D&J RailRoad
Professor of HO
Stem to stern? Hope they pull the curtin first and send visitors out.
10 percent cocoa shudders…I nowadays like 90 percent and montezuma does 100 percent black cocoa buttons still has a small ‘sugar’ content but not because of added sugar, I usually indulge in some strawberries,cream and sone chocolate and if still peckish sone nuts.I find American chocolate horrible, just sickly, definitely an acquired taste, only 10% coco?? and lots of preservatives.
Thank you. I will have to look into trying this. I have not found a drinkable cup of cocoa commercially available, YMMV. Your homemade mix sounds interesting. Thanks
Thanks, forwarding this to the wife. She loves hot cocoa so this is up her alley and I will give it a shot.I left out a few optional things like optional cocoa butter and grass fed butter. I am doing this as a way to try and stay Keto for breakfast so I adsd in extra fats.
You can make it as interests you but I use the raw cacao powder from Costco (or Walmart if Costco doesn have it at the moment -- but any would work). The raw cacao powder supposedly has more of the minerals and anti oxidants and stuff as it is less processed. I also buy Rodels baking chocolate at Costco (only the large business center carries it but the large bag is only $6). It is a really smooth and rich dutched cocoa powder. I use 20-40% of the Rodells and the rest the raw cacao. Dutched cocoa powder is smoother because it is treated with an alkaline process which makes it less acidic than normal and this tends to really bring out the cocoa flavor.
I have real monk fruit powder so a small scoop of that, plus 1-2 teaspoons of an erythritol / monk fruit blend. For sweetness.
Then I add some non dairy creamer (no carbs or sugars -- just fats).
I optionally use the sugar free Torani or Da Vinci (same thing, different company) coffee syrups to change the flavor, as I tend to drink this almost daily so a mix-up in flavors is good. The sugar free ones tend to use sucralose so I get a little of that as additional sweetener. Without it you may want an extra teaspoon of the erythritol. The Costco business center has Da Vinci coffee syrups and for sugar free they have vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, strawberry, raspberry, and coconut. I tend to put a little vanilla in no matter what, then either hazelnut or caramel (or both, with the emphasis on hazelnut and just a very small splash of caramel. I then will often add raspberry to the hazel nut or sometimes strawberry. Coconut very occasionally. That bottle lasts a long time. Again, the goal is to just experiment and vary the flavor day by day. I also have these sugarless mints from Japan that I sometimes drop a few in instead (with just a small amount of vanilla syrup). You can totally dispense with the syrups and I don't always use them.
I add a few tablespoons of MCT oil and optionally 1 or 2 small wafers of (organic) cocoa butter. I also buy (mainly Irish) grass fed butter for eating (vs cooking) so I'll put one small spat of that in too. (What is butter? cream and salt, and a little salt in the butter helps bring out the cocoa flavor).
I use an oversized mug. Just add hot water. I tend to stir it into a paste with the oil and syrups before adding the hot water as it dissolves easier in the hot water in such a form. Adding hot water to the powder tends to leave you with clumps of powder.
This is very rich and sometimes a little too rich. Recently I've liked it watered down, so I'll drink a little, and add some more water, and drink a little, and add some more water, until it is more thinned out. I go through phases. Sometimes I like the melted chocolate richness and sometimes more watered down.
I'll try and get some pics tomorrow.
It really is a great way to start the day and makes it easier for me to get a boost of oils and fats for KETO. If I have bacon grease left over I'll sometimes add a small bit of that to the cocoa as well -- more salt and "umami"-ness.
ETA: If we have real whipping cream in the house I'll use that instead of or replacing a portion of the creamer. Either straight liquid or I make whipped cream with erythritol and my home made vanilla... This is not that often but is awesome as well.
Nice to see that all is well after your op. bet the nurses loved having you as a patient.Good Afternoon All. Wife just brought me her laptop since I can't see or type on the forum on the phone. It appears that all was successful this morning. The doc put in one stent just to get additional $$$ from Medicare, I believe. Was out of recovery by 0930 in time for breakfast. I've been bored to death in a regular room since then. Every hour a nurse checks the entry wound and the family jewels. Nurse in recovery room only checked the wound! Had lunch and I am waiting for supper before being released at 1900. Glad to be going home, although my BP is a little high. That should go down once I am out of here. Got to make this short since she forgot the mouse and I am all thumbs on the touchscreen and touch pad.
Thanks for all of the well wishes.
Sherrel glad to read the nebulizer is helping. I have the same thoughts not only about California but Nevada and Arizona. With the water sheds and storage depleted they still allow new home building, occasional grass watering and pools. If you don’t have water and you refuse to build desalination plants those states deserve every issue they get. But, I know the Federal government will be coming to the rescue, never fear!WELL, Howdy there RR folks (and those who like and love trains).
I just finished my first cup of dark roast coffee and will be going for another - juat sitting here reading posts and sucking on the vapor from the nebulizer machine - seems it has helped my breathing more than anything?
Other than a few stiff/sore places - I feel pretty good and the Spousal Unit and I put in a good hours work repacking "stuff" in the garage, the reason is that she is planning on several different pieces of furniture from the ranch along with a freezer (don't know why) we can't afford to put anything in one ?
The appraisal came in on the ranch - way outta my league at 1.9 mil! I just don't see it - So many remodeling items need upgrading and repairs?
I have given up on it ever raining here again - we have only had 9.18 inches for the Jul - Jul rain season ... the last week has not produced a single cloud and looking at the next three days (local forecast) shows nothing but clear, sunny, and breezy.
I wonder all the time where CA is going to get the waater for the thousands of new homes that are being built everywhere?
It's not going to happen today, or tomorrow, but I have decided to sell and give away most all of my power tools and lots of other "stuff" that I have been holding on too for way too long!
Then I will have a bay in the garage for a railroad -- I should have done this 10-15 years back -- but life seemed to be in the way -- followed by health problems -- and I am not getting any younger!
Have a great day, folks .. I am going to try too !
Guy, plenty of space to build on that desk. Looks organized to me.Good Morning!
It's going to be a great day, even though it's only 42F in the sun at the moment. Willie's still alive after an operation, Sherrel is thinking about a railroad in the garage, and the fencing is all done. Add to all that, the wife is going to work tomorrow for 3 straight days, which means I'll be left all alone with my modelling desk.
I'm thinking about cleaning it up, so I can see what I'm doing:
View attachment 146770
This weekend, I'll be working on trying to get structures ready for prime. If I have to decant primer from it's aerosol can, I'd like to do it for a number of models, including trucks, caboose switch's and buildings. So, there's lots of cleaning-up and prepping to do.
Right now, I'm going to go dump the old fence material. After that, I'm on my own time.
It's going to be a fine weekend of modelling, with not much else in the way.
Have a good one!