Better Home Cooking Basics: #69 Top Your Ice Cream with Spices to Add More Flavor (Not More Fat!).

It's ice cream weather! While hot fudge, whipped cream & extra sprinkles all offer extra deliciousness to everyone's favorite summer treat they also add extra calories. Today, I'm asking you to put down the typically delicious & caloric toppings & visit your spice rack instead. Spices aren't just for cooking any more. You can jazz up any kind of ice cream with spices which means more flavor without added fat! Keep reading for my ice cream & spice pairing suggestions.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #68 Revive Whipped Cream that has been Over-Whipped with a Couple Splashes of Cream.

If you're multitasking while preparing whipped cream from scratch you might opt to use an electric mixer & you may just over whip your cream making it resemble a texture more like churned butter than light & airy whipped cream. If this happens to you don't toss it! Simply add a couple splashes of cream back into the mixture & whip it back into shape & you'll have light & airy whipped cream in no time.

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.

Better Home Cooking Basics: #67 Freese Your Bowl & Whisk Before Using Them To Make Homemade Whipped Cream.

’Tis the season for whipped cream. Fresh fruit with homemade whipped cream is simple & sinful all at once. When making whipped cream at home I use 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to each cup of heavy whipping cream. The sugar level really depends on how sweet you want it. One way to make the whipping go faster (especially if doing it by hand) is to freeze the bowl & the whisk (attachment) that you plan to use at least 15 minutes ahead of time. This helps to speed things along when it comes time to whipping. To make the whipped cream simply combine the whipping cream & sugar (if using) & beat the heck out of it with a whisk until it forms stiff peaks. It's quite the arm work out if you do it by hand but you can also employ your trusty mixer too if you're double tasking in the kitchen.

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.