Mostly Improvised: Dedication to Cosmic Bear

Tomorrow begins yet another trip of ours. First stop, 10 days in Taipei, Taiwan. Second stop, 1o days in Hangzhou, China. This time, Yoga doesn't take us there. We are going to attend Adrian's NLP teacher - John Grinder - 's Asia seminar in both locations. Adrian is invited to assist during the seminar while I get to sit, listen and learn from one of the greatest mind of our time for free. John Grinder did ask me to help with the translation, which I quickly turned down. How on earth am I supposed to translate specialized terminologies from psychology/ linguistics/ hypnosis/ neuroscience into Chinese - a language that I once claimed-to-be very good at but is now dwindling into my second language? I can't even teach a Yoga class in Chinese, for crying out loud! Eventually we settled for me to spy on the translation; checking for anything "lost in translation" from between Grinder and the participants. Well, that I can do; I'm pretty good in criticizing people.

Apart from that, I'm really excited to be seeing my Taiwanese friend - Ivy. We haven't seen each other for 8 years now. The last time we met was during my first trip to Melbourne. Or was it when I went to see Ivy in Taipei? I have such fond memories of that trip I always tell people how much I like Taipei when I hear anything negative about that city. Not only did Ivy welcome me into her home, I was also treated like a queen by her family. I wonder if I'll get to see her mother and fun uncles this time.

I always find myself cooking a lot, or extra hard, before a trip; trying to cook up whatever left in the fridge in every conceivable ways. I thought to invite Tam over for dinner for her 26th birthday. Unfortunately we changed our mind - we can be very anal about our schedule and prefer to "stay low" before our flight on tomorrow morning. This meal was meant to be for Tam, a.k.a. Cosmic Bear, George (he lives so close to us it's impossible not to think of him), and us The Coxes.

This is essentially the same as Vegetarian Tortilla Soup. I added to it cooked black beans and sweet potatoes, both of which are leftover.

We had this just yesterday. I added to it cooked wheat berry marinated in the extra Strawberry Basil Balsamic Marinade. I told Adrian to decorate the dish as he wished. He called it the Spring in the Railroad Track.

This was meant to be a birthday treat for Tam. She was always drooling over the Chocolate Pudding I have made several times now. I saw this recipe and thought I'd make mousse for a change. What intrigued me was the use of fresh mint leaves. The weird thing was: neither Adrian nor I noticed the presence of mint leaves in the mousse. The absence of minty taste could mean that the mint leaves were not fresh. But what about the texture? Did it "melt" away somehow? This reminded me of the bar of butter that I picked up from Foodland in Nana. I swear I put it in the backpack that Adrian was carrying. George, too, said he saw me doing that. When we got home, I just couldn't find it! I turned the bag upside down, inside out, non, zilch, Pooof! It's gone! How did that happen? I suspect George sneaked it from the bag when we were not looking. Mystery (to be) solved.

Mint Chocolate Mousse

Next time I may try substituting coconut milk with some strong coffee. I'm so sensitive to stimulant I wouldn't be able to sleep if I had just that tiny amount of coffee.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz dark chocolate
• 80 gram butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon coconut milk
  
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon natural cane sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh cream
• mint leaves, finely chopped
  

1. Put cream and beaters in freezer for 5 - 10 minutes. Beat cream to form stiff peaks.
   
2. Process sugar till very fine.
3. Whip egg whites on low until soft peaks form. Switch to high speed and begin adding sugar, little bit at a time. Beat till stiff peaks form. Set aside.
   
4. Melt butter and chocolate in a boiling water bath. Remove from heat. Fold in egg yolks, one at a time.Stir in coconut milk.
   
5. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped egg whites.
   
6. Gently fold in 1/2 cup whipped cream. Keep the extra whipped cream in the fridge.
   
7. Stir in mint leaves.
8. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours.
   
9. Top with whipped cream to serve
   

Roasted Beet Molten Chocolate Cake

I finally found a molten chocolate cake recipe with gooey center. I first did it one week ago, while George was visiting. Unfortunately I didn't manage to turn it out from the ramekin. I told George "I vouched to keep making this until I get it right". Tonight, again, I revisited the same recipe. With a twist - I added roasted beet puree to the batter.

Pinnada gave me a big bag full of beet roots the other day. I love beet roots. Its sweetness is good raw, steamed, roasted, in any which way. Beetroot is one of those that has been long used for medicinal purposes, especially priced in its stimulating effects on liver detoxification process. It's crimson-purple color, brought about by the pigment betacyanin, is reported to be a powerful cancer fighting agent. Beetroot fiber also helps to promote healthy bowel function and cholesterol level. Its betacyanin and fiber are known to be responsible for its role in preventing colon cancer. Many health advisers recommend consumption of beet juice to increase level of antioxidant enzymes and number of special white blood cells. This has been shown to successfully inhibit nitrosamine (a cancer causing compound) in patients with stomach cancer.

Despite its captivating crimson-purple color and medicinal properties, Adrian is no fan of beet. When he saw me fiddling with the beets this morning, this were his words, "you know my feeling about beets? Don't be offended." He must have forgotten how much he enjoyed the Beetroot Hummus. Anyway, I didn't think he had the slightest idea where these beets were going. I digress.

I successfully inverted the pudding, intact, on to serving plate. That was exciting. It's even more so when I found the center was gooey with melted chocolate. When I brought it to Adrian, I could tell by the look on his face that he was searching for the beets. He took a bite of it, "Mmmm... yum.". A while later, "this is very good. I like the sauce. But where is the beets?" I believed they were being digested in his stomach as he continued his search. What a great way to serve beets to non-believers.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
  
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tablespoons natural cane sugar
• 1 Tablespoon butter
  
• 50 gram 78% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon roasted beet puree (recipe to follow)
  
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• small pinch of salt
• Citrus Reduction (Recipe to follow) (option)
  
• Strawberry and kiwi to serve (option)
  
• Vanilla ice cream to serve (option)
  

Roasted Beet Puree

Wrap beets, with one inch of their stems attached, with aluminum foil and bake at 200C for 60 minutes, until the are fork-tender. Blend to a smooth paste. You may strain away the clumps if necessary.

Citrus Reduction

• 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon natural cane sugar

Pour ingredients to a saucepan and let it simmer to half of its volume. Chill before use.

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Grease two 4oz ramekins with butter and coat the sides with sugar.
   
2. Melt butter and chocolate over a water-bath.
3. Beat egg and egg yolk with sugar. Fold in melted chocolate and stir to combine.
4. Stir in beet puree, flour and salt to mix.
5. Divide batter into two and spoon over prepared ramekins. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Remove immediately and let it cool for 10 minutes before inverting to individual plates. Serve with fresh fruits, ice cream and citrus reduction.
   

Chocolate Meringue Strawberry Mascarpone

We have kind of fallen into big-lunch-no-dinner trend these days. Or, to be more precise, it's fruit salad or dessert in place of dinner meal. Since I am still in the meringue-chase, it only seems natural to make one more. Although this recipe resembles this previous Chocolate Meringue Cake post. I just had to make it because it looks so beautiful on this website. Instead of using whipped cream as filling, I mixed in with homemade mascarpone, which Adrian has fallen in love with.

This was actually the second time I made this cake. I wasn't happy with my previous attitude - I was being paranoid (I still don't know what to expect from meringue) and impatient. Hence I didn't blog about it. But it tasted so delicious that it deserves a space in my blog.

Adrian liked it even more the second time. He enjoyed the brownie-like chocolate cake layer, and the not-over-the-top sweet mascarpone filling. I just really like how I had the chocolate drizzled around it, and that it looked very beautiful.

Ingredients:
(4" x 6" casserole dish)
Chocolate cake layer

• 50g butter
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• small pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 45ml milk

1. Preheat oven at 160C. Grease a 4" x 6" casserole pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. Beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract to beat.
4. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Fold in milk. Pour and layer over prepared pan. Set aside.
   

Meringue layer

• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup powdered cane sugar
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds

1. Start beating egg white at low speed until soft peaks form.
   
2. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until hard peaks form.
3. Spoon over chocolate cake layer. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meringue is crispy on the outside.
   

Mascarpone layer

• 1/3 homemade mascarpone
• 100mL fresh cream
• 1 - 2 tablespoons powdered cane sugar
• 100 gram strawberries, chopped, reserve 2 for garnish

1. Pour cream and sugar to a bowl and keep in freezer, together with beater attachments, for 5 minutes.
2. Beat cream to form stiff peaks. Fold in chopped strawberries and mascarpone.

Assembly

• mint leaves
• dark chocolate
• butter
  

1. Melt butter and chocolate together over waterbath (or microwave).
   
2. Slice chocolate meringue into 4 quarters. Place one quarter, chocolate side up, to one serving plate. Pile it up with some mascarpone filling. Sandwich it with another quarter, meringue side up. Top it with a spoonful of mascarpone filling and decorate with fresh strawberry and mint leaves. Repeat with the other quarters.
3. Drizzle with melted chocolate to serve.
   

Chocolate Meringue Cake

When I came back from Chiang Mai, I got nothing but an extra 1 kilogram of raw macadamia nuts. I got it from a health food store called Kasem in Nimmanhaemin. It was only 900THB, almost half the price of what I get here in Bangkok. How can I not buy them? They were also selling two kilograms of walnuts for only 580THB! Curse the two ladies who walked away with two huge bags full of them!

Anyway I have been wanting to do something with the macadamia nuts since. There was this meringue that I loved but didn't blog. I felt I owed it a post - something in me was urging to remake the meringue (gluttonous, perhaps?)

This was a real test to my patience. Firstly, there was some itsy bitsy bits of egg yolk in the egg white that I turned a blind eye to. BIG MISTAKE: it didn't even get into the soft peak stage of whisking. I spent 30 minutes holding the hand-held blender for nothing. Secondly, for whatever stupid reason, I put the meringue straight into the refrigerator right after baking - it shrunk, and became chewy. I threw it away. Sigh......

I was not one to give up easily though. I set out to making it again the next day. I was so paranoid - but it was probably good to be. It finally turned out right. Phew...... I'm glad I did it because it's so delicious! Not just the meringue cake but the strawberry too! I always complain about the local strawberry but this, coming from Royal Thai Project, was as good as the Korean. They are of the right tenderness and sweet tartness. Top grade! AND same price as the other local brand. Why are they not selling this all the time?

Before you set out to making the meringue, take a moment to read this BIGGEST MERINGUE MISTAKES. Good luck.

Chocolate cake layer:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 114 gram unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
• 1 cup natural cane sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Lightly grease two 8" cake pan and set them aside.
   
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
   
3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Add egg yolks, one at a time, follow with pure vanilla extract.
4. Using a spatula, alternately add flour and milk in a few addition, beginning and ending with flour. Divide the batter equally to the two prepared pans. Set aside.

Meringue layer:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2/3 cup organic white sugar
• Macadamia nuts (optional)
  

1. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add lemon juice and continue to beat until soft peak forms..
2. Gradually add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peak forms. Fold in macadamia nuts.
   
3. Divide into two and place on top of the chocolate cake layer in each pans.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
5. Let it cool in the oven for at least 1 hour before removing to room temperature. Remove from pan once completely cool.

Almond Cream Filling:

• 1 cup cream
• 1 Tablespoon organic white sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 70 gram 90% dark chocolate, grated

1. Mix together cream, sugar, cinnamon powder and vanilla extract. Let it chill, together with beater, for at least 30 minutes.
2. Beat on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in almond meal and chocolate.
   

Assembling the cake:
Place one of the cake layers, meringue side down, on a serving plate. Spread with almond cream. Gently place the second cake layer, cake side down, onto the almond cream. Garnish with fresh strawberries. Place in refrigerator until serving time.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Torte

For days Adrian was craving for peanut butter and Nutella. I thought I would make a Thanksgiving dessert with peanut butter and chocolate that will "wow" him. And so I decided to make this cheesecake torte with combination of a peanut butter mousse filling and Oreo crust. Unfortunately he told me he thought Oreo was disgusting. Granted Oreo isn't the best food in the world. Neither is it the most healthy thing on the supermarket shelf. But is Nutella? So I decided to go ahead with my plan and vouched to make him begging for more.

Thrice during the making of this torte I encountered ingredients problem: first, the springform pan was broken. Then I forgot to buy Oreo - the single most important ingredient for the crust. For the first time in my life I was thankful for 7-11. The next day when it was ready for the chocolate ganache, I ran out of cream. My foodie Indian neighbor came to rescue. If I were the least superstitious, I may have given up on this recipe. However the taste testing during the making told me to never turn back. At first glance this recipe may seem time consuming and overwhelming. However it is really easy and fun to make.

I used to bake cheesecakes, nothing else but cheesecakes, lots and lots of them. It's been years since I made them. This torte is most likely the best cheesecake I've ever made. After having a slice of it, Adrian and I looked at each other: we both knew the other person wanted more. Adrian even asked what happened if he finished the whole cake. I wouldn't have allowed that to happen without having a share of it, I said.

This recipe is unlikely to make it to the "top healthy foods you must eat before you die" list. It's a Thanksgiving treat for the fat boy/ girl in all of us.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 32 Oreo cookies, finely processed into crumbs
• 5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Small pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan.
2. Mix cookies crumbs with melted butter and salt. Toss to blend well.
3. Press the crust mixture into the base and side of springform pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
   

For the crunch:

• 1 1/4 cups salted peanuts, finely chopped, divided (for the filling, crunch and topping)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 tsp. natural cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground nutmeg

1. Mix 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together and set aside.
   

For the torte filling:

• 2 cups cream
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups natural creamy peanut butter
  
• 2 tbsp. whole milk

1. Beat cream with sugar until medium peak is form. Keep it in refrigerator until ready to sue.
2. Beat soften cream cheese until smooth. Add peanut butter, milk and 1/4 cup chopped peanuts. Beat to combine.
   
3. Using a spatula, fold in 1/4 chilled cream mixture to lighten the mousse. Then add the crunch and the rest of the cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well with spatula.
4. Pour this mousse over the crust. Mounding and smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Keep it in refrigerator for overnight (or at least 4 hours). Keep it covered once it's firm.
   

For the ganache topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over the saucepan. Let the chocolate soften and just beginning to melt. Remove from heat.
2. Bring the cream to a boil.
3. Gently fold cream to the melted chocolate. Using a spatula, swirl to blend until the ganache is smooth.
4. Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing with a metal spoon. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chopped peanut butter. Let it chill for at least 20 minutes or until the ganache is firm. Remove from the springform pan and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
   

Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders

Mia and I had this joke about the overt Anusara expression. So when I half-jokingly requested for a theme for the home-cook dinner at her house, she replied with "Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders/ - Anusara Mia". John Friend would have been proud.

Mia and Fredrik make the prefect Swedish couple I know. Everything about them just seem so perfect: the tidy white apartment (less so now that Ludvig is in their life), perfect manner, charming charisma, well dressed.... everything about them is just so..... CLEAN. They are like the couple in 70's Sci-fi movies. Like this (except they have blonde hair):

It was a fun night with great companions (and charming baby) where I gladly played Chef de Cuisine and Mia the Sous Chef, Fredrik the Chef de Plunge, and Adrian the Food de-Vourer. I simply can't bear the sight of the mess I made. God bless the dishwasher.

I didn't take the pictures of the dishes - didn't want to creep them out - hence the use of my old photos. Here's a rundown of our dinner menu:

Couscous and Spinach Pilaf with Labneh and Chili-roasted Tomatoes

Exactly the same recipe as Barley Pilaf with Roasted Vegetable and Deep Fried Goat Cheese. We made these changes:

• Labneh instead of deep fried goat cheese. Mia and Fredrik prepared homemade labneh the night before. It's flavored with minced garlic.
• Zucchini instead of pumpkin.
• Organic wholewheat couscous instead of cooked barley.

Again, this dish takes a while to prepare but works well with planning and it never fails to impress even the carnivores. Despite the rainbow combination of colorful vegetables and herbs, the unassuming, darkly colored, cinnamon-spiced lemony caramelized crispy onions always win. My Swedish friends were talking about making this for their non-vegetarian parents back in Sweden during Christmas.

Veggie Inside-out Lentil Burger

An adaptation of the Veggie Chickpea Burger. The patties are made up of lentils, eggs, onions and homemade breadcrumbs. Use black lentils if you may - they hold up the shape better than red lentils. We (or rather Fredrik) sliced the patties into two halves and used Couscous Pilaf as the filling. If you have extra labneh, spread them generously over the cut side of the patties. Mia liked the idea of turning patty into burger bun and called it the inside out burger.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

The combination of roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese sends everyone into ecstasy. The oven-toasted tortilla shell (or taco shell) gave it an interesting crunch.

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding

I was talking to Dan (our chef friend) the morning before and he mentioned "no matter what you cook, how good the main course is, dessert ALWAYS wins". Coming from a pro chef with years of experience, he must be right. This is a relatively easy dessert that you can make in advance. The secret is coconut milk. YUM~ I seriously need to work on my measuring skill: there were 3 large servings left at the end of the night. I took home one. It never hurts to have more chocolate.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffin with Peanut Butter Topping

I'm thinking of the one zucchini in the refrigerator. I know I will not be cooking for the next few days. For the little experience I have with zucchini, they decline pretty quickly. So what should I do with it? Do I watch and document its decomposing like what people do on Youtube for rabbit?

Luckily, I don't have to. If you just google "zucchini" you'll find thousands other (westerners) cooks who share one thing in common: getting rid of zucchini before the summer ends. And they all resort to baking - muffin, cake, cupcake, bread -, eventually. Speaking of confused identity: is it a dessert or savory?

I digress. It seems zucchini provides good moisture for the batter: rich, deep and dark with chocolate in this recipe. I love how the muffins come out with melty, oozy chocolate chips. the use of coconut oil gives it a hint of richness, moisture, and flavor that hits your nose before you take a bite, and permeates your house as these bake. Oh! How I love baking with coconut oil!

You don't even need food processor or blender for this - I did it with ease using my own hands. The ingredients below make 3 large muffins. You can double the portion to make 12 standard muffins or 6 large. Another tip I learned from the baker of Cocoa Island: refrigerate the batter overnight.

As I waited for the muffins to cool (after baking), I googled and found a Peanut Butter Topping from Recipezaar . I thought it would compliment the muffin, and helped to kill time. My impatience paid off: if I were a zucchini, this is the way I want to go. I love the Peanut Butter Topping so much I kept "tasting" it despite having consulted Adrian for approval, despite having brushed my teeth. I even decided to store the couple tablespoons extra in case I "need" it (for breakfast toast?).

Ingredients:
(3 large muffins)

For the Muffins

• 120mL brown sugar
  
• 30mL melted butter
• 60mL coconut oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 1/3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 40mL buttermilk (1 tbs lemon juice + 1 cup milk; let sit 10 min)
• 1 cup zucchini, grated
• 1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate chip
• 2/3 unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon all-spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1. In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, melted butter and coconut oil. Stir in egg. Add vanilla extract, buttermilk, grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Fold to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda, all-spice and cinnamon. Make a hole in the middle and gently fold in zucchini mixture. Using a spatula, mix to just combined.

(either let it sit overnight or proceed as below)

3. Remove batter from the fridge and let sit in room temperature. Preheat oven to 175C. Lightly grease muffin pan.
4. Spoon batter over the muffin pan. Let baked in the center of the oven for 35 minutes.
5. Let the muffins cool and prepare the topping (optional)

For Peanut Butter Topping (optional)

• 1/2 cup butter (softened at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla essence

1. Cream butter and sugar together
2. Add half the powdered sugar and blend well.
3. Pour in milk and vanilla.
4. Add the other half of sugar.
   
5. Blend until smooth.
   
6. Spread over muffin top to serve.
   

Is Chocolate better than Sex?

I'm a chocolate addict and I'm not ashamed. Chocolate is one of the best things in the world! "Isn't chocolate fattening?" Well, how can any food be called "fattening"? Wake up! It's the amount consumed that determine whether it will contribute to body fat. In fact, most people can eat a small amount of extra foods as part of a healthy diet. Chocolate has its place in healthy eating.

Some one once told me women like chocolate because they are deprived of sex. I don't know about that. However, it's true that chocolate stimulates the release of natural opiate (endorphin) in the brain to reduce pain and enhance one's mood and sense of pleasure.

As a sensually pleasing vehicle, chocolate contains flavonoids just like many fruits and medicinal plants. in contrary to what many believe, eating chocolate does not elevate blood cholesterol level. In fact, it actually helps to inhibit the absorption of dietary cholesterol and protect against damage to cholesterol and the lining of arteries. The flavonoids in chocolate also prevent the clumping together of blood platelets that can cause blood clots. Therefore, consuming chocolate can regulate blood flow, inflammation and blood pressure.

So what are you waiting for?

Mulled Hot Chocolate

It's amazing how difficult it is to get a decent hot chocolate. When I was in Zurich, I thought "man, I'm gonna be bathing in hot chocolate!" I was dreadfully disappointed. How bizarre that the famous land of chocolate doesn't have good hot chocolate. Are they THAT difficult to make or are they just not as popular as coffee? I can name the very few places where I had good hot chocolate: a posh street side cafe in Prague that serves a very thick, almost mousse-like hot chocolate, and (surprise, surprise!) an unassuming local cafe in Ranong, Thailand! I'm not kidding. Adrian and I went there everyday when we were in Ranong. What a magical little town, by the way. Oh! And also the spicy frozen hot chocolate at the fancy chocolate specialty in New York. It's so rich that I got a sort of high drinking it.

Now that I made my first hot chocolate I shall forever despise the restaurant/ cafe hot chocolate.

Ingredients:
(6 servings)

• 6 Cups Soy Milk (I used whole milk)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
• 3 Ounces Semisweet Chocolate
• 1/2 Cup pure Cocoa
• 1/2 Cup natural cane sugar
• 1/2 Cup Boiling Water
• 2 T Vanilla Extract
• Whipped Cream

1. In a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate. Stir continually, until chocolate melts.
2. In a large saucepan, combine cocoa, sugar and boiling water. Stirring until a thick paste is created. Whisk in milk. stir over medium until well blended and hot. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Serve in mugs, topped with fresh whipped cream (which I forgot)