Mint-to-Be Frothy Hot Cocoa a homemade, soothing ticket to dreamland

Hubby was insistent. Why hadn’t I blogged about the splendid hot cocoa mix that he brews each evening for our nighttime wind-down regimen? After all, it utilizes mint leaves as a key element for its flavor—and as we all know, the mint plant (irrepressibly) springs from the garden. Doesn’t this blog honor foods that are garden-fresh?

I bowed my head in shame. After all Hubby does to aid and abet this column—after-dark trips to the garden to bring in a homegrown item, emergency dashes to the grocery for a last-minute ingredient, hosts of kitchen clean-ups with all my dirty pots and pans scattered about—the least I could do was to blog about the homemade, stovetop cocoa mix that he has perfected through night after night of experimentation.

So here it is: Hubby’s Mint-to-Be Frothy Hot Cocoa, certainly the best from-scratch cocoa mix you’ll ever sip—so good, in fact, that it was a part of our nighttime routine all summer long, even on those broiling, ridiculous evenings when the thermometer still read 100-degrees at bedtime. On with the hot cocoa, regardless!

Of course now we are learning about chocolate’s health benefits—and that the natural flavanol antioxidants contained within cocoa contribute to cardiovascular health. A soothing cup of milk before bedtime also is said to be sleep-inducing, because it contains tryptophan, the same chemical found in turkey—just as with the after-Thanksgiving-dinner sleepiness that seems to descend. The calcium in milk is thought to have better chance of getting into the bones and muscles while you rest, so bedtime is prime time for ingesting it.

Besides those attributes, the sweet sip of hot cocoa (the mix recipe is adjusted with lighter options, as you’ll see) at the end of the day is just plain soothing and aids in our mellowing out to put the day’s cares aside. The mint from our garden spikes it with freshness—the same as peppermint candy does in those expensive, gourmet coffee-shop brews might but without the calories and sugar.

We are big believers in our nightly Mint-to-Be Frothy Hot Cocoa. Thanks to Hubby for reminding me to be evangelical about it and to spread the word in this blog so readers can have more replenishing z-z-z-z’s as well.

Hubby’s Mint-to-Be Frothy Hot Cocoa

1/2 cup sugar (we use sugar substitute)

1/3 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 cups milk (we use skim)

4 teaspoons vanilla

20 mini-marshmallows

4 mint springs

(dash of sugar-free whipped topping, if desired)

In airtight container mix sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. In small saucepan on stove heat milk over medium-high heat. Stir constantly. When milk is warm stir in cocoa mix. Stir until cocoa mix is dissolved and chocolate drink reaches desired temperature. Stir briskly with a wire whisk to make the liquid froth up a bit. In the bottom of each cup place 1 teaspoon vanilla, 5 mini-marshmallows, and 2 leaves from the mint sprig. Allow drink to steep for a few minutes until it cools a little and the mint leaves flavor the drink. Remove the mint leaves or let them remain, according to your preference. (This recipe makes enough for four cups of hot cocoa. Hubby and I make up the powdered drink and divide it in half so that it lasts for two nights. The second night, all we have to do is to warm up the milk and do the add-ins to the cups.)

This "odd-couple" pairing of tomato and watermelon draws superlatives

As fall as apples and pumpkins and acorn squash and . . . watermelon?

Huge, juicy, ripe watermelons hardly seem as though they are similies for autumn. Who ever saw a watermelon used in a Thanksgiving cornucopia?

Yet that's exactly what our fall garden is producing right now. About a month ago Hubby examined some vines twining around the spent tomato bushes he was about to hack out to make room for his fall plantings. Hiding underneath the curls and twists were some baby watermelons--possibly 10 or 11 of them. At this late date? We'd never grown watermelons before. Planted them, sure, but to no avail.

Hubby remarked that if these happened to produce, which he doubted would happen, this would represent the first time since his childhood that he'd been able to grow watermelons.

Then when the melons did begin to burgeon, more skepticism reigned. Would they actually ever ripen? Would they rot out first? Tenderly, under each of the promising ones, he installed some pieces of wood to keep the moisture away. Even during our recent monsoons the melons held. At least four of them approached the picking stage. But would they be any good? Hubby wondered as the moment of truth arrived.

Cameras flashed at the proud instant in which he actually toted his (well, his and God's) handiwork, a sizable, green-striped melon, into the kitchen and plunked the knife down into it to split it apart. Still doubtful it would taste worth anything, Hubby took the first exploratory bite. A smile of pride slowly crept over every molecule in his face.

"It is good," he pronounced with wonder in his voice. He then kept sampling and sampling.

For this magic moment I had saved just the perfect recipe. The August 2010 issue of Prevention magazine featured Tomato Watermelon Salad. This "Odd Couple" pairing--tomatoes and watermelon, along with fresh mint and pistachios--held a huge fascination for me since I first read it. Tomatoes and watermelon? Oh, well, we're always being reminded that the tomato indeed is a fruit. Truthfully, once this salad was prepared and tossed, one hardly could tell one red bite from another.

"I've said it before, but I mean it this time," Hubby pontificated as he savored. "This is absolutely the best salad I've ever tasted." (I think its containing his home-grown watermelon had something to do with his effusiveness.)

Still about five promising melons remain in the garden. At this rate we'll still be dining on them as we sing "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town."

Tomato Watermelon Salad

4 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 cups coarsely chopped seedless watermelon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon alt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

1 avocado, peeled, halved, seed removed, and sliced into 1/2-inch chunks (optional)

In a serving bowl combine chopped tomatoes and chopped watermelon. Toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and mint. Stir in avocado, if desired. Top with pistachios. Serves 4.