Today, we had our first snow of the season. It is still October, right? Usually in October, we're just starting to cool off and expecting the rain to begin around the end of the month. But I've never seen snow this early at this elevation.
But Mother Nature had other plans, so to celebrate, I'm posting one of our winter favorites. My kids love hot chocolate, and H requests it every time we are outside in chilly weather. In an attempt to keep the sugar levels in check, I created Warm Vanilla Milk. When introducing this to your kids, you must say "Warm Vanilla Milk" with a slow, quiet, but excited tone, as if you are letting them in on some long-held winter secret. It helps to build the anticipation and make this an acceptable substitute for hot chocolate.
Warm Vanilla Milk1 Cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Place milk in a microwave-safe mug or liquid measuring cup. Heat until warm (45 secs) or hot (1 min), according to what your child can handle. (If it's too hot, you can add a teeny bit of cold milk until you reach a safe temperature.) Remove from microwave; stir in vanilla. Serve.
Note: I usually just make this for the kids, but today I made some for myself--with the addition of two shots of espresso. The vanilla gives my regular latte a little oomph.
