I Love Cocoa

When I was a small kid, we were poor. So many stories start out saying "we were poor, but we didn't know we were poor". I guess I don't have much literary vision , because I knew we were poor.

I remember taking trips downtown to an old building where we would get free government cheese (a 5 lb brick), butter and powdered milk.

One winter morning, we were all sitting around the electric oven with the door open. We had run out of heating oil and had no money. So the only heat was the oven. Our breakfast was toast and hot chocolate, made of course with powdered milk. You mix that baking Hershey's unsweetened chocolate, sugar and powdered milk. At that moment, I decided that when I grow up, I will drink hot chocolate made with real milk.

Fast forward more years than I can count.

On one of my trips to San Francisco, I visited the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory. I know I paid more than I should have, but I bought a 16oz box of Ghiradelli Premium Hot Cocoa. I still love hot chocolate and I thought it would be great to have a cup at work. So I took the cocoa to work. I assumed it was the kind where you simply add water. But no, it's the kind that the directions tell you to heat milk and mix. I'm not going to have fresh milk at work.

I wondered, do they still make powdered milk? I went to the store and YES they do.

Imagine my surprise when I scanned the powdered milk and it cost $5.89! For almost $6 you only get 3 quarts of milk! For that much I can buy 2 gallons of real milk.

After all these years, it comes full circle. I now can afford powdered milk. I am a success!