hot chocolate toddy

Hot drinks always help to keep the cold at bay. Throw in a bit of Tennessee whiskey and woo-ha, it'll warm your bones in an instant. You can get the recipe for this hot chocolate toddy over on Poppytalk.

And stay tuned, later today I'll be posting some great holiday baking & gift ideas along with a special treat!

pull up a lusty vegan mug: peppermint hot chocolate

The other night, we cozied up on the couch and watched some TV on DVD from the library. This time around it's season 1 of The Wire, an HBO cop show that I'm totally hooked on (despite hating the 1st episode). It's gritty with great characters and there's something kinda romantic about hunkering down with your sweetie under a woolly afghan watching drug busts on TV. Cue the mother-flippin' violins! But cozier still is the above scene and a mug each of hot, sweet peppermint hot chocolate. I made the hot chocolate with almond milk cuz I love almond milk and it's available cheap at my local grocer. As for the peppermint, I added the full amount cuz I like things minty fresh, but if you're not down with all that mint, start with an eighth of a teaspoon before going whole hog.

Nights of cozy TV watching aren't necessarily great for photo taking so I decided to quickly illustrate a lusty mug o' hot chocolate. If you want to see great illustrators and their food blog drawings, check out Cakespy and Lobstersquad.

peppermint hot chocolate
3 c plain almond milk
3 T sugar
2 T dark, good quality cocoa
1/8 - 1/4 t peppermint extract

In a medium sized pot, whisk all ingredients together over medium heat until hot & frothy. Pour into 2 large mugs. Decorate with candy canes, marshmallows or whipped cream if you feel festive n' fancy.