Cocoa season

The first snow of the season recently fell here at the Svec Farm/Svec Farm Branch. It is absolutely breathtaking.

All the snow is sticking to every surface, so each branch (and at the Branch, we have a lot of branches) is outlined in puffy white.

Even things that are less than picturesque are frosted with beauty, like this water pump. It’s a wonderful thing that snow is so beautiful because otherwise it can be a bit of a pain. For example? That water pump handle was frozen down.

Even the electronet fencing for the sheep looked gorgeous with its coating of snowflakes and the rays of the rising sun kissing it. Of course, the fencer was frozen in the “on” position, which I didn’t realize until I thought I had turned it off and zapped myself on the fence. But like I said, it is picturesque.

The first snow of the season called for some post-chore hot cocoa. (Note: we are “cocoa” people here, but feel free to substitute “hot chocolate” if that’s your style.) I was glad that while dropping off Branch eggs at the Gilkerson on-farm store recently, I stocked up on two items that would make up two-thirds of my cocoa recipe.

Three-ingredient hot cocoa. And two-thirds local! (I bet you can guess the non-local third ingredient.)

I’m so glad to have this fresh, raw milk available at the Gilkerson farm in Brookings. It’s delicious. And check out that cream line! Plus it’s a great price at $3 a half gallon.

Also at the Gilkersons, I snagged a jug of Wisconsin maple syrup because we were running low on syrup after eating lots of pancakes and French toast this fall.

As for the third ingredient, if you haven’t guessed yet — it’s unsweetened cocoa powder.

A friend in Grand Forks shared this quick and easy cocoa recipe with me, and I’m so glad she did. I grew up mixing a commercial cocoa powder into my warm milk, and that’s what I have often done with my own kids. But my oldest has a sensitive tummy and often complains of a belly ache after drinking that style of cocoa. And to be honest, I sometimes feel a little off after I drink it, too.

Sometimes, to skip that uncomfortable post-cocoa feeling, we would follow the recipe on the unsweetened cocoa container, but that is often too much work for a simple and cozy hot beverage.

This three-ingredient method fits the bill perfectly for us, and it’s delicious!

Three-ingredient hot cocoa

Step one: Measure your milk into a heat-safe container and heat. For this “recipe,” go for about 6 ounces of milk.

Step two: Measure some cocoa powder into your mug. Try a heaping teaspoon or so for your 6-ounce cup of cocoa.

Step two: Measure a similar amount of maple syrup into your mug. Some may prefer more cocoa or more syrup, but a one-to-one ratio is a good starting place.

Step three: Stir. At first you just have dry-looking kind of lumpy cocoa powder. Don’t give up yet.