Hot spicy cocoa for cold winter nights… it sounds great, doesn’t it? This hot cocoa warms up your body and soul with its spiciness. When you sip your drink, read this short story from one of the books of Chicken Soup For the Soul series. At the end not only your body, your soul will be warm too.
Bobbie Probstein: Love Remains
“One day, while I was lying on a massage table in a dark, quiet room waiting for an appointment, a wave of longing swept over me. I checked to make sure I was awake and not dreaming, and I saw that I was as far removed from a dreamy state as one could possibly be. Each thought I had was like a drop of water disturbing a still pond, and I marveled at the peacefulness of each passing moment.
Suddenly my mother’s face appeared – my mother, as she had been before Alzheimer’s disease had stripped her of her mind, her humanity, and 50 pounds. Her magnificent silver hair crowned her sweet face. She was so real and so close I felt I could reach out and touch her. I even smelled the fragrance of Joy, her favorite perfume. She seemed to be waiting and did not speak. I said, “Oh, Mother, I’m so sorry that you had to suffer with that horrible disease.” She tipped her head slightly to one side, as though to acknowledge what I had said about her suffering. Then she smiled – a beautiful smile – and said very distinctly, “But all I remember is love.” And she disappeared.
I began to shiver in a room gone suddenly cold, and I knew in my bones that the love we give and receive is all that matters and is all that is remembered. Suffering disappears; love remains. Her words are the most important I have ever heard, and that moment is forever engraved on my heart.“
Hot Spicy Cocoa
(Recipe adapted from Babble Food)
Ingredients (serves 2)
– 500 ml almond milk (you can substitute with rice-, oat or soymilk)
– 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
– 2 tablespons maple syrup
– 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
– 2-3 dashes of cayenne pepper
– pinch of salt
Method
In a pan heat almond milk. Sift the cocoa powder (1 tablespoons each) into mugs. Add 1 tablespoons hot almond milk to each mugs, stirring it briskly (clumps melt away). Season the almond milk with salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and pour over the cocoa.
Enjoy!
