Chocolate Season

--Last night we went to one of those places that has every kind of beer you could want, and they display every bottle on the wall.  I thought I'd streamline the process a bit and asked for a chocolate kind of beer.  The guy said, "Oh, you just missed those by 2 days."  I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't.  So I got a mocha stout instead. 

--But then I thought more about his statement.  Can there really be a chocolate season?  I realize that if I had a yearning for a pumpkin beer, I'd be out of luck.  But chocolate?  That seems year round and universal.

--For some reason, I've been thinking about the hot cocoa mix that my mother made every autumn as the weather started to change.  Strange to think about the days before you could buy little packets at the grocery store.

--I used to mix up a batch too, all through grad school.  But now it's easy to make hot cocoa in the microwave.

--I can hear the wind howling today.  We are forecast to have winds of 19 mph, which means there will be even higher gusts.  It will be a great day for hot drinks.

--If you want to be economical and make your own powdered cocoa mix, here's the recipe, in sizes from the 1970's:  8 qt. powdered milk (it's powdered, so the quart size baffles me--it's the smallish box), 1 pound box Nestle Quik, 1 pound powdered sugar, 6 oz. creamer (or as my recipe calls it, powdered cream).  Mix it all together.

--What I can't remember:  how much mix to how much water.  I feel like we used 1/4 cup of mix to a regular size of mug of water.

--I wonder if there's a way to health up the recipe a bit.  The Nestle Quik would have even more sugar.  Can one use cocoa powder?

--My quilt group comes over today.  We recognize no end to chocolate season.  We will be having a flourless chocolate cake.  If anyone wants to bake along, the recipe is here.