What a sad day today-- BB King has left the world, and my car's transmission has done the same. Neither of them are coming back, and that calls for some comfort, which I have chosen to imbibe, in the form of cocoa.
I do buy cocoa mix during the winter, because my hubby-man likes to have it handy, but most of the time I'd rather make it myself. Today, I made a combo-- sort of semi-homemade, in that I used prepared Cashew milk and so added no other sweetener. Silk brand has hit a home run with this product, which I have yet to find in the unsweetened version. It makes a nice, rich cocoa that is only slightly nutty. Lately I've been using carob powder to make our cocoa, because I happened to find it on sale-- and it was love at first taste. In brownies, in coffee, or any way I'd use unsweetened cocoa, this stuff gives a nice twist.
My comfort cocoa method is simple-- put a smallish saucepan on medium-low heat, add the amount of milk you like, and heat till it begins to get steamy. Add carob powder to taste-- I scoop out a quarter cup, and add it slowly till the liquid is as dark as I'd like (and I like it dark!), then whisk it till blended. Heat a little longer on low, add a drop of almond or vanilla extract (or mint), and taste for sweetness. We like ours less sweet, but good partners for carob are brown sugar or maple syrup, though it takes well to honey, agave or sugar too. I like the dark golden tinge of flavor that maple gives it, best.
Carob is sweet in itself, so you won't need much if your milk is pre-sweetened-- add your sweetener of choice a tsp at a time, stirring and tasting.
Then you have a wonderful little pot of comfort, Carob Cashew Cocoa. I often make it by the mugful in the microwave for my hubby-man, with naturally smaller amounts of milk and carob. A mini-whisk keeps it from being lumpy, rather than merely stirring. It takes all of two and a half minutes, at most. The full pot made on the stove doesn't take much longer.
Dark Carob Cocoa
Enjoy!
--Mari
I do buy cocoa mix during the winter, because my hubby-man likes to have it handy, but most of the time I'd rather make it myself. Today, I made a combo-- sort of semi-homemade, in that I used prepared Cashew milk and so added no other sweetener. Silk brand has hit a home run with this product, which I have yet to find in the unsweetened version. It makes a nice, rich cocoa that is only slightly nutty. Lately I've been using carob powder to make our cocoa, because I happened to find it on sale-- and it was love at first taste. In brownies, in coffee, or any way I'd use unsweetened cocoa, this stuff gives a nice twist.
My comfort cocoa method is simple-- put a smallish saucepan on medium-low heat, add the amount of milk you like, and heat till it begins to get steamy. Add carob powder to taste-- I scoop out a quarter cup, and add it slowly till the liquid is as dark as I'd like (and I like it dark!), then whisk it till blended. Heat a little longer on low, add a drop of almond or vanilla extract (or mint), and taste for sweetness. We like ours less sweet, but good partners for carob are brown sugar or maple syrup, though it takes well to honey, agave or sugar too. I like the dark golden tinge of flavor that maple gives it, best.
Carob is sweet in itself, so you won't need much if your milk is pre-sweetened-- add your sweetener of choice a tsp at a time, stirring and tasting.
Then you have a wonderful little pot of comfort, Carob Cashew Cocoa. I often make it by the mugful in the microwave for my hubby-man, with naturally smaller amounts of milk and carob. A mini-whisk keeps it from being lumpy, rather than merely stirring. It takes all of two and a half minutes, at most. The full pot made on the stove doesn't take much longer.
Dark Carob CocoaEnjoy!
--Mari
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