Hot Cocoa

I love hot cocoa. I mean, really love it. But I feel like a lot of people are willing to count any warm brown liquid off as the real deal. It’s disappointing to me, when I’m shivering around a camp fire to watch someone tear open a pack of Swiss Miss. The powdered stuff just doesn’t have real cocoa flavor. It’s all the sadder because great cocoa is only 1 extra step.

Hot Cocoa

A super easy recipe for hot cocoa with deep, rich chocolate flavor
Prep Time2 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time12 minutes
Course: drink
Servings: 4 -6
Author: Moose

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder. I like to use a mixture of regular and dutch process cocoa
  • 1/3-1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt

Instructions

  • Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and water in a sauce pan.
  • Stir over high heat until the mixture begins to boil. Stir to dissolve all the sugar and break up lumps in the cocoa.
  • Add milk, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches ~135F.
  • Serve with marshmallows.

2.27.2015 | TI8

FRIDDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Morning Snack: Apple
Lunch: Falafel sandwich at Liba Falafel in Oakland. This place was amazing, though quite pricey. The falafel is good, but the best part is the condiment bar. The one challenge is getting enough of the good stuff into the pita. The owner recommended smashing the falafel, then opening it up to squeeze more in. Others just get the salad so you can dump stuff on top. Either way, it’s tasty.
Afternoon snack: Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups. Coke Zero.
Dinner: Barney’s burger. Split a Western bacon burger and fries
Dessert: Hot cocoa because of the cold walk home.

2.26.2015 | TI8

THURSDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Lunch: Leftover pasta with lemon creme fraiche
Afternoon snack: Some leftover Valentine’s candy. Coke zero.
Dinner: Rice and beans
Dessert: experimental lemon curd tart

2.25.2015 | TI8

WEDNESDAY I ATE

Morning Snack: Apple
Lunch: Sandwich from Cafe 15. This place is really good, but it’s expensive, and can be a zoo at lunch time. When someone orders from there for a meeting, though, I’m happy. The pastrami was really exceptional. Coke zero and chips with guacamole rounded it out.
Afternoon snack: An Arnold palmer (Iced tea and lemonade). In a a can that looked like a Coke Zero.
Dinner: Ate at Spice Monkey… lots of dishes. The best was a fried chicken dish.

2.24.2015 | TI8

TUESDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Lunch: Leftover rice and taco meat. This was not the best day in the lunch world.
Afternoon snack: Candy eggs. Coke zero
Dinner: Pasta with creme fraische and lemon
Dessert: Leftover chocolate birthday cake

2.23.2015 | TI8

MONDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Morning Snack: Piece of cinnamon raisin bread
Lunch: Leftover noodle cake
Afternoon snack: Some Dove chocolate easter eggs. Coke Zero
Dinner: Ramen soup
Dessert: Some leftover rice crispy treats from the birthday cake

2.21.2015 | TI8

SATURDAY I ATE

Morning Snack: Chocolate chip cookie and iced tea
Lunch: Turkey sandwich
Afternoon snack: chips and guacamole
Dinner: Tacos
Dessert: Little bits of fondant and ganache as we made Tessa’s birthday cake

2.20.2015 | TI8

FRIDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with cheddar and cranberry jam
Afternoon snack: A tiny bit of leftover peanut butter tart. A couple of chocolate eggs. Coke zero
Dinner: A hamburger with blue cheese and bacon at The Cooperage. French fries. Part of a Caesar salad
Dessert: Split a skillet s’more (homemade graham cracker with chocolate topped with a sheet of house-made marshmallow in a 4″ skillet. Also a few bites of a “Ho Ho cake.” Then ate a bunch of chocolate ganache while frosting Tessa’s castle cake

2.19.2015 | TI8

THURSDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar
Lunch: Leftover Zacchary’s pizza
Afternoon snack: Leftover peanut butter tart. Coke zero
Dinner: Spaghetti with zucchini and Parmesan cheese
Dessert: A See’s candy sample

2.18.2015 | TI8

WEDNESDAY I ATE

Breakfast: Grapenuts, cranberry juice
Lunch: Turkey sandwich with jalapeno cranberry jam
Afternoon snack: Vanilla cake for someone’s birthday… pretty amazing that she baked it for her own birthday and all of us to enjoy. Plus a Coke zero.
wpid-20150218_143928.jpg
Dinner: Spinach and mushroom pizza from Zacchary’s
Dessert: Well, let’s see… there was some leftover peanut butter tart. And there was some of this leftover angel food cake. Oh, and that piece of blackberry pie is just going to go to waste…
wpid-20150218_184039.jpg
so that makes, um, one, two, three desserts. Plus the cake at lunch. Holy crap.