It’s officially autumn, and though Paris has been sunny and bright all week, there is a noticeable chill creeping into the air. I write this from a characteristically tiny chambre de bonne in the 17ème arrondisement, where I’m temporarily residing, cosily wrapped in a duvet. The building’s arteries look like they haven’t been touched for a century; the top floor, under the roof’s eaves, where I am lodged, can be accessed only by a tiny spiral servant’s staircase at the back of the Haussmann building. The peeling servant’s attic corridor still has all its original features, and is pitch black when I climb up that dark & winding staircase at the end of the day. But I could not love the quaintness & charm of it more, & I could not be more cosy. It is autumn in Paris, & with that I am content.
As I eluded to in my last post, my life has undergone some rapid & sudden changes in the past few weeks. I am making peace with the fact that I cannot make certain what life has made uncertain, & am taking each day at a time. As I navigate life alone in a new country, in a city full of strangers whose language and culture are unfamiliar to me, each day is an adventure for which I am deeply grateful, but it can also be overwhelming. Drawing comfort from old, familiar things in times of change can ease and soften the transition from the old life into the new — that’s how I feel about a lot of food. I cannot overstate the wonders that a warm mug of hot chocolate & an equally warming novel of an autumn evening can do for a turbulent heart. It is the small, trivial, inconsequential things that soften life’s edges in the end; do not neglect them.
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened hazelnut milk
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp pure maple syrup (this is perfectly sweet enough for me, as hazelnut milk is naturally sweet, but if you have a sweeter tooth or using a different type of milk feel free to add more of this)
optional: vegan marshmallows, vegan whipped cream, chocolate shavings etc - make it as fancy as you like!
Method:
Heat the hazelnut milk in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and maple syrup. Stir continuously and heat it until the milk is just on the verge of boiling, and all the ingredients are merged together.
Pour into a cup and add whatever toppings you like.
Currently…
Reading: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Eating: A lot of this channa masala - I prepped it in bulk for quick and easy dinners all week
Enjoying: walking. So simple, but so good for the body & mind, and the best way to explore a new city