Silly Cow Farms Hot Chocolate

and

Walker’s Shortbread

 

What do you do for ‘me’ time?

Soak in a tub?

Take the day to eat a fun, quiet little lunch and maybe do a bit of shopping?

Make a cup of tea and curl up with that book you’ve been trying to get to for two months?

I do all of the above, depending on what kind of time I have and what I’m in the mood for.

Honestly, though, me time is restorative for more than just your attitude. It’s healthy for your peace of mind, and even your mental state of being.

I like to try new things when I’m stealing some time out by myself. Recently, I picked up some hot chocolate, which I don’t normally drink. Now, if I’m being honest, it was mostly because the glass bottle was just too cute, but the hot chocolate didn’t sound bad, either. I also had a shopper’s reward at World Market, so the stars were aligning. I grabbed a bag of my favorite shortbread cookies, as well, and waited for the ideal afternoon.

A week or so ago, I was recovering from the Death Flu (body aches so bad, I actually cried), everyone else was out doing everyone else things, and I had the house all to myself. LET’S DO THIS! (I’m pretty sure I actually said that while pumping my fist in the air.) I put the milk on to heat, broke out a delicate Blue Willow cup and saucer, whipped up some heavy cream, and tore into the cookies.

The milk was just right at barely scalding.

I added two heaping teaspoons of cocoa to my cup, stirring constantly as I poured the scalded milk in.

I whipped approximately half a cup of heavy cream with one half teaspoon of clear Mexican Vanilla and one teaspoon of sugar, put it in a Ziploc bag, snipped the corner off, and piped it onto the cocoa.

I grated about half a teaspoon of Godiva dark chocolate on the top, popped a couple of Walker’s Mini Shortbread Fingers on the side and I was ready to dive into a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while.

I curled up on the love seat, Schnauzer snuggled by my side, phone ringer off, and made the most of the quiet time I had. I’m certain this expedited the healing process!

 

The Silly Cow Farms Hot Chocolate was in the flavor Moo-usse, and yes, it was as fabulous and decadent as the dessert. The consistency is very nice, not too thin, but not too thick, either. When I make it again, I will leave the teaspoon of sugar out of the whipping cream, as the cocoa is rich enough without additional sweetener. You’ll definitely want to use dark chocolate if you grate some over the top, anything else would be too rich.

Silly Cow Farms is located in Vermont and run by the absolutely darling Fran and Jonathan Rutstein. Their hot chocolate is sold all over the world, but they still have a commitment to using the highest quality ingredients. Of their 12 flavors, they even offer seven that are Certified Fair Trade. You can find them at their website here, World Market, H∙E∙B, and Amazon.

Walker’s shortbread cookies are the perfect companion for your coffee, tea, or in this case, hot chocolate. Made with just four ingredients, flour, butter, sugar, and salt, they are always buttery and flaky, with the faintest hint of sweetness. They’ve been making them in Scotland for almost 120 years, so they’ve had a while to get things right, and get them right, they have. Not being much one for complicated, fussy cookies, these have been my go-to cookie since I discovered them. You can purchase them in a variety of shapes and quantities at Walker’s website here, $4, the British Corner Shop here, £3, and World Market.

This proved to be just what I needed to relax for a few hours and take care of myself. And as I was still coming back to the land of the living, a lovely way to emerge from the last vestiges of illness.

So back to my original question, what do you do for ‘me’ time? Tell me about it in the comments.