Our latest household craze, particularly with the increasingly warm summer weather, is creamy smooth premium vanilla ice cream speckled with vanilla beans from Straus Family Creamery.



Some might consider vanilla ice cream boring. Not even a real flavor. But I've been surprised by the number of our friends who, when we pull out the Straus vanilla, claim vanilla as their favorite flavor. It's certainly the most versatile ice cream, ready to be drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce, sprinkled with fresh sliced strawberries, scooped over warm peach cobbler, layered into parfaits, and naturally paired with virtually any type of cake or fruit pie, tart, or galette. Or, better yet, savored on its own.

And while there are quite a few excellent premium vanilla options out there, none surpasses Straus. We've done the taste tests, comparing it to Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, Dreyers, Breyers, Double Rainbow, and even my very own homemade vanilla bean ice cream (which I'm still perfecting). None compares.

It's not just the creamy flavor of the ice cream that makes us love Straus, it's also the natural, organic ingredients that Straus uses. Plus, Straus is a local, family-operated business that has been farming in Marin since 1941. They are leaders in organic, high-quality dairy products, and it comes through in everything they produce: milk, cream, half & half, yogurt, butter, and even cheese.

But it's their ice cream that makes me swoon.


Kim's Ultra-Decadent Ice Cream Sundae

Straus Organic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Recchiuti Extra-Bitter Chocolate Sauce
Fresh, organic raspberries
Freshly whipped cream (made with Strauss whipping cream of course!)
Toasted, sliced almonds

Warm the chocolate sauce. Scoop a large scoop of ice cream into a sundae glass or a bowl. Drizzle with chocolate sauce. Dollop with whipped cream, and top with a sprinkle of almonds. Sit outside in your garden and take in the sunshine while you savor your sundae. Heaven.