Hot Honey Cocoa

Take down your smaller medium saucepan. Cover the bottom of it with about 1/4 inch of honey. Warm it up gently, put in a heaping large spoonful of cocoa, and I mean heaping. Maybe two regular non-heaping spoonfuls would be less precarious.

Add a bit of vanilla, maybe half a capful or less. If you must have a measurement try a teaspoon. Stir until the cocoa and honey have formed a syrup and there are no more lumps. Taste for sweetness; add more honey or more cocoa to adjust to where you like it. Gradually add cream, not too quickly or you'll get blobs of syrup if the cream's cold. (The observant may note that this is a sort of poor man's ganache.) When you have about an inch or so of cream in the pan, start adding milk, gradually. Keep stirring. When the milk and the syrup are completely integrated, heat it up to hotness.

Let your nine-year-old, if you have one, serve it forth with cookies and marshmallows. Remind her to turn the damn burner off before putting the pot back on it next time.