Thursday, October 29, 2015

Homemade Hot Cocoa

On Friday, Youngest Son surveyed weather, date, and occupants of the house and pronounced it a perfect night. 



A perfect night for making a fire in the fire pit.

Weather - clear and cold.  Mom can, therefore not make the excuse "too wet" or "too hot."

Date - no school in the morning.  Mom can, therefore, not say, "No fire pit on a school night."

Occupants - no older siblings home.  Therefore, no all-knowing brothers to be telling Youngest Son how to build a fire, tend a fire, or put out a fire.  No smugly confident older siblings to criticize the accidental burning of marshmallows, sparks on the deck caused by over-zealous stoking, or an entire 2-weeks worth of newspapers crumpled and added to the blaze.




No, altogether a perfect night for a fire in the fire pit. 




The building and tending of a fire is a wonderful, earthy experience.  Bringing out all the primal feelings of joy in the ability to put together gathered wood (okay it came pre-wrapped from the local market), set it to burning (yes, we were helped out by the Diamond Match Company),




nurse it through its fitful starts and stops and then through much blowing and poking and arranging and sighing suddenly come up with a magical source of warmth to all around its circle . . . holding forth against the 33 degree air at our backs.




Of course there were marshmallows and gooey fingers, faces that got too hot and backs that got too cold, smoky hair and eyes that got red and teary.




And when the discomfort of the gooeyness, heat, and stinging eyes overcame the delight of the stoking, roasting and warming hands, we all headed inside and sipped home made hot cocoa and agreed with Youngest Son.




It really was a perfect night for making a fire in the fire pit.





Homemade Hot Cocoa

Pour the following ingredients into a blender. 


4 cups of whole milk (sorry, but if you want the full, decadent flavor, you've gotta use whole!)
1/2 cup of sugar
3 teaspoons of vanilla
5 tablespoons of cocoa (I used Hershey's)

Blend away on highest speed. The frothiness this creates makes the beverage even more delectable!


Pour into a pan, heat to desired temperature, serve to adoring children and/or adults . . . or yourself!





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