Homemade Chocolate Syrup ~ Is it worth it?

There was a time, not so long ago, that I would buy everything from the grocery store, blindly.  If it is sold there, it can't be harmful for me right?

I am learning, bit by bit, that just because the FDA says something is okay to consume, does not mean your or my body knows how to handle it or digest it.  There are many additives, stabilizers, food colorings, artificial sweeteners, etc that reek havoc on our bodies.  Making the switch to single ingredient foods or making from scratch is difficult and can be time consuming, at first.  However, I am finding it is worth the effort and the taste of the food is so much better.

This brings me to today's post ~ Homemade Chocolate Syrup, is it worth it?  In one simple word ~  YES!  A brief history here.  I have often been disappointed in the taste of Hershey Syrup!  It never tasted as good as I would have hoped, there was a lingering after taste that was not chocolate.
I've seen on Pinterest a couple different Homemade Chocolate Syrups and decided to make one this morning.  After it had cooled, ever so slightly, Thing One and I had chocolate milk.  I was so excited to actually taste chocolate, to have a chocolate aftertaste.  If we weren't in major need of more milk, I would have gone back for seconds!

The recipe I followed, from here, called for the following items:

•  1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup water
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

That is it folks!  5 items and you can easily pronounce each word.  Here are the directions:

•  in a small saucepan, add sugar, cocoa, and salt.  
• whisk together gently.  
• add water.  
• bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  
• reduce heat and cook 1 minute.  
• remove from heat and add vanilla.  
• cool.  
• store in the refrigerator.

The taste is so worth the minimal time and effort.  Another fun aspect, I get to use a mason jar!

Quick quiz - How many ingredients in the homemade version?  Did you remember five?  Awesome, that is correct.  Now for the list of ingredients for Hershey Syrup:

1. high fructose corn syrup
2. corn syrup
3. water
4. cocoa
5. sugar
6. potassium sorbate
7. salt
8. mono and diglycerides
9. xanthan gum
10. polysorbate 60
11. vanillin, artifical flavor

Most of the items (6 of them, just over half), I recognize and know basically what they are.  If there is a link, I wasn't sure and had to look up.  Other than the vanillin, all seem to be used to help keep the items mixed well; oil and water were a common example of what needed to stay mixed.  Potassium Sorbate is used to preserve the food or give it a long shelf life.  It is also chemically made, not a naturally occurring item.  Does that make you wonder what it is doing to your body?

Keeping the homemade version in a mason jar, will allow for a quick shake to keep things mixed just nicely.  We also don't need items in this to allow for a long shelf life since it will most likely be consumed quickly.  Also, the individual items, when separate, have a decent shelf life.

Will you allow yourself about 5 minutes to make something homemade?  You might just like this version better!

 

St. Valentine

Do you know the origins of Saint Valentine?  I'll give you a hint ~ it doesn't have anything to do with cupid, pink, hearts, flowers, or chocolate.  Does that surprise you?

From Mystery of History, lesson 12, we learned that Saint Valentine was actually a man who lived in and around Rome in the third century.  He was martyred for being a Christian on February 14, A.D. 269.

In 495, February 14 was declared Saint Valentines Day to replace the pagan festival of Lupercalia on February 15.  This date was a pagan festival of love, cupid, and such we now associate with the 14th.

Well, one activity with this lesson was to research chocolate, which we did.  Of course, all internet roads lead to wikipedia ~ don't they?  We read up on chocolate there (you can to with this link).

To set the "mood" before the kids knew what was going on, we had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  Yummy!!!

cooking on the iron skillet

Yum! Chocolate Chip Pancakes, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream (home made even)

foil on the inside of the pan; it makes getting the brownies out easier

my helper, Thing One, stirring the batter

everyone needs a Robin side-kick

No cooked brownie pictures, sorry folks!  They're good and we still have some left!

Favorit Cake Recipes . . . .

This is what I do while on permanent hold with our health insurance provider, I type out my favorite cake recipes, because I just don't buy boxed cakes anymore.  These are from Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book, copyrighted 1996.

YELLOW CAKE
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 milk

1. Grease and lightly flour two 8 x 1 1/2" or 9 x 1/2 inch round baking pans or grease one 13x9x2 baking pan; set pan(s) aside.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and vanilla; beat till well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute afte reach.  Add dry mixture and milk alternating to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just till combined.  Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Cool layer cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove layer cakes from pans.  Cool thoroughly on rake.  Or, place 13x9 inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.  Frost with desired frosting.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups cold water

1. Grease and lightly flour two 9x1 1/2 inch round baking bans or grease one 13x9x2 baking pan; set pan(s) aside.  Stir together flour, coco powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside
2. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar and vanilla; beat till well combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Add dry mixture and water alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just till combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or till a wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Cool layer cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Cool thoroughly on wire racks.  Or, place 13x9 inch cake pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.  Frost with desired frosting.

Woo Hoo! Typing this out took 20 minutes or so, Cigna should be answering soon.

5 Minutes

Do you have 5 minutes to create a mug of chocolate cake? Following is a recipe forwarded to me by my Mom. We've tried it and it's pretty good.

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

a splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

mix dry ingredients together

add egg and mix

add other ingredients and mix

pour into mug

microwave for 3 minutes (@ 1000 watt)

cool a bit

put on plate or bowl and eat

I don't know how high ours goes, but cooked it for 3 minutes and it was good!! Also, it will rise some but it doesn't overflow.