Hand Lotion Should Not Be Something You Can Be Allergic To

Can you think of anything more ridiculous than being allergic to hand lotion? I wouldn't even use the stuff, but as I get older, my skin has turned into a battlefield in which the weather has gained the upper hand. The way I notice this so-called skin lotion allergy is that when I use it, it knocks me out. Makes me tired and listless, prone to sleep in way past normal. That and hot chocolate has grown too heavy as my daily driver. I need something stronger to kick my a** into morning gear. Coffee.

For the first time since giving up coffee back in October, I drag the dripper and the grinder out of mothballs. I had to give up coffee, because it was causing me to jump through the ceiling every time somebody pulled into the drive-thru at CapEd Credit Union. Now that I'm no longer there, I can jump through whatever I want, so hello coffee!

I like to do things my way, meaning complicated, so I weigh the beans and measure the water to a 16:1 ratio of 500ml water and 30.4g beans. I grind the beans at an "8" setting on the OXO burr grinder. Pour the water into the OXO dripper. They're not paying me, by the way. The scale? OXO, of course. And the can opener I use on the dulce de leche? Also OXO.

Here's what I do once the coffee's brewed. I measure a coffee spoon each of dulce de leche and sweetened condensed milk into my red YETI ridiculously oversized insulated mug. A teaspoon of Guittard Chocolate Company cocoa rouge (hey Gary Guittard, your cocoa powder is da bomb!). Then I pour some of the brewed coffee into the mug—not a lot!—and mix it all together so I don't have dulce lumps or cocoa powder grit. Nobody taught me this recipe, I just figure it must be good. I learned a thing or two about measurement with my hot chocolate experiments. If the proportions aren't right, I'll just tweak them tomorrow.

The proportions are just fine. I might try it with more or less cocoa powder, but this way it's not espressified hot chocolate. I like the mix. Maybe a pinch of salt. I think it'll work either way.

A side note. Dulce de leche straight out of the can is heavenly. Have it for breakfast instead of ham and eggs. Don't skip the pancakes.