Hot Drinks

Yes, it has been a mite chilly the past week or two, with people's pipes freezing and car batteries failing and the snow not melting off of our ice crusted sidewalks and driveways.   This time of year I am especially grateful for hot drinks.  Of course there are certain hot drinks that I do not partake of, specifically the drinks referred to in the Word of Wisdom (my Church's revelation spelling out health practices (Doctrine and Covenants 89).  Our Church leaders teach that “hot drinks” refer specifically to tea and coffee.) 

However, I'm usually not one to turn down a good cup of hot cocoa or cider or wassail. (I don't especially enjoy herbal tea . . . just gotta have my carbs!) One year for Christmas our family received two different hot cocoa makers (one for my DH and one for DS1).  We had a little competition to decide which cocoa maker was the "best" and DS1 had first choice as to which cocoa maker he kept for himself.  Sometimes we have fancy gourmet cocoa mixes, and other times we make our own mixes with real cocoa and sugar, or use the Mexican chocolate that is now readily available.  This year we have mostly relied on a generic brand cocoa mix, but I'm not complaining.  It works fine for me!  I don't even need to use the cocoa maker since we have a wonderfully convenient microwave to warm up my cup of water or milk.  I especially enjoy a cup of hot cocoa to warm the tummy before heading off to bed.

In the mornings I prefer a more fruity hot drink.  We had the blessing this year of having a dear niece stay with us for a few days over the New Year's weekend.  We didn't see a whole lot of her since she was spending most of her time with other friends and relatives, but she did leave us with the gift of a jug of fresh pressed apple cider.  ♥♥♥ It was wonderful cold, but I really enjoyed it mixed with a bit of orange juice and warmed up in the microwave as a jump start to a cold and dark winter morning.  With or without added cinnamon and spices, it really hits the spot.   Alas, the fresh cider is now gone, but I do have some cans of powdered cider mix in the cupboard that I can add to my orange juice to create a nice warm breakfast drink.  Some years I have even mixed orange Tang powdered breakfast drink with powdered cider mix to make a wassail mix.  It definitely isn't as good as a drink made with fresh juices, but it still brightens up my mornings. 

So, here's hoping that we all can be blessed with access to wonderful hot drinks to warm up this cold and dark January and bolster our faith that spring truly will come again.