You might be able to adapt these recipes to use it. Cappuccino Mousse 2 T instant coffee crystals 1/4 c water 1 tsp unflavored gelatin 6 egg yolks 1/2 c sugar 2 c whipping cream Chocolate curls for garnish In small bowl, dissolve coffee powder in water. Stir in gelatin and set aside. In large metal bowl, or top of a double boiler, beat egg yolks and sugar with wire whisk until blended. Place over a pot of gently boiling water (make sure the bottom of bowl does not touch water). Cook, stirring rapidly with whisk about 10 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Add coffee/gelatin mixture to egg mixture, whisk until combined. Beat egg/coffee mixture with electric mixer on medium speed about 5 minutes, or until mixture is cool. Thoroughly wash beaters. In chilled bowl, beat cream with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into egg/coffee mixture one-third at a time. Divide mixture evenly among 8 chilled dessert glasses. Cover and let chill for at least 4 hours. Garnish with chocolate curls. Makes 8 servings From Midwest Living magazine 12/2007 Blackberry Buttermilk Panna Cottas with Blackberry Compote For panna cottas 3/4 lb blackberries (about 3 cups) 1 1/4 cups well\-shaken buttermilk 2 3/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from two 1/4\-oz envelopes) 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 2/3 cup sugar 2 tablespoons blackberry syrup, store\-bought or homemade (see cooks' note, below) For compote 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup crème de cassis 2 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/2 lb blackberries (about 2 cups) Special equipment: 6 (6\-oz) molds (preferably nonreactive) Make panna cottas: Purée blackberries with buttermilk in a blender until very smooth, then pour through a fine\-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl and let stand 1 minute to soften. While gelatin softens, heat cream and sugar in a saucepan over moderate heat until hot, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved. Stir cream mixture and syrup into blackberry purée, then pour through cleaned sieve into a bowl. Pour mixture into molds and chill, covered, until firm, at least 8 hours. Make compote while panna cottas finish chilling: Boil water, crème de cassis, and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, then pour syrup over blackberries and gently stir to combine. To serve panna cottas, run a thin knife along edge of molds to loosen if necessary and dip molds in a small bowl of warm water 3 to 5 seconds, then invert panna cottas onto plates and gently lift off molds. Spoon berries and syrup over and around each panna cotta. Cooks' notes: To make blackberry syrup, heat 1/4 cup blackberry jam with 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until jam is dissolved. Pour mixture through a fine\-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Panna cottas can be chilled in molds up to 1 day. Compote can be made 2 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Linda

The whipping cream I buy has no carageenan in it...just cream. And I buy real pure vanilla extract and use lots... Ton't turn the crank so fast....when you beat the eggs...just mix well, don't make then frothy. And home made ice cream needs to "ripen"...the usual way is to remove the dasher and pack the container with more ice and cover well with newspapers and a rug ( not sure why a rug....but that's the way!!) And let it sit for at least an hour....2 or 3 is better. Linda C

Wow, Jenn thought I was Sol ! What a nice compliment to meeeee!!! Here's the Lavender Honey Ice Cream recipe, which I found on line! David Lebovitz' Honey Lavender Ice Cream 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers 1 1/2 cups whole milk (Susans note: I used half & half) 1/4 cup sugar pinch salt 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 5 large eggs (you will only use the yolks) Âroom temp Sooz's Notes: 2 T vodka (80 proof) to keep the ice cream from becoming icy A bit of gel food coloring to make it look lavender (or whatever color you want) Instructions: Pull the lavender flowers off the stems & measure out the flowers. Heat honey with ½ lavender, just until bubbles start to form in the honey (Sooz's note: I used the microwave). Remove from the heat, and let sit an hour or so to extract some of that tasty lavender flavor. It may look kinda funny, but it's okay. Put the cream in a bowl. Rewarm the honey a bit to make it runny and pour it through a sieve into the cream. Squish those lavender flowers with the back of a spoon to get out as much flavor as possible. Add 2 T vodka to this bowl. Meanwhile, warm the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolve, and the milk is hot. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, and beat the egg yolks into a yellow foamy looking foam. Add the warm milk to the yolks, a tiny little bit at a time, mixing constantly. You have to add the milk slooooowly especially at the beginning. Put the egg yolk mix back on the stove, and heat, stirring constantly over medium-low heat. Use a thermometer for this next part, as it will keep you from curdling the custard base. Heat to 175°F. Never stop stirring. At 175°F, the custard should have thickened nicely, shouldn't have curdled, and will be ready for the next step. Immediately pour this through a sieve (just in case there are any cooked egg bits in your custard), pour the hot custard over the lavender flowers (which are in the sieve anyway) and into the cool cream. Mix gently, and add the remainder of the lavender. Sooz's Notes: I used violet "gel" coloring and added it with the remainder of the lavender. If you add too little food coloring, it will look a sickly grayish color. Keep adding the gel coloring until you get what color you want. I used the end of a toothpick to add the color, then stirred with a spoon. Cool in the fridge overnight. Sieve out the fresh lavender, and run the mixture through your ice cream maker, using the directions for your machine (make sure you froze the freeze-y canister for at least 24 hours). Then, you slowly pour in the sieved ice cream mix into a the machine while the beater is stirring on low. If you pour in the mixture and then turn on the machine, it may cause a problem as the paddle may not be able to move. Churn for 25-ish minutes. Scoop into a cold container, and leave in the freezer overnight to finish hardening it. Enjoy! Here's the link for the recipe to the Amaretto Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. Scroll down and look for the big picture of it!

I like home made, but I also don't object to real whipped cream (not artifical) in a can. It's convenient and stores well, and can be used quickly in small doses. I keep a can around during hot chocolate season and a backup (hidden downstairs) all through the holiday season. If it's out where the kids can see it, they're prone to take a squirt directly as a snack. :-p The most abuse I've seen is that they put the can back as close to empty as it can be without ACTUALLY being empty, so that the next time I need it I get a splutter instead of a squirt. I'm not sure if they're trying not to be wasteful or just in denial that yes, they really *did* just eat a whole can of whipped cream. :-p (OK, yes, I do know...) Cj