Chocolate,
Corn-Free,
Dairy-free,
Festival/Special Occasion Menu,
from scratch,
Little Kids in the Kitchen,
Vegan,
Wheat-free,
Winter
Make-it-dairy-free Week 2: Valentines day Chocolate! And the BEST hot cocoa I've ever had.
11:38 AM
When it comes to chocolate, I don't screw around. You might say I have a bad habit... but hey, I can think of much worse things.
I'm going to take this opportunity to put in a plug for the BEST chocolate I've ever had. Taza makes their small batch (each batch has a number and you can watch your chocolate batch be made online!), fair trade, traditionally stone ground chocolate in a plant that does not use dairy or corn at all (and i'm pretty sure it's gluten free too). It's also expensive, and hard to find and comes in a few different shades of SUPER-DARK. They also make these amazing chocolate discs that are meant for use as drinking chocolate. Flavors include dark chocolate, vanilla, and chili. All are amazing, and luckily for my usual Valentines day indulgence, all are available for purchase online at their website.
For all other hot cocoa/chocolate craving purposes I use Wegmans brand or Sunspire brand chocolate chips. These can be melted into drinkable chocolate, baked with, eaten as-is, or melted and then poured into candy molds for seasonal treats (I actually do Easter Bunnies this way too... thinking a little ahead).
As promised, the best hot cocoa you've ever had:
top with marshmallows, or chocolate shavings
I'm going to take this opportunity to put in a plug for the BEST chocolate I've ever had. Taza makes their small batch (each batch has a number and you can watch your chocolate batch be made online!), fair trade, traditionally stone ground chocolate in a plant that does not use dairy or corn at all (and i'm pretty sure it's gluten free too). It's also expensive, and hard to find and comes in a few different shades of SUPER-DARK. They also make these amazing chocolate discs that are meant for use as drinking chocolate. Flavors include dark chocolate, vanilla, and chili. All are amazing, and luckily for my usual Valentines day indulgence, all are available for purchase online at their website.
For all other hot cocoa/chocolate craving purposes I use Wegmans brand or Sunspire brand chocolate chips. These can be melted into drinkable chocolate, baked with, eaten as-is, or melted and then poured into candy molds for seasonal treats (I actually do Easter Bunnies this way too... thinking a little ahead).
As promised, the best hot cocoa you've ever had:
Valentine's Day Drinking Chocolate
2 oz (about 1 handful) of your favorite chocolate broken in chunks
3/4 of your favorite mug full of Soymilk (or coconut milk)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract if desired
top with marshmallows, or chocolate shavings
Add soymilk to a small sauce pot along with chocolate and vanilla if desired. Heat on low, stirring constantly, until the chocolate completely dissolves. Do not let it boil! Remove from heat and put it in your cup. Top with your favorite toppings, and enjoy.
