Well, the microwave died last night, and I had no idea how much I had come to depend on it until I tried to follow my usual daily routine. Sigh. Just at this moment, I cannot replace it, so I will be going microwave-less for a while.
It has been so cold recently, though today the high temp was a balmy 45 degrees F (that’s 7.2 C for my metrically inclined friends.) It was so nice to take my dog, Spartacus, to the park and not freeze for a change. It is still fairly brisk, though, and I wanted a warming drink when I returned to the domicile. Feeling very sorry for myself with the loss of the microwave I decided to treat myself to a favorite coffee that my DH and I discovered at a local coffee house. Unfortunately, that same coffee house has changed hands several times since we enjoyed this particular drink there. I do so hope the new owners are successful.
Without further ado, here it is, a sure-fire way to warm up on these cold days and get a jolt of java at the same time – the hot chocolate coffee.
Hot Chocolate Coffee Ingredients:
- two shots of espresso (or your coffee of choice)
- 1 Tablespoon of honey,
- 1 Tablespoon of chocolate syrup (something like Hershey’s is fine,)
- 3 to 4 ounces of steamed milk or half & half (half cream and half milk,)
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon,
- 1/8 teaspoon of powdered or ground ginger, and
- a dash each of nutmeg and cayenne pepper.
That dash of cayenne pepper is essential; it gives the coffee a wonderful warmth.
I usually heat the milk in the microwave while I make the espresso. Oops, not today! Dead microwave! So, I decided to heat the milk and the quite solid honey (cold house) in a saucepan on the stove. (I have tried this with the frothing wand also, and it works that way, too.)
I got things started: ground some nice dark beans, filled up the espresso maker, turned it on, began heating the milk and honey (doesn’t that sound nice,) and then discovered that someone had finished off our chocolate syrup. Undeterred, I rummaged around and found some milk chocolate chips in the cupboard. I had to try a few to make certain they were the right thing, then I tossed a few into the milk and honey, tried a few more to confirm they were indeed milk chocolate and melted them into the nice hot mixture.
When the espresso was done I mixed it all together and seasoned it with my warming spices. Yumm and yumm! This hits the spot!
Try it yourself and let me know what you think.
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