Hot Spice-A-Rama

A word about spices:  I ran out of cloves the other day, and I needed them STAT for a recipe I was in the middle of.  My adorable husband man went out to fetch them for me.  He came back with a tiny wee bottle and we were FIVE DOLLARS poorer!  I just don't understand that.

I have found, when it's not midnight and I'm desperate, that the best place in the world to buy spices is World Market.  All their bottled spices are $2.99. (Less for bulk if you already have a bottle to put it into.) And that's for the regular size bottle, not the tiny one that looks like something an Elf in a hollow tree would use. 

If you need bigger bottles of common spices, hit up your local Costco.  It is still the best place to buy a large bottle of Saigon Cinnamon.  I store all my baking spices in the freezer door (right next to my giant bag o' yeast) to keep them fresh.  Here are the ones I always have on hand:
Ground and Stick Cinnamon
Ground Ginger
Ground and Whole Nutmeg (seriously, if you've never had fresh grated nutmeg you are missing out on a divine thing in life.)
Ground Cloves
Ground Allspice
Pumpkin Pie Spice

And now, on to the recipe!

Where I live, we sometimes get autumn weather.  Autumn is my favorite time of year...sweaters come out, things get crisp and decidedly chilly.  Unfortunately, here we usually get unseasonably warm September followed by random snowstorms and a day of fall here and there before a big fat snowstorm comes and knocks all the pretty leaves off the trees.  I'm at the point where I don't even know why they call September "unseasonably" warm, when it's been like that for the last decade or so.

Anyway, we have moved more firmly towards winter weather here already, and I decided it was time to make some hot chocolate.  The stuff in a can or packet can never measure up to the homemade variety, and it's so sinfully easy to make hot chocolate from scratch I wonder why I ever bother with the pre-packaged stuff.  This recipe got a thumbs up from everyone in the family...it's creamy, chocolatey and slightly spicy in very best way.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

4 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of ground red pepper (optional)

-Combine sugar, cocoa and cinnamon in a small, heavy-duty saucepan; gradually whisk in milk.
-Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot (do not boil).
-Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
-Beat with wire whisk until frothy.