I was walking around the grocery store, and I spied this creamer as I was looking for something interesting to review. This International Delight Vanilla Heat was just up my alley. Coffee? Check. Vanilla? Check. Heat? Check.

With so many great components, my only question was how much I was going to like this creamer. I had visions of a hot vanilla coffee drink with a little kick at the end. This seemed like it would be great for a cool fall morning.

So I pour some in my morning coffee and sip away. I was greeted with some surprising flavors. First and foremost, I did not get much vanilla. Instead, I was getting sort of a nutmeg taste. Not bad, but certainly not what I expected. I do see that there is ground nutmeg on the picture on the label, so maybe something subtle is going on with the flavor profile. At the end of the sip, there is a nice little punch of heat. Nothing severe, but certainly distinct. I am reminded of chocolate that has had some chilli pepper added, and there is that same sort of punch that is good, but somehow does not quite work for the alphageek. The alphageek likes spicy food, but the combination of coffee (or chocolate) and heat does not quite work. I guess plain vanilla has been around so long for a reason.

Still, this creamer is not bad, just not something I would head out and buy again. International Delight makes many other excellent creamers in many flavors, and you might be happier trying one of those out, if that little pop of heat with your coffee is not your thing. If you like heat in everything, get this creamer today because it is a limited time product.

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Here at alphageek Talks Food , we like to experiment. After all, what geek wants to do the same old things day in and day out? If something works, it does not have enough features yet! We decided we could try a food experiment: how could one could punch up the flavor of some simple Udon Soup, that costs about $1.25 at any store near you.

First, what are we talking about? One of those simple packages of noodle soup that are now almost universal. They are like Ramen soup, except the noodles are soft instead of hard. Have a look at the picture below. Just make the soup according to the directions, well almost the directions. We will give you one change you can make at the end, or don't. After all, the best thing is you can make soup the way you would like it.

Next, we cut up some Napa cabbage. In the picture below, we used a little more than usual, so maybe cut back a little. The hot soup will cook the cabbage to a little crunchy, and remove the raw taste.

Then, we shredded a carrot. Shredding helps the carrot cook quickly, when the hot soup is in the bowl. Carrot slices would just taste like you put carrot sticks in, and forgot to cook the sticks.

Finally, the soup calls for some aromatics. Cilantro and one green onion provide the aroma and exotic tastes that help make the soup smell delicious.

This next step is purely optional. Remember the one change from above? I like to cut up the noodles. No, I don't like the long noodles. I can't keep the broth from going everywhere when I am sitting at the computer when the noodles are long. These short noodles help keep the mess down.

Finally, just pour the hot soup right over the bowl full of things that you have just cut up. Don't forget to enjoy too. You can't get much more simple than that, and the flavor increases exponentially.

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Vanilla Heat Creamer

Upgrading Udon Soup