Autumn = Hot Cocoa

More than anything else for me, hot cocoa is the symbol of autumn.  Maybe because as a child I lived in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by evergreens that didn't turn color with the crisp autumn air.  More likely, it's because of Momma's special recipe.  Each autumn, Momma would get out her huge, industrial size mixing bowl, and stir together a batch of her wonderful hot cocoa mix.  The powdered ingredients would puff up into the air in great clouds, and the smell of cocoa and milk and sugar would fill the kitchen.

Then the great bowl of bliss would be divvied out into containers of all sizes, and they would be stacked on the pantry shelves, ready for autumn/winter escapes over a steaming mug.

The whole back-to-school thing is also an obvious harbinger of autumn for me, coming as I do from a family of teachers.  And I do love a new set of school supplies, probably unnaturally so.  :)  But after the school year started, and the excitement of the new teacher and new clothes and new classes had worn off, Momma would break out her mixing bowl, and there would be a delicious sense of hunkering down for the season, steaming cocoa in hand, surrounded by warmth, cocoa dust, and Momma's love.

I broke out my way-too-small mixing bowl yesterday with Little Man, after school.  The clouds of cocoa dust rose, we giggled and mixed, and tonight, we drink!!