We have entered a transitory time of the year. In my restaurant days, this span was frenzied as we wrapped up our final holiday parties and prepared for the absolute endurance test that is New Year’s Eve. Since hanging up my apron and transitioning to housewife-sized kitchen appliances, the 10 days between winter solstice and the new year have come to represent a time of rest and reflection in my life. I am feeling this exquisitely in 2021. My spouse and I have completed our move back inside city limits and we are overjoyed. We are up to our eyeballs in nesting both literally with settling in and hygge-style with warm blankets and puppy snuggles.
It seems like everyone is straight up exhausted this year, for completely understandable reasons. Last week, I caught an interview on NPR with British author Katherine May discussing her book “Wintering.” Katherine talked about embracing our winters, both literal and metaphorical. She offered helpful techniques for coping and healing when life deals us soul-sucking challenges. “Wintering is a way to get through tough times by chilling, hibernating, healing, re-grouping. Doing these deeply unfashionable things - slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting - is a radical act now, but it is essential," she writes.
I struggle with slowing down, my inner critic has an awfully loud voice. Every time I try to take a moment off to just be, I have to expend a bunch of energy quieting my critic. It is easier this time of year. The nights are long and cold, everyone is slowing down, and the food leans towards comfort. This is a time for beef stew, chili in the crockpot, creamy clam chowder, and lots of steaming cups of hot chocolate or milky tea.
I issue this call to action or to inaction: be kind to yourself, put on your pajamas and fuzzy slippers as early as you want, make something warm that fills your house with smells that make you happy, wrap up in a blanket, read a book or binge watch “Yellowstone” and send your inner critic on a long vacation. Give yourself permission to winter on these long dark nights, so that you may be reborn in the new year. Remember, after winter always comes spring.
Cheers.
Homemade Hot Chocolate
Thanks to J. Kenji Alt-Lopez @ Serious Eats
INGREDIENTS:
2 (4-ounce) bars 100% cacao baking chocolate
1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS:
Place chocolate bars in freezer until completely frozen, about 10 minutes. Remove from freezer, break into rough pieces. Place in food processor with cocoa powder, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Process until completely powdered, about 1 minute. Transfer to airtight container and store in cool, dark place for up to three months.
To make hot chocolate, combine 1 to 2 tablespoons mixture (or more if desired) with 1 cup boiling milk. stir or whisk until combined. To thicken further, return to heat and simmer for 30 seconds until thick and smooth.
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