There is a saying here in New England, “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes”. Sometimes Mother Nature likes to play tricks on you and today is one of those days. Apple popsicle anyone?
Two seasons seem to be fighting for control now. We have lovely fall color on the trees here in New Hampshire and snow on the ground.
Not a lot of snow and with the sun shining brightly it will melt very soon. But there is more to come.
There is a winter storm watch for our house here in New Hampshire and the cottage in Maine. The prediction is for 4 to 6 inches of heavy wet snow and wind gusts up to 30 mph. If we get more than 3 inches, it will break a 185 year old record for snowfall in the month of October.
Many towns will be celebrating Halloween on Saturday and Sunday. Mother Nature is giving us a trick instead of a treat. I can see all the little ghosts and goblins in their Halloween costumes with their snow boots on. Maybe some will wear a snowman costume over their coats. Snow White with snow boots might be cute. There will be no dainty little princess in glass slippers or fairies with fluttering wings. When they get home, I know parents will probably have a nice cup of hot chocolate waiting to go along with all the candy.
If you would enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate, I have a good recipe for you. It is from L. A. Burdick, a wonderful chocolate shop and café in Walpole, New Hampshire. They have a shop in Boston and one in New York as well and their hot chocolate is famous.
Hot Chocolate
- 1 1/2 c. 2% milk (of course you can use 1% or regular if you wish)
- 2 heaping tsp. of the very best cocoa powder
- 1/4 c. ground dark chocolate 60% or more
- ground nutmeg, cinnamon, or hot pepper to taste (this is optional)
Heat milk to just under a boil, add cocoa powder, and dark chocolate. Add optional spice if using. Whisk or stir to combine.
Feel free to improvise. Adding whipped cream or topping with marshmallows is a popular way to put a smile on anyone’s face.
Back Road Journal 
It’s like that in Melbourne too.
Hi Gary, Nice to hear from you. I didn’t realize Melbourne had such variable weather. I guess it’s more common than I thought.
It looks as though winter has arrived early for you. I love the photo of the fall colours with snow on the ground. I’ve always wanted to make a trip to see the fall – I’ll have to remember to visit early in October, not late.
Hi Jenny, I hope the weather will warm back up a little. Some of our trees still have green leaves. If you want to visit this area for fall color, around October 10th is usually peak.
I had heard it was snowing out that direction! Crazy! I’m not ready for that just yet. This hot chocolate looks perfect for the kids after trick or treating though. 🙂
Hi Kristy, I’m really not ready for snow either…it is way too early. We had told all of our friends to pick as many apples as they wanted while we were away. It is a shame that there were still so many left. I hope that the kids like the hot chocolate.
Well, that’s a welcome! Thanks for the recipe and Happy Halloween 🙂
Welcome home..~:)
Oh my gosh..already?
We have brisk weather 30 F this AM..but thankfully no snow!
I love snow..I just wish it lasted 1 month.
Apparently we are in for a ton of snow this winter..
The Chocolate looks cozy:)
Hi Monique, Can you believe snow already. It is way too soon especially with what is coming tomorrow. I love snow also. I use to drive my friends crazy singing “let it snow, let it snow”. Last year we plowed snow, we blew snow and we had to start stacking snow with our tractor and bucket loader because there was just no place to put it. The one thing I will still say…its beautiful.
What a welcome home from your trip (not)…which I enjoyed reading about immensely, BTW. We have friends in Antrim and they said their first snow was two weeks ago…brrrrr, definitely a trick rather than a treat. The hot chocolate recipe sounds divine. I love cinnamon with chocolate. Happy Halloween to you!
Hi Bits, What a welcome home is right. Everyone will have snow on their pumpkins and mums this year. The hot chocolate is good. I like to put a little cayenne with the cinnamon for the nod to the Mexico where it is so famous. Happy Halloween to you as well.
We’ve got the same situation here in Colorado. Beautiful leaves and snow on the ground. However, we’re suppose to be in the 60’s for Halloween… those little tricksters will have mild treating weather. Looking at that photo made me immediately want a cup of hot chocolate and thanks for the recipe. I don’t have a simple hot chocolate recipe in my database at all! What’s up with that?
Hi Lea Ann, Unfortunately, I know about all of your snow. Snow when it is winter is one thing…we expect it where we both live. Snow while we still have leaves on the trees is another. Nice to hear that you will be warm for Halloween. I hope you enjoy the hot chocolate…Burdick’s hot chocolate has won all kinds of awards for being some of the best in the country.
A REAL hot chocolat recipe ..thank you so much! This i will try just as soon as i can get some GOOD cocoa and chocolate.. c
Hi C, Yes, this hot chocolate recipe is very good and considered a real winner in taste tests. I hope you will enjoy it. Try to get 60% or 70% cocoa chocolate…it will really make a difference.
Jealous of that foliage and the apples. Not the snow!
Hi Greg, This time of the year is usually so special because of the fall foliage and apples. As much as I enjoy snow …it is way too soon.
I am so not ready for snow. I think I’d have cried had I seen snow in my yard so soon! I”m going to stock up on supplies for your hot chocolate recipe. If the snow comes soon enough, I’ll probably be the only one drinking hot chocolate while wearing shorts.
Hi John, I think you will enjoy the hot chocolate. Hopefully you won’t have snow anytime soon. The pumpkins on our doorsteps shouldn’t be covered with snow.
Now that looks like a wonderful recipe for hot cocoa. Now I just need the snow!!
(yes, I’m one of THOSE people!)
Have a great weekend, Karen.
Hi Sue, I think the hot chocolate recipe is delicious. Snow here is always beautiful…but during foliage and apple season? We shouldn’t have to plow and shovel before Halloween. Oh well…my snow boots are by the front door.
Great photos, Karen…I wondered what was happening to your apple crop while you were away…
Here’s hoping neither of us lose power tonight! Stay warm!
Thanks for the compliment. I would say about a half of the apples were picked by friends. Unfortunately what’s on the trees now will only be good for the deer to enjoy. I do hope you and so many others do not lose power as well.
Dark chocolate hot chocolate sounds amazing… I might add a little bit of mint to this, too!
Karen, I remember so many snow covered Halloweens! the kids would run to just a few neighbors before I was too cold to go any further!! Love your hot cocoa, especially that you use dark chocolate! As soon as we get a good dip in temperature I will be making this!
Hi Linda, Snow is one thing that most of the little ones enjoy so it won’t bother them as much as the parents who will be tired from all the shoveling. I do hope that you enjoy the hot chocolate on an evening when you weather has cooled off some.
It’s snowing here right now and I could definitely use a LARGE mug of this!
Gee… and I thought our weather is crazy over this side of the country… looks like mother nature is experiencing PMS. 😉
Hi Emily, Love the comment. PMS…that must be it. HaHaHa All we can do is laugh and then start shoveling when its over.
In upstate NY, where I’m from, they got 4 inches of snow too! Quite crazy weather you are having there! Too bad about your apples. I hope you had time to harvest plenty before they turned into popsicles! I will definitely try out the hot chocolate recipe. It sounds delicious and with no sugar?!
Hi Laura, The weather is crazy. Unfortunately we didn’t get to harvest any apples. Friends picked all they wanted while we were away but there were still a lot on our trees. Normally I could have picked to around Thanksgiving. The longer on the trees and the cooler the weather the sweeter the apple. I hope you will enjoy this hot chocolate. It is delicious…chocolate is good for you, 1% or 2% milk and no sugar…you don’t feel bad drinking it.
The hot chocolate was delicious! I just had a cup with my husband and he never likes to drink hot chocolate! We both agree, very tasty recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Laura, I am so happy to hear that you tried and enjoyed the hot chocolate.
I love the shot with the trees and the ground… wacky but beautiful!
Same thing down here on the north shore above Boston…wacky weather – we still have plenty of leaves and got an inch of snow Thursday night. Expecting a “Nor’easter” overnight tonight and a couple more inches of snow. Who knows maybe I will be grilling outside on New Year’s Eve.. it has happened before!
Hi Carol, Wacky weather is right. They say we could get around a foot here and in Maine. We haven’t even drained the pipes at the cottage in Maine. It’s going to be a very interesting end to this year.
Just a quick reply to your reply – this morning there was snow on the STILL BLOOMING roses and Butterfly Bush! crazy weather and they are predicting a warm up this week.
Carol (not Laura 😉 at Cabinet Stew
Hi Carol, Sorry about the mistake…it shows what happens when you are rushing. I was trying to answer everyone’s comments before I lost the internet connect and had just read Laura’s comment. I still had roses blooming as well. Let’s hope it warms up enough to melt our 8 inches of snow that we had.
It’s cold here in Ohio but no snow yet. Thank goodness. When I lived in the snow belt, I remember trick-or-treating in deep snow! Yikes!
Hi Ashley, Happy to hear that you only have cold weather there. Trick-or-treating should not have snow involved. It’s a good thing that kids don’t mind snow.
The photos are stunning…and while I’m DEFINITELY not a cold weather person, it might be worth it for a cup of that chocolate!
Hi Ann, Thank you for your compliment. The hot chocolate is so good that perhaps it would be worth a little cold to enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing about the place in Walpole. I had no idea. I am not far from there so will check it out the next time that I’m down there. I’m going to make a cup of that hot chocolate right now. Perfect! We have about 5 or so inches of snow and counting right now. Beautiful but way too early! I’m so not ready. I hope we all don’t lose electricity. I just saw on WMUR that 100k were out in New Hampshire already. 😦
Hi Candace, The storm is over after giving us about 8 inches or so of snow. Power and cable went fast and has just returned almost three days later. I hope you have power back up and running as I know most people lost theirs. Isn’t it funny about finding things that are so close to home. I do hope you enjoyed the chocolate.
I’ll have to try this recipe, I LOVE hot chocolate!
That’s a great picture of nature’s apple popsicles and your photos are gorgeous overall, love the trees in autumn 😉
Hi Estrelia, Thank you for visiting by blog and your nice comment. I do hope you will enjoy the hot chocolate.
It looks like you escaped the brunt of the storm. The cocoa is perfect to ward off chills in this strange weather. I hope you can stay out of harms way as the storm moves your way. Have a great weekend. Blessings…Mary.
Hi Mary, It is so nice to have you stop by for a visit. We ended up with 8 inches of snow, loss of power and internet. Thank goodness it just all came back on. Thank you for your nice thoughts and I hope you had a lovely weekend.
Certainly that was true yesterday when we had rain, wind, snow and sun all in the space of a few hours. Then last night the sky was sparkling diamonds on black velvet and today is one of those blue clear sky ones that make you glad you’re alive. Wonder what’s next.
Hi Lulu, Very strange weather indeed. A return to a little normalcy would be nice.
Wow, that’s just incredible – I actually saw another picture recently online of someone’s driveway – fall leaves everywhere, sunny afternoon. The guy took another photo 12 hours later and the tree was laden down with snow… I guess he was in the same sorta area as you!
What an apt post for such bizarro weather – by the way… what do you mean when you say “hot pepper”… do you mean chilli or am I way off?
Hi Charles, It was a crazy storm for this time of the year. All that snow brought down tree limbs and power lines. Yes, you are right…I was referring to chili. I like add cayenne pepper to chocolate sometime. I think it adds a new dimension and taste.
Nice idea – I’ve seen it in Lindt Chocolate – well, maybe not cayenne pepper, but other chilli bits at least – I’ll have to give it a try sometime 🙂
Hi Charles, I have had chilies in a combination with chocolates many times and really like it. I think if you try the combination you will enjoy it as well. Each type of chili will give different results. I hope you experiment.
Did you have snow this weekend? We had beautiful weather, just a bit of a chill, but lovely sunshine and very blue skies with fluffy white clouds! I am keeping your hot chocolate recipe handy! Thank you!
Hi Phyllis, Yes, we had record breaking snow. We had over 8″ and it brought down trees and power lines. 185 years of record keeping and never this kind of snow at this time of the year. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
This is amazing, two seasons… Thank you dear Karen, with my love, nia
Hi Nia, We are celebrating two seasons at one time. Thank you for your lovely comment.
It is one of the best things about New England and it times the worst. We have not gotten any snow yet, but have definitely had some hot chocolate nights…thanks for sharing.
Hi and thank you for visiting my blog. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. Thank goodness you haven’t gotten any snow yet…it’s too early. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and hope you try the hot chocolate.
winter and autumn together !!! I would give an arm to see that…
Hi Ashkitty, Very unusual to say the least. I love snow and it is part of our winter. I just wasn’t prepared for snow before Halloween.
Beautiful photography! Those glorious autumn colours are so stirring, and the snow on the apples reminds us that Mother Nature is very much in charge of the timetable, not us! Mar
Thank you for your compliment Marlene.
yum!!! wish I had some spare dark chocolate to make this… sounds wonderful.
Thank you for your nice comment. The hot chocolate is really delicious.