December decompression

December has barely started, and I'm already stressed.  I have too much that I want to do, and no idea how I'm going to find time to do it all.  Thank goodness I have vacation time later in the month, though that adds to the stress a bit, since I have so much to do at work before then.  But somehow or other, it will all get done--probably with the aid of not enough sleep and lots of caffeine.

Since I don't drink coffee, the caffeine comes from Coke or tea.  I bring a big mug of tea from home in the morning, but sometimes I want more during the day.  A walk to Starbucks gives me the chance to get out of the branch for a bit and decompress.  Unfortunately, our weather right now isn't always conducive to hot drinks, so I'm still drinking a lot of ice tea.  However, I've also discovered that you can get them to make a Gingerbread Latte with tea rather than espresso, and it's quite tasty.  (Ask for an Awake Tea Latte with gingerbread syrup.)

And sometimes I forego the caffeine in favor of chocolate.  During the fall, the seasonal hot chocolate drink is Salted Caramel.  I'm not sure if it's actually still available in the shops, but I've discovered that I can buy boxes of Starbucks hot chocolate in various flavors at Target.  For the salted caramel one, the caramel flavor seems to come from little chips of some sort.  That gave me the idea to add butterscotch chips and some extra salt to my homemade hot chocolate to see if I could duplicate the flavor.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, so I can make it whenever I want.


Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

45 grams (about 1/4 cup) chocolate chips
15 grams (about 1 tablespoon) butterscotch chips (I used Guittard)
60 grams (1/4 cup) boiling water
225 grams (1 cup) milk
1/8 - 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 - 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
whipped cream or marshmallows (optional)

Place the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a small saucepan and pour the boiling water over them.  Let sit for about 5 minutes, until the chips melt.  Whisk the mixture until smooth.  Place the saucepan over medium low heat and bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally.  Whisk in the milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer again.  Whisk in kosher salt and sugar to taste.  (The amount of sugar needed will depend on the sweetness of the chocolate chips used.)  Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream or marshmallows if desired.  Makes 2 servings.

Weekend wind-down - Signs of the season (9/30)

It was still September today, but I decided it was close enough to October to get out the Halloween mugs.  A friend commented that it was possibly even almost cool enough for hot chocolate.  That's sort of true, since it was a rainy, cloudy, somewhat cooler weekend.  But the real truth is, Brianna & Gillian ask for hot chocolate year-round.  I make it from scratch, and pretty much wing it.  I put an ounce or so of bittersweet chocolate (30-40 grams) in a small saucepan & cover it with about a quarter cup of boiling water (I usually have some already made for tea).  I add a pinch of salt and about a tablespoon of sugar.  I bring the mixture to a simmer and whisk in about a cup of milk.  I then heat the mixture until it's hot but not too hot.  It makes enough for a couple of kid-sized mugs.  Marshmallows are served along side.

I've been seeing lots of signs lately that we're changing seasons.  It's still way too early to be thinking about December holidays, but I admit that I'm already welcoming a few things that seem to come along with the holiday baking season.  This weekend I found several seasonal items at Costco--vanilla beans, parchment paper, and bundt pans. =)  I bought a roll of parchment even though I still have some left from last year.  It's not like it goes bad, right?  I missed the vanilla beans last year--I hesitated when I saw them later in the season, and when I checked again, they were gone.  So I grabbed them as soon as I saw them this year.  They seem to be pretty good, and I'm sure I'll try to pick up more before they disappear.  I don't actually know if they have specialty baking pans every year, but I couldn't help buying one when I saw it.  I got a very pretty Nordic Ware Fleur de Lis pan along with a cake keeper for only $20--no way could I pass that up.  I'm almost as excited about the storage container as I am about the pan, since I didn't have anything like that (hard to believe, I know).

I love fall (and winter), but the one downside of the changing season is the shortening of good daylight hours for taking pictures of baked goods.  I'm starting to realize that part of the reason I haven't been blogging much is that I'm not happy with the pictures I'm taking, if I manage to take any at all.  And I want to have good photos.  So I'm pondering solutions to that problem (both for better lighting and more time).  I've been baking quite a bit--really!--and I want to get back to sharing those things here.  If you have any good suggestions about what works for you, I'd love to hear them!

Simple pleasures

I love weekend breakfasts.  Things are always crazy around here during the week, and no one really gets to eat at home.  Jamie eats oatmeal at work.  Brianna and Gillian get fed at school, though one or both of them may take a granola bar or some dry cereal to munch on during the car ride.  I sometimes get to eat here, but more often it's a muffin or bagel eaten on the run.  

Weekends are different.  Even if I work on Saturday, I get at least one day where I can make something for everyone for breakfast.  My girls love pretty much any breakfast food except eggs (they get that from me).  French toast is their favorite, but they also love pancakes, waffles, muffins...  And along with whatever we're eating, Brianna and Gillian often ask if I'll make them hot chocolate.  

Now I've mentioned before that my girls both love chocolate.  But most of the time, I think the hot chocolate is really just an excuse to eat marshmallows.  Who knew that the mini marshmallow could bring such joy?  =)  Up until yesterday, I've been giving Gillian her hot (well, warm) chocolate in a cup with a lid, so she would just eat all the marshmallows before she even drank anything.  But she's getting better with drinking without spilling, so I gave her a plastic mug and a spoon and let her go crazy.  She had lots of fun putting the marshmallows in her mug and fishing them out again to eat them. =)  Brianna also likes putting some of her marshmallows in her hot chocolate, but first she has to count them.  She's actually getting practice at some simple multiplication and subtraction as she organizes them into groups and then eats them.

As for the actual recipe, sometimes I just wing it, but it finally occurred to me to write down a version that they liked.  You can use whatever dark chocolate you have on hand, adjusting the added sugar to taste.  And while the girls like marshmallows, I actually prefer whipped cream on mine. =)

Easy Hot Chocolate

(2 kid-sized servings)

1 cup (8 ounces) milk (we use 1%)

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped (this time was Ghirardelli 72% pieces)

pinch of salt

1 to 3 teaspoons granulated sugar (to taste, depending on the chocolate you use)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

mini (or large) marshmallows

Place the milk and chocolate in a small saucepan.  Heat until the chocolate melts, whisking frequently.  Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve.  Continue to heat until it just begins to steam, but not simmer.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Whisk until frothy.  Pour into mugs and serve with marshmallows on the side.