Customized Hot Chocolate

Wednesday - midweek - a little extra zing to perk me up, get my mind a'buzzing, would be nice. With cooler weather I find a simple cup of hot chocolate - Ghiradelli Unsweetened Cocoa, to be exact - easily does the trick. No pre-sweetened packets for me.

I put 1 TBS of unsweetened cocoa to each cup of water into a sauce pan and bring it to just under a boil, stirring constantly; then drizzle in the barest amount of honey to make the warm drink palatable (can't do without it; and you know me… I've tried!)

Hot chocolate made without milk, though, is surprisingly tasty. I scarcely miss it at all; certainly don't miss the congestion dairy tends to bring in its wake. I've read, somewhere, most human adults are allergic to cow's milk products; hence the congestive reaction to milk or cheese.

But there's nothing like customizing a cup of warm cocoa - sweetened to your own liking with honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, or whatever your sweetener of choice might be. The point is: you decide how sweet your hot chocolate is going to be - not "Swiss Miss" or "Nestle's".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_cocoa