How to Win at Winter in 56 Words and a Hot Chocolate Deep Dive
☕️ The Seasonalist Makes Parisian Drinking Chocolate and Lives to Tell
Welcome to the Seasonalist, a happy place to land, where you’ll find all things seasonal and seasonal-adjacent (books, movies, food, and fun) from Austin, Texas. If you’d like to subscribe, click below.
“You may fear the quiet times in your life, when your soul goes through a winter. However, it’s often those same times when the most profound and human work of all is being completed. Be still. Do nothing. It is both the quiet and the noise that writes the symphony, the blank canvas and the paint that makes the picture, the rest and the movement that gives you the wisdom, insight, and clarity to press forward more boldly than every before.”—Brianna Wiest
Greetings Seasonalists!
I was going to do a deep dive into Winter today but it seems like we all know the drill—the internet is plastered with information about how to survive winter.
So instead of a lengthy essay, here is How to Winter in One Paragraph.1
Get outside, cozy lighting, hobbies, read under a cozy blanket, fireplace—real or on tv, hot cocoa, listen to music, fun things on the calendar, host people, light candles, make bread, warm cookies, soup, candlelit baths, watch football or hockey, visit bookstores, coffeeshops and museums, go to the movies, play games, visit an indoor garden center.
Done. Did I cover everything?
On to Hot Chocolate.
Hot Cocoa isn’t my favorite drink, but maybe I’ve been doing it all wrong (see: packets of hot cocoa mixed with hot water). My eldest son returned back from a trip to Paris raving about the hot chocolate, aka drinking chocolate, aka le chocolat chaud, which led to a hot chocolate flashback (as one does).
Back in 2005, I would escape my old legal job for a Starbucks Chantico drinking chocolate in the afternoons. Does anyone remember this drink? And then one day, it was gone. Never to be seen again.
Hot Chocolate Origin Story
Hot cocoa originated around 500 BC, when the Mayans mixed cocoa seeds with water, cornmeal, and peppers. Mmmm. Cocoa spread to Europe where of course, the Europeans sweetened the drink with spices and sugar.
Today we have 3 main types of hot chocolate.
Swiss Miss, aka, The Gross Packet
Look at those ingredients. 😱 French Drinking Chocolate—a thick chocolatey concoction.
Mexican Hot Chocolate “Champurrado”—with the addition of cinnamon.
The Seasonalist isn’t just making a Listicle, people. I am DOING THE SEASONAL WORK. I vowed in my January Super Stack that I would up my hot chocolate game. So here we go, with a riff on Daring Gourmet’s Parisian Hot Chocolate and Nesting with Grace’s Hot Chocolate Recipe.
My recipe (a hodge podge of the above two):
1 cup 2 percent milk
Half of a Dark Chocolate Bar, chopped up
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk together all ingredients while heating on the stove, and top with whipped cream and cocoa powder.
Verdict: It’s no Starbucks Chantico, RIP. But it was the best hot cocoa I’ve ever made. Simple, quality ingredients do make a difference.
May you stay warm and toasty with a warm beverage this week.
*As I mentioned last Tuesday, my thoughts are with Southern Californians right now. My law school bestie, who I interviewed in A Fluffy Holiday Reading Guide Part 2, lives in the Palisades and lost her home. Our family had a house fire in 2019 and I know the deep feelings of loss and displacement. When our fire was put out, the fire chief pulled me aside and asked if we needed help—that the American Red Cross would come and help us if we needed anything. I declined—we had insurance, money saved, and the support of friends and family. But I never forgot that there was help available for those who need it.
Donate to the American Red Cross or World Central Kitchen.
How about a Gentle January? I listened to this podcast on the way to work Monday and it hit the Start the New Year Slow spot.
From NPR, People in Colder Climates Understand the Magic of Winter (but do they, really?)
From CBS Sunday Morning, Chef Jose Andres on serving meals in a war zone (Word Central Kitchen is an amazing organization)
Proof that the Chantico Drinking Chocolate Existed! Why Starbucks Discontinued its Luxury Drinking Chocolate. The best line from the article, “Starbucks giveth and taketh away.”
Starbucks Chaotic Copycat Recipe if you dare.
I realize I’m writing about Winter from Austin, Texas, where we have “Winter-Ish.” But I earned my street cred growing up in Ohio.
Hot cocoa for president! I make a big batch of my own mix-- cocoa powder, sugar, salt and then toss in vanilla when cooking, it's my fave. But this Vermont goodness is also a fave: https://sillycowfarms.com/collections/shop-all
The winter perspective in colder climates is an interesting convo-- spending the majority of my life in the southwest (So Cal, New Mexico, Oklahoma) I wanted a winter I could fully appreciate and I desperately wanted snow! So I love it, indulge in it, and cherish it. But people who grew up here do not share my sentiments. 😂 To be fair my husband maintains the fire 100% and shovels the driveway so I have a great situation but also, he loves those tasks lol.
Perfect timing, I'm reading this whilst drinking a hot chocolate 💖
I am going to have to try your recipe, sounds delicious 😊