Snow is falling: time for chocolate and mulled wine

Hat on, scarf on and gloves on. It's a set ritual during the winter season before you even step outside the door. Another part of this ritual is to eat enough food to keep your body's internal heater burning. The latter is not only better for the daily things you do and your concentration. It also adds to the fun. That way, you'll effortlessly brave the cold while skating and also have enough energy afterwards for a snowball fight with your kids or your comrades. This blog includes two simple recipes for mulled wine and chocolate milk to get you in the mood.

Winter recipes? Why, really?

There's little like a steaming dish or a hot drink when the ice crystals are on the windows and you're looking out at a just-made snowman. That's because in winter your body has to step up a gear to maintain your temperature. If you're cold, you'll start chattering and shivering, all of which takes extra calories that you need to replenish. Brown bread, vegetables and potatoes are good examples of foods that provide fuel for a nice long time. No wonder, then, that starting in November, we are putting cabin food and casseroles on the menu more often.

Non-alcoholic mulled wine

Say winter and you think of mulled wine. Spicy, warm and so made. Think inverting a bottle of mulled wine in a pan and heating it is too simple? Then make your mulled wine yourself. A child can do the laundry. The base is a hearty red wine. Pour the wine into a pan and add a sliced orange, a cinnamon stick, four cloves and two pieces of star anise. If you like a slightly sour taste, you can also add half a lemon. If you want to make the wine a little sweeter, add a few tablespoons of sugar.

Put the pan on the stove for 15-30 minutes to heat the drink, but be careful not to boil the wine. This is because when it boils, the alcohol evaporates and some of the flavor is lost.

If it is really cold, by the way, a non-alcoholic mulled wine is a better warmer. For that, substitute the plain red wine for a spicy, non-alcoholic variety or use grape juice. The rest of the preparation remains the same.

After heating up, strain out the ingredients and pour the mulled wine into beautiful tempered glass shot glasses such as the Pasabahce brand's shot glass Timeless. As a finishing touch, embellish each glass with a fresh slice of orange and a cinnamon stick or star anise. Irresistibly beautiful and at least as tasty.

Making chocolate milk

Another winter drink is hot chocolate. Again, you can make it easy on yourself by heating up ready-made chocolate milk or a combination of milk and cocoa in a pan. But do you have five extra minutes to spare? Then treat yourself to a real, homemade hot chocolate. Not only is it very satisfying, it's also quick to make. Plus, you can decide how sweet or creamy your chocolate milk will be. You make it as follows.

Melt 50 grams of chocolate with at least 60% cocoa. The higher the percentage, the stronger the cocoa flavor and the healthier the chocolate. Chop the chocolate and put it in a mug. Add some sugar, honey or maple syrup, if desired, and a pinch of salt. Salt is the surprising ingredient here, but indispensable because it lifts the flavor of the chocolate.

Then pour 200-250 ml of whole milk, coconut milk or almond milk into a saucepan and heat the milk until it reaches boiling point. You will see this because the milk on the side of your saucepan will get all bubbles. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and give the chocolate time to melt. Then stir well with a fork or whisk. Finish your mug of chocolate milk with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle some grated chocolate or cocoa powder on top, if desired. 

Toughened glass

Hot drinks and dishes that are too good to hide naturally present themselves in a glass. Think of chocolate milk with a dollop of whipped cream that we just mentioned, latte macchiato or layered lasagna or English pie. Since the glass must be able to withstand high temperatures, choose tempered glass. This glass is so strong because of the way it is made. First, the glass is heated to a temperature of about 700°C and then allowed to cool again at high speed. This process makes the glass able to withstand thermal shock from 120°C to - 20°C.

Did you know that tempered glass is as much as 2.5 times stronger than annealed glass? You can compare it to the strength of a car windshield. So perfect material for tea glasses, tumblers, cups and bowls. Tempered glass and the magnetron and freezer also go very well together. Preparing a double amount of dinner and putting half of it in the freezer or storing it until tomorrow? No problem at all.

So, now let that winter weather come.