Author Archives: Tasha

Easy Hot Cocoa Mixes

Last year or perhaps early this year, I whipped together a basic cocoa mix for cold Chicago nights in. It was just something I could quickly add to some milk to make a warm, seasonal drink. And, frankly, it used up some of the random ingredients I had made or bought for household experiments. And it quickly made a batch for 2 – 4 folks, depending on how much cocoa you gave each person.

A frothy mug of hot cocoa.

Hot Cocoa Version I

6 tbsp vanilla sugar1
4 tbsp cocoa powder
3 c milk

Heat milk to a near boil on the stove, then whisk in the cocoa and vanilla sugar. Once thoroughly combined, serve.

It was very simple, but quite good. And it made Nicky happy when they visited, which is also great.… Continue reading →

Your Monday Food Reading

I recently re-found my link stash, and came across this recipe for perfect hard-boiled eggs. I have to admit, I’ve been loving this “recipe” since before this blog existed, because it just works. No green lines. No rubbery whites. Just tasty, tasty eggs. Just remember that fresher is worse-r for hard-boiled eggs, ok?

So, back in 2010, I was just as interested in baked French toast as I am now. but I never managed to make this one. I wonder if I should.

If Big Food Buys Your Favorite “Natural” Food Brand, Will You Trust It? I’ve wondered that for a long time, particularly with regard to Unilever and Ben and Jerry’s so many years ago. (Note, they are not mentioned in the article.) In general, I feel like much of the folks who buy food were already suspicious of these bigger brands, and so rarely bought them anyway.… Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Guide 2015 Part II – Science and Blather!

My last post was all about some gifts you could get for the beer and/or food geeks in your life. This list is my other passion, science, and then a bunch of other things that have made my life better over the past year in some way or another. Or, like the last post, a few things I might pick up in the future (holidays make it hard to buy for oneself).

In any case, these are usually things that have made me or someone I love happy, with an occasional thing I’m just dying to buy (for me or someone else).

Science:

First and foremost, let me reiterate “the single best suggestion/idea I can give you is to go shop for your entire list at your favorite local museum, aquarium, planetarium, or zoo.”… Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Guide 2015 Part I – Food and Beer

Last year I did my first ever “gift guide,” and was surprised at how much folks liked the post. I admit, I hadn’t been sure people would be interested in my suggestions, but I decided to put them out there in case it was useful. This year, knowing it was well-liked last year, I’ve been paying a bit more attention to possible suggestions.

It helped, frankly, that Bill and I moved across the country and had to decide both what to get rid of entirely and what to put into storage for the next nine months. The toaster oven made the moving cut, but not the storage cut, for example. The electric kettle in that post, however, remains a part of my day to day living.… Continue reading →

Mostly History Links

I’ve never been inclined toward historical activities. For example, Society for Creative Anacronism was a huge hobby of a number of my friends in college, but it never appealed to me. I never took history electives in school. I thought I understood the proverbs “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” and “history is written by the winners,” but over the years, I have come to understand how much I did not and do not fully grasp them. I’ve also learned that school history is some watered-down, whitewashed bullshit and history is way more interesting (if also more traumatic at times) than what I learned in school. So, with that in mind, I present today’s “blather” links. Including, for good measure, one interesting present-day link that might be relevant to how today will be “history” in thirty years.… Continue reading →