Fake Chocolate (Chocoverse Book 3)

Book three of the Chocoverse Series is in the works and, for all the fans out there who have stuck by Bo and her friends through all of their adventures from Earth to Zant and beyond, Amber has decided to enlist your support to help make this a reality.

A lot goes into making books.  As you can see from the graphic, the book cover has to have some awesome art, something to make you go WOW.  This is after all book three where we get to wrap up a lot of what's going on with earth and how the impeding invasion turns out.

Of course the cover is what will catch your eye but even more goes into writing, editing, and proofing the manuscript to make sure this book is the best it can be and so you, the reader and supporter of the series can have the same captivating experience you've come to expect from the Chocoverse series.  There will be aliens, spaceships, drama, and of course Bodacious herself with all her  hopetastic optimism that everything is going to turn out just fine if only they can.....

And in case you're still not convinced.  We will find out how Chestla's love life fares.  Who does she end up choosing?  The friend from her past who shares her culture or the new flame that started in the rain forest?

As an added bonus there are lots of goodies for those who want to help even more.  Just go to Indiegogo through the link below to see how you can help.

https://t.co/3YTk3RPQLa

Cacao 30 Inch Goal

With the three new leaves coming in she's not topped 30 inches in height (measured from the top of the soil).

The pot on the right is where she used to sit and at this point, if she was still there, would be hitting the ceiling.   That should tell you how high the ceiling is from the comparison of heights.  Another 8-10 inches and I'll be lowering the pot again.  Currently she sits on two boxes which can easily be removed one at a time.

If you've been following this at all you can probably tell I still haven't repotted anything.  It's on my to do list.

That being said, the new saplings are doing pretty good. I have full confidence in about 24 of them and fairly sure 3 more will be ok.  A total of 27 out of 40 survivors of this last planting.  I a full grown tree can produce enough to make 2 pounds of chocolate a year that would be 54 pounds of chocolate or nearly 500 chocolate bars.  Still a very small batch compared to most but that would be kind of awesome.

Hot Cocoa Recipe

The weather has gotten colder (a nice cold front moved through DFW last night) and it's getting to be fall.  Which of course means hot beverages and soups.  We've probably all had a nice cup of cocoa on a chilly day but have you had a really good hot cocoa yet?

This is one that you can use Hershey's cocoa for.  Of course if you want to fancy it up any cocoa will do.  For me it isn't the cocoa but the milk that makes it better because frankly there's a lot more of it.  If you were on the other hand making drinking chocolate I'd suggest a nicer chocolate with a more complex flavor.

Here is my take on cocoa for the coming seasons.

Hot Cocoa

Take a tablespoon of both cocoa and sugar and mix them with as much whole milk (cold is ok but warmed milk will mix faster).

(People will tell you that 2% or skim milk will do, but not really unless your doctor says otherwise.)

Mix this together until it forms a thick consistent texture.  Let it sit for a few minutes so the sugar has some time to dissolve and the cocoa has time to absorb the liquid. Your mixture should thicken up quite a bit.  This will allow it to mix well with the rest of the milk when combined.

To prepare your milk, heat it on the stove on low to medium heat, depending on your stove, stirring constantly so it doesn't scald on the bottom.  When the milk gets steamy and starts to form little bubbles it's ready to mix. Depending on how rich you want the chocolate flavor you can mix anywhere between 4 and 8 ounces of milk into the chocolate.

Optionally you can add a little vanilla extract, peppermint oil, salt, or other additives to your taste.