Beyond hot chocolate: Going nuclear

Hot chocolate screams comfort. It's the perfect stay-inside, curl-up and re-lax beverage, especially now that the weather is turning colder.

Hot chocolate is more adaptable than some folks realize. There are scads of ways to dress it up. I sometimes like mine with with a kick — by that, I mean spicy.

Another plus: In this age of the microwave oven, hot chocolate is easier to make than ever.

Sarah's Nuclear Hot Chocolate

1. pour favorite milk (e.g. 2%) into microwaveable mug
2. nuke approx 2 minutes
3. stir in 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
4. stir in preferred sweetener (to taste; I use sugar in equal parts with cocoa)
5. add dash of cayenne pepper.

Voila, one mug of radioactive goodness.

When feeling indulgent, I'll top it with freshly whipped cream. (Commercial "dessert toppings" can't compete in flavor or texture. And frankly, I'm wary of what's put in them.)

And consider these options: 

• dash of chili powder (vs. cayenne)
• block of dark chocolate
• cinnamon stick
• pure vanilla extract
• shot of espresso (or Tbsps of strong coffee)
• topping of frothed milk.

Oh, if you're old-school, you can always dispense with the microwave and let fly with saucepan on stovetop.

Of berries and buckets

Partridgeberries are one of my favorite berries, certainly among my top five. Tart and tangy, they're a quintessential Newfoundland treat. (In your part of the globe, you may know them as lingonberries or cowberries.)

Not only do partridgeberries carry a lovely deep-red color, but they smell fantastic when heated. Sincerely, conjuring that smell in your kitchen is one of those must-do experiences, worth adding to your bucket list.

Speaking of buckets, every year, I harbor intentions of marching across the barrens to pluck bucketfuls of partridgeberries, right after the first frost, which is prime picking time. But I rarely follow through, and fall back on picking my berries from the grocery-store freezer.

Whichever way you get them, here's how to turn 'em into sauce:

• dump 2 or 3 cups of berries into small saucepan
• add water (a few Tbsps)
• place on stovetop at low-medium heat
• stir intermittently, dialing back heat (as necessary) to keep a slow bubble
• remove from heat once sauce has thickened to desired degree (many of the berries will have broken up)
• add sugar/sweetener (to taste).

Berry sauce is best served warm, as a topping on frozen yoghurt, for example. If your sauce is thick enough, you can spoon it onto toast, like you would jam.

As for my bucket list, I'm going to add "actually get out on the barrens come berry season". Maybe next year.  :‍-‍)

The great guacamole experiment: the reveal

Based on examining a few recipes, I came up with this:

Spicy Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 plum tomato (diced)
• 3 Tbsp tomato salsa
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 Tbsp onion (minced)
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• pepper (a few turns of the grinder)

Directions:

1. Mash avocado in shallow bowl.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.

And Bam!, it's ready to devour.

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Leftovers should be refrigerated, in a container with a tight lid. Because most everything's fresh, this won't likely last too many days. (Not a problem in this particular household.)

Note, too, from last post's photo, that I used Herdez brand salsa. It's one of Fred's faves and contains almost no icky additives. But use whichever salsa that tickles you — mild, medium or flaming hot.

Now that I've prepared guacamole, it seems even easier than I'd thought. Certainly, the avacado was easy to mash.

And this guacamole was economical. Cost worked out to about $1.50 total, or 19 cents per oz. That's less than half the cost of pre-packaged stuff at the local grocery.

Oh, thanks go out to Andree, who forwarded her guacamole recipe via Comment. I'm going to try that version soon.h

Anyhow, looks like no excuses for this family from here on. Zero reasons to buy factory guacamole any more.

Tip: Juice from a fresh lime is best here. Besides unbeatable taste, the smell is amazing. It transported me straight back to the beaches of west coast Mexico, icy beer firmly in hand.

The great guacamole experiment: preview

I enjoy guacamole. Over the past year or so, Fred and I have been enjoying it most every day.

Aside from using it as a dip — tortilla chips are a fine match — I like to spread guacamole on wraps. Fred goes further, slapping it on bread, plopping it down as a side to rice or other vegetables, or slurping spoonfuls of guacamole all on its lonesome. 

Avocados, the principal ingredient, are a grand source of vitamins (B6, C, K), folic acid, copper, potassium and fiber. Guacamole is also vegan, something that seems more in fashion with each passing day.

To this point, we have always bought the stuff, pre-made. It's a must-have on our grocery list. However, my friends tell me that guacamole is simple to prepare. Economical, too.

So ... to test this, I have armed myself with research and gathered ingredients.

Tomorrow will tell just how simple and economical homemade guacamole actually is. Stay tuned.

I heart my tea drawer

Who says beverages can't be snacks? Pish posh.

Tea is front and centre in many of my snack breaks. Sometimes it's the entire snack.

My tea drawer ...

... a ceaseless source of delight

... smack-dab in the middle of my kitchen

... the perfect depth for storing tea boxes

... offers mucho choice (more than 20 varieties of tea — and counting!)

... keeps 'em right where I want 'em, right when I need 'em

... comforting as all hell.

Open-air snacking

Went hiking yesterday, down to Freshwater Bay.

That's the bay with the barachois, just south of St. John's. Or a tad north of Cape Spear, the most easterly foothold in all of North America.

Here's what we brought along to eat:

• figs (dried)
• trail mix
• banana
• eggs (hardboiled, pre-peeled)
• pumpkin muffin (Sarah); German bread (Fred)
• parmesan cheese
• chocolate.

All in all, a grand slew of treats, every food group represented. And I'm pleased to report that in the crisp, salty air, everything rated super-yum.

Besides grub, a successful hike around these parts depends upon being able to read the weather. 'Tis variable, to say the least.

Whereas my forebearers wrung info from wind direction, the stars, the way the cod tongues were hanging (or whatever), I am, alas, at the mercy of the interweb. Environment Canada's online radar service is, as I've just learned, a most dependable way to find a rainless window in an otherwise sloppy day.

Anyhow, always seems that if you've the fortitude to gear up and get out, you'll be rewarded. Yesterday's outing reminded me that Newfoundland & Labrador has the most impressive landscape — no wonder we just got tagged as the top coastal destination in the world.

The cycle of snack

A while back, I borrowed a mountain bike from a generous friend. Recently, my partner, Fred, has hijacked it a few times.

Now, part of the attraction of cycling is getting to eat while you ride. Eating is encouraged, to keep energy levels high.

But Fred seems to gain additional pleasure from the very process of stashing his eats. Believe me, there's genuine glee on display when he's tucking snacks into various pieces of his clothing (don't ask!) or taping them to the crossbar of the bicycle.

Anyhow, thought it might be interesting to look at Fred's logbook. Each time, he started in downtown St. John's and headed straight outside the city. Plenty of great routes, right at the doorstep.

Ride 1 (20 miles)

• snacks
  • dried apricots
  • trail mix

• highlights
  • llamas in a pasture
  • lady walking her miniature pony down the road

Ride 2 (20 miles)

• snacks
  • raisins + peanuts + pumpkin seeds
  • hunks of date-walnut cake

• highlights:
  • beaver dam
  • Labrador retrievers running amok

Ride 3 (25 miles)

• snacks
  • banana
  • energy bar

• highlights/lowlights: 
  • homemade wind generator
  • remains of butchered moose (head, legs) discarded on roadside

Clearly, cycling Newfoundland provides a feast not only for the tastebuds, but for the other senses as well.