddenly got confused)!