Today Beezy implored, "Will you make hot chocolate like I asked you yesterday?" A couple of years ago my mother-in-law gifted us with Bellagio Sipping Chocolate, of the dark variety. A European style powdered drinking mix, it is truly decadent stuff. The perfect antidote to a cold winter day or for a late afternoon pick-me-up. Since we were running low on sugar, I made it with maple syrup from White Kitty Farm. Heat it up to taste with your favorite kind of milk, and you're on your way to a pure moment of bliss!
I went ahead and picked up some Domino organic sugar while Beezy was at her piano lesson. During the cold snap and level 3 weather emergency, I had focused on making soup and baking baguettes and banana bread. Being that 17 degrees (above zero) felt nearly tropical today in comparison to recent temperatures, and we were finally able to get out of the house, I wanted to make sure that in the event of another deep chill we would not be out of sugar! By the way, organic is just sooo much better than conventional white refined sugar.
Which brings me to my motto for the new year, the sweet life. No big resolutions, just the simple intention to keep life sweet every day. We are out of honey and low on maple syrup, so we need to plan a trip to see our friend Jerry at Maple Grove Farm. It was very telling when the blizzard was on its way and so many people made a mad dash to buy food. Shelves were empty of the basics, like bread, milk, and eggs. I marveled that these folks would not already have their cupboards and refrigerator stocked, being that we live in NW Ohio and it is winter. Yes, we have had some mild winters, but in general many people simply don't keep food in their homes, even those with children. They run out for fast food regularly, and they typically have nothing with which to prepare their own meals. This, most decidedly, is not what I would call the sweet life. Oh, real butter is another must-have-on-hand item!
So there's a good place for you to start in 2014. Just keep food in your house, real food, organic food, food that isn't highly processed, comfort food. Then when the deep freeze comes, you can stay inside and away from grocery store madness and simmer a nice pot of cocoa for the sweet loves in your life.