A Winter’s Day. (Hot Coco-Cocoa and Snow Ice Cream)

It started out a perfect wintery day.  We woke up to 7 inches of snow, with more coming down.  My brother dropped off his kids to play with Little Boy while he ran errands.  Meanwhile, the temp rose just enough for the snow to turn to freezing rain, and when the kids went out to play in the snow, even they were miserable (that’s something, for kids to be miserable in the snow!). When they came in, I served them warm hot chocolate and snow ice cream. And loaded up the dryer with soppy wet clothes.

Hot Coco-Cocoa (per mug–adjust amounts to taste)

• 1 c. Whole milk
• 1 Tbls. Cocoa powder
• 1 Tbls. Maple syrup and/or sucanat
• Dash of sea salt
• 1 Tbls. Coconut oil
• Splash of vanilla

Start out with just enough milk in the pan to whisk the cocoa into a paste, then add more milk gradually, whisking almost constantly over medium heat.  Add everything else except vanilla and heat til hot.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Adults get a sprinkle of cayenne atop.

Snow Ice Cream

Get a bowlful of clean snow.  Add pure maple syrup, heavy cream and a little vanilla, stir until incorporated and just starting to melt.  Serve at once.

I don’t usually serve so much sweetness in one day, but what can I say?  It’s a snow day.  At least there were plenty of good fats to keep them warm and support their immune systems.

Happy Birthday to Me. (Applesauce Cake & Eggnog)

Applesauce Cake and Eggnog

Ach! I wrote a whole post for this and then accidentally deleted it; meanwhile the powers that be auto-saved the deleted post before I had a chance to re-paste it!  Here’s the re-creation.

My birthday this year was celebrated over the course of four days, with tostadas and cream puffs at my brother’s house on Friday, and then going out to dinner with Hubby & Little Boy on Monday.  (My actual birthday was on Tuesday, but I had to work that afternoon.)  However, since Applesauce Cake was on the menu for that day, I took the “opportunity” (try to never pass one up!) to have another little celebration of my own!  I used Meg Dickey’s recipe for Soaked Applesauce Cake on Cracking an Egg With One Hand blog.  Of course I can never let well enough alone, so I added an egg to the recipe even though it called for none.  It turned out moist, light and delicious!  I will definitely make this again.

Soaked Applesauce Cake (my version)

Night before:

• 1 c. soft wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce (mine was chunky)
• 1 Tbls. whey

Mix together well in a bowl, cover and let sit overnight on the counter.

Next day:

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix well into the flour mixture:

• 1/2 c. melted butter or coconut oil (I used a combination of both)
• 1/2 c. sucanat
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. raisins or nuts (I did not use either of them)

Pour batter into a greased 8×8 pan.  Bake for about 40-50 minutes till center is set.

I enjoyed a slice of the cake with a cup of homemade warm eggnog:

Eggnog

• Whole milk
• 1/2 & 1/2
• Egg yolks
• Sea salt
• Pure maple syrup
• Fresh ground nutmeg

For every mug of eggnog, use half a mug each of milk and 1/2 & 1/2, one egg yolk, a pinch of sea salt and maple syrup to taste (I like mine just barely sweet).  Whisk in a saucepan over medium heat till heated, just starting to thicken, but not boiling.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  This is wonderful warm but you could chill it for a more classic eggnog.  Happy birthday to me!