The Taste of Fall - Cocoa

Cooler weather is here.  I'm sure it's not going to stay.  My grandmother always said, "there's one last cold snap before Easter."  Well, there's one last warm snap before Thanksgiving too.  Honestly, I hate cold weather.  I hate being cold.  I hate grey skies....so dreary and depressing.  I can still vividly remember the gray of winter in Germany and opening the curtains one morning to a blue sky.  It was so shocking to see blue again.

Anyway, this post isn't about the weather, it's about the food.  So far I've only made a pot of chili.  I'll have to find the recipe to share.  It's a Southern Living vegetarian black bean chili that I add ground beef and pinto beans to :).  I'm looking forward to more crockpots filled with soups.

My favorite thing about cool weather is a mug of hot chocolate.  I don't buy the cheap stuff.  For the last few years, I've bought Land-o-lakes specialty hot chocolates.  I haven't bought any this year because it's not good for me...too much sugar.  The other night, I wanted a cup so badly.  I went to my favorite recipe site and found this one.  It is sooo good that I won't go back to store bought hot chocolate.  It takes a few minutes.  I really have to want it to make it.  I'm hoping that'll help me to ration the sugar :).  Here are my tweaks on the all-recipes recipe for 1 mug of hot cocoa. 

Hot Cocoa

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
a pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp half and half

Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.