Chai hot chocolate.
You're looking at the drink I will happily drink every morning when the temperature is below 60-degrees. Which would normally be a lot of days during December, but it was almost 80-degrees in Dallas today. Newsflash: I still had a big mug of this chai hot chocolate this morning.
Okay, we're officially talking about the weather. How boring is that? I'm stalling here because I have a lot on my mind.
We're finally moving tomorrow (after waiting 5 weeks for our house to be finished), and I'm so excited, I can barely sleep. I don't even need caffeine to wake me up these days, that's how excited I am!
St. Louis was pretty hard on us for a lot of reasons I'll never go into, and it really kicked us in the ass on the way out of the door. We felt like a black cloud was following us for a while. An old lady tripped and fell on her way up to tell Camille how cute she looked in her Halloween costume, and we felt like it was our curse. When our water heater broke in our old house not 48 hours before inspection, it was not even a shock.
In between a few crushing blows, we had a lot of good moments and amazing friends. But, it will take a while for the dust to settle so we can see them clearly again.
St. Louis gave us our beautiful daughter, and I know that she will be the only kid in preschool who can identify the 'arch' shape.
I think the thing we will miss most about the city of St Louis (besides our friends!) is the family-friendly nature of the city. Thanks to a small portion of taxes collected each year, things like the zoo, art museum, and science center were free to everyone (even visitors!). Isn't that insanely amazing? We also discovered the bird sanctuary (Camille's personal favorite, and for which, I will probably have to thank when Camille declares Ornithology as her major in college), the train museum (the discovery room is so cool!), and Grant's farm.
As I type all of this out, I'm suddenly realizing Camille's tantrums lately might be due to a lack of animal interaction. Should we adopt a rescue bird? Someone stop me from this madness, please.
Anyway, I'm rambling about life with a mug of chai hot chocolate, and I should probably just give you the recipe already.
Thanks, friends, for following along over the last 7 years as I've moved 4 times in 4 states. (Sacramento -> Kansas City -> St. Louis -> Dallas, if you're new here).
This move will be permanent (I grew up in Dallas), just like adding chocolate to your chai latte will be a permanent thing for you, too.
One quick note: before I had a baby, I used to make my own chai concentrate. It's a glorious thing to be able to pack so much fresh ginger into your cup.
These days, though, I buy a lot of chai concentrate. My absolute favorite is Rishi Masala Chai Concentrate, but Tazo is good, too. I find Oregon Chai too sweet, but that's just me.
Chai Hot Chocolate
Chai hot chocolate for two.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chai concentrate
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- whipped cream, for serving
- cinnamon sticks, for serving
Instructions
- In a small pan, combine the chai concentrate and milk over medium heat. Heat until steaming, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, heat it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until steaming).
- Add one tablespoon of cocoa powder to the bottom of two mugs. Slowly whisk half of the hot chai mixture into the cocoa powder into each cup.
- Top with whipped cream, an extra dusting of cinnamon, and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 65Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 33mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g
Sarah says
This looks so good! I will definitely have to try it tomorrow morning. I agree with you on Oregon Chai being too sweet, I stick with Tazo. I've never seen Rishi in the store before.
Christina Lane says
I can only find Rishi at Whole Foods...and it's twice the price. I splurge on it occasionally! :)
Monica says
This looks so inviting! I could cozy up to a big mug right now, and over the next week in general!
Best of luck on your move and hope it is the beginning of wonderful things. Happiness, health, and peace in 2018! Looking forward to all your great recipes to come!
dixya @food, pleasure, and health says
i am a huge chai drinker and i will definitely be adding cocoa to my regular chai concoction! thank you for sharing...and i hope Dallas will be kind to you :)
pictaram says
I can't wait to try this recipe when it gets colder a little more. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Lina says
This is delicious so much so I can't sip it and it ends much too quickly.