The Loveliness of Comfort Drinks

The first weekend in autumn it starts to cool down my husband always says, "I'm cold. Let's have some cocoa." Then he gets out the saucepan and makes a scrumptious batch of hot chocolate. The recipe comes from his favorite cookbook. It is a wonderful treat he makes for us during the winter and my cleaning the pan is a small price to pay for it. :)

Hot Chocolate

4 C. Milk
¼ C. Powdered cocoa such as Hershey's (or use 2 squares of unsweetened baking cocoa, chopped)
¼ C. Sugar, or to taste
A pinch of salt
A dash of vanilla

Blend the dry ingredients with about ½ C milk over very low heat in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Stir in the rest of the milk, beating with a fork or wire whisk.

Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Add the vanilla, pour into cups and serve.

A Man's Cookbook

When we got married a friend gave us How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. The friend's mother was a chef and highly recommended the book. Since both my husband and I enjoy cooking, we looked forward to trying the book out.

I like the book but my husband loves this book. It is always the first book he goes to when he is hunting down a new recipe. I have since found a couple other men who really enjoy this cookbook, and yet I have never heard a woman praise it as highly.

The only reason I can think of for this is that because Mark Bittman taught himself to cook, he knows and explains the basics in a way that men find appealing. He doesn't bog the book down in culinary profundity, but tells it like it is with a cut-and-dry-no-frills kind of way. This is pure speculation, so if there are any other theories I would love to hear them.

The Healthiest Cookies in the World

Or so my husband bills them. He calls them such because they have no sugar, only ¼ cup of honey, and the only fat is from the peanut butter and the oats. Of course, the raisins and concentrate also raise the fructose level of the cookies.

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Mix these ingredients and bring to a boil:
¼ C. Honey
¼ C. Cocoa powder
¼ C. Orange juice concentrate
¾ C. Water
⅓-½ C. Raisins

Turn off stove and mix in:
⅓ -½ C. Peanut butter
½ tsp. Vanilla
2 ¾ C. Oats

Pat the mixture into a large pie pan, slice and enjoy.

Corn on the Cob

I love corn on the cob, but always felt guilty lathering it with butter and salt. Not something my body needs.

Last summer we were invited over to dinner a some friends' home and they served us corn on the cob. They had recently gotten back from a honeymoon in Mexico where they were served corn on the cob with lime juice and sprinkled with chili powder. They loved that so much they served that to us.

Salt and butter step aside! That combination was so good that I have done it every time we have had corn this summer. In my opinion it tastes far better than the traditional salt and butter, and opinion aside, limes and chilis are far, far better for me than salt and butter.

In full disclosure though, my husband didn't care for it and will stick with the usual.

Rocky Road

I found this recipe online a long time ago and liked it because it was so quick and easy. It is extremely sweet and rich so don't eat too much at once!

Rocky Road

2 C. chocolate chips
1 C. peanut butter
4 C. marshmallows

Heat chocolate chips and peanut butter in pan over a low heat until melted. Place chocolate chips in 9x9 inch pan and pour chocolate mixture over them. Stir thoroughly and enjoy.

N.B. This will be a very gooey dessert. If you would prefer it firmer, refrigerate for a couple hours before eating.