Milking It

I love this creamy organic milk. Image from stonyfield.com.

As a I step away from sugary treats--to the left, to the left, devilish cupcakes and brownies--coffee and milk [both together and apart] have become primary indulgences.

I love a hot latte or a tall tumbler of milk. But I don't want them to be ordinary. Just as I sought out the finest dark chocolates for years, in every city and town I visited, I seek out the best coffee beans and organic milks.

Years back at Good Housekeeping, we were reporting for the Nutrition/Diet/Fitness pages about, if I remember correctly, a blind taste test among staffers, comparing regular and organic milk. The conclusion? No real difference in terms of richness and taste.

But when the copy went on for approval [as every piece of copy did] to our formidable editor in chief, she came back to me and told me to check with another editor on staff, someone who had grown up in the Midwest, someone who bought organic milk for her family. That second editor said yes, definitely, organic milk tasted richer and creamier.

I can't remember how our report ended up; we may have tweaked a sentence to give a nod to that opinion.

Cream of the Crop

Now I'm into pure organic milks, even though they cost a lot more than regular pours. I also like young Punch to have them. The milk truck has passed for Figgy, since she is vegan, and Dan generally pours his milk into coffee, so it doesn't matter as much.

My favorite--better than Organic Valley Grassmilk ["cream on top"--and almost $7 per half-gallon], Byrne Hollow Farm and Whole Foods 365 Brand Organic--is Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk. It's rich and creamy--dessert in a glass, night cap in a cup. This is a true treat for someone who grew up with powdered milk, stirred in a pitcher to avoid lumps. [Dan remembers powdered milk from his childhood, too.]

And coffee! My favorites at the moment are Toby's Estate in a decaf latte and Joyist's Java Love brew in a regular latte, poured into a wide, deep to-stay cup.

How about you? I would love to know.

TCOY

1. 7 a.m. support group; helpful.
2. Walked around block.
3. Oatmeal with pure pumpkin, almonds Sis brought back from Cali, a little maple sugar, a little cream, a shake of cinnamon and 1 T? dark chocolate chips. 
4. Met my friend for an important talk/insights.
5. Tweaked resume, resent to someone I know.
6. Ate veggies at lunch and dinner.
7. Ice water.
8. Said yes to another freelance assignment.

$ MONEY OUT OF POCKET

• Gas pump, near a half tank, $15.
• Tolls to drive Parkway to friend's house: Estimate [since we have E-Z Pass], $1.50.
• ShopRite, hot [but not fried] food bar for lunch, $8.18.
• ShopRite, small bag chips, peanut butter, large hummus, bananas and half-gallon of my Stonyfield milk, on sale, 80 cents off reg price, so $4.49. Wow, yesterday I bought the same milk at Kings for $5.89. Balance, $10.72.
• Java Love with Punch after school and before CCD, her drink, donut, $3 Valentine's Day donation for good cause that helps adolescents and tip, about $12.50.
• First order on Tobysestate.com; I registered and got 10 percent off. I love that you can choose French press grind; the Ghost Town label with pink accent for decaf; and the fact that the shipping by First-Class Mail from Brooklyn is $2.65 [you could also pay $35+ to get the 12-oz. bag overnight by UPS!!!!!!] $15.93.

DAILY TOTAL: $63.83.