Spiced Hot Chocolate

The downside of being sick is that you really can't taste anything, and you don't really want to eat anything. I'm still eating though, because I'm trying to get over this illness as quickly as possible so I can go back to school and work (I went to class Monday and to my morning class Tuesday, but have done nothing else since). Today I have been eating odd foods. One of the things I ate was a version of "chicken soup" that I think only a sick person would want to eat. I dumped some leftover rice in a bowl, poured on some lemon juice and crystal's hot sauce, then threw in a teaspoon of shmaltz, a bunch of leftover roasted veggies and some homemade chicken broth. Then I threw it in the microwave until it was hot. I don't know how it tasted but I think it was okay. It didn't make me sicker, so that's all I care about (P said it looked gross). I also have eaten a lot of dried fruit, and pickled onions. A lot of onions. Nearly a jar. Add that to simmered honey, lemon and honey tea and lots of broth, and I decided I wanted something strong enough that its flavour could bust through my currently ineffective taste buds. Enter hot chocolate. Despite my nostalgic love of packaged hot cocoa, it tends to be weak in flavour, even when made with milk so I decided to sit in a chair and whisk up some of the real stuff. It was awesome. I could taste it. I should hope I could taste it, considering what a diet buster it is! I hope you enjoy!

2 cups (500mL, approx) whole milk (you can use lighter milk if you like - this was super rich)
2-3 ounces grated dark chocolate (I used 2/3 of a bar of chocolate which was 86% cocoa)
1/2-3/4 cup vanilla sugar (or use just sugar, and throw in some vanilla extract at the end)
5 cardamom pods, ground (I sifted these as well, since I mortar and pestle it)
pinch nutmeg

Heat in a pan until it's at a strong simmer, whisking continuously. Top with an overabundance of marshmallows. Serves 2.

Variations: Melt in some crushed candy canes or peppermint extract. Or some orange extract. Or cherry even. Yum!

Comments

  1. Anonymous7:25 PM

    Those marshmallows look so pure, so innocent, so seductive! Who knows what lies beneath!!!! CHOCOLAT!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4:14 AM

    Feel better!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3:20 PM

    Mmmm...that looks tasty!

    I make a homemade mix, but I bet your hot chocolate is much tastier than that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MAG4:45 PM

    Yumm!!! I wrote everything down and I'm gonna try it :) I love the idea of adding Cardamom, we use it in arabic coffee but your idea is brilliant! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous12:22 PM

    This sounds amazing. I randomly add cardamom to things, but I don't think I ever would've thought to put it in hot chocolate.

    I hope you're feeling better now.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gems, Lovely Gems

Image
I actually have a bit more homework than I anticipated, so today I just want to tell you guys about gems. It appears that no one really knows what gems are anymore, but back in the 1800s they were a popular, if heavy, treat. So much so, that many pioneers even found room in their wagons to bring a gem pan. By the early 1900s, gems had fallen out of favour and most people just went with muffins. It's a sad, sad thing, really. Traditionally, gem pans were made from cast iron. You can still find beautiful, old cast iron pans on eBay. In fact, aside from scouring antique shops hopefully (and often fruitlessly), eBay is the only place I know that routinely "carries" them. You can find a proper gem pan for as little as US$5, and I've seen them as much as US$300. You just never really know. My advice, however, is to find one that's shallow, made in the mid-1800s (this is when the pans were really in their prime, quality-wise), and in extremely poor condition. I say to fi
Read more

Lentil, Chick Pea and Eggplant Boil

Image
Sorry for the delay. I actually made this days ago, but due to my busy school schedule (yay! The semester is finally almost over!), I didn't have time until now to post it. I always forget about lentils. I always have them in the house, and like them quite a bit, but most of the time, they don't even exist as an option in my head. I don't know why that is. I've been telling P for a while now I wanted to eat more lentils, so finally I just made some. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to use up some spare veggies laying about. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 anise bulb, sliced 1 small onion, cut into rings 1/2 jalepeno, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil salt to taste 1 cup yellow potato, cubed 2 cups cubed and peeled eggplant 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into quarters 1 cup lentils 3 - 4 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon each: clove, cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 preserved lemon, diced 1 roma tomato, chopped 1 cup mixe
Read more

Bergamot Curd

Image
As promised, here is the curd recipe. This is perfect for scones, toast, just to eat, or for an unusual twist on the filling typically used in those little fruit tarts. If bergamots are not available to you, you could always use lemon, Seville orange, sweet types of orange (cut the sugar a bit though), lime, pomello, grapefruit or any other citrus. Enjoy! 9 ounces freshly squeezed bergamot juice 2 tablespoons finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon bits Whisk all but butter into a saucepan. Begin to heat over medium low heat and add all the butter. Whisking periodically, cook until the whisk marks stay in the curd. Pack into sterilised jars (or you can just put this in a jar and put it in the fridge, if you don't want to can it) and process 15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
Read more