Spiced hot cocoa

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted here, so I wanted to pop by and say hello! I haven’t forgotten you, I promise, I’ve just been kind of consumed by our moving preparations lately. We’ve sent most of our boxes of belongings to Europe, sold all of our furniture and I’m now going through items we don’t need and donating them to local charity shops. I’m trying to avoid throwing things away as much as possible and to find a use for unwanted items – you know, trying to keep it green. If there’s one thing that this move has made me realise, it’s how much unnecessary stuff we managed to accumulate over the last 5 years here in London. It’s been pretty eye-opening, actually. More stuff means more waste, which ultimately will end up in landfills or worse (I’m sure you’ve seen all the recent media coverage on plastics in our oceans). So, one of my goals for our new place in Switzerland is to try to live with less.

As excited as I am for our new adventure in Zurich, I’m still feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the prospect of such a big move after being in one place for 5 years. I’m moving without a job lined up, I’m not fluent in the local language and I’m sad about leaving all of the amazing friends I’ve made during our time here. I’m also going to miss London and all of the wonderful things it has to offer! As you can imagine, my stress levels have been pretty high over the last month or so. One of my coping mechanisms has been to curl up with cozy and comforting brews like this spiced hot cocoa. Little rituals like this have helped us feel grounded during a time when lots of things seem to be up in the air.

I’ll be posting a delicious split pea soup recipe over the next week so keep an eye out for that. I’m thinking of combining my November favourites post with some highlights from my trip to Paris at the beginning of December (we’re taking the Eurostar over for a wedding before flying home to Canada for the holidays). Let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in reading about!

-xo KA

Spiced hot cocoa {vegan & gluten free}

This vegan and gluten free spiced hot cocoa is really comforting and soothing – perfect for those stressful moments in life. If you’re looking for a mellow evening drink then skip the espresso, or use decaf espresso or mushroom coffee.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I like coconut or almond)

• 1 tsp cocoa powder

• 1 generous pinch ground cinnamon

• 1 tiny pinch ground nutmeg

• 1 tiny pinch ground cardamom

• 1 tsp sweetener of choice (I like maple syrup)

• Optional: 1 shot regular or decaf espresso, or mushroom coffee (I like Four Sigmatic)

Method:

Add the non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, spices and sweeteners to the container of an electric milk frother and blend until hot and frothy. Transfer to a mug and pour over the decaf coffee if using. Dust with extra cocoa powder, if desired. Enjoy straight away and feel your stress dissolve!

If you don’t have an electric milk frother, heat the ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk until frothy. You could also add the hot mixture to a high speed blender to make it frothy (remember to vent the lid to avoid pressure building up in the blender).

Serves 1.