Sunday evening

It's Sunday evening, and I'm winding down after a long day.  Tomorrow is my day of rest, so I'm looking forward to sleeping a little later and praying on my own time.  Thinking of the sabbath time to come, I stepped outside before Evening Prayer tonight to look at the sky, feel the breeze, and be quiet with the beauty for a minute before going inside.

evening sky, Haiti

Sundays we do things a little differently, and not just at church.  For example, Sunday evening usually brings a supper of cheese and crackers, fruit, and hot chocolate, especially on days like today when we travel outside the city for a patronal festival (more on that later, I hope). 

With that in mind, I'd like to share with you how to make your hot chocolate packet into something that tastes much better. 

In Haiti, at least among the sisters, we don't just boil water and add it to the mix - or microwave it in the mug, for that matter.  There is more to it.  When I first tasted it here, I thought it must be some special Haitian chocolate, as it didn't taste like any hot chocolate packet I'd ever opened.

As it turns out, making it is simple. 

First step: Fill a saucepan with water.

Add some cinnamon bark, light the gas, and simmer throughout Evening Prayer.

simmering cinnamon bark to make water for hot chocolate

Add your packet of hot chocolate and proceed as usual.

hot chocolate with condensed milk

One final step:  add condensed milk, as you would to coffee.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! 

A good end to a good day.