Warm milk and a little cream on the stove.
Add a dark chocolate candy bar. I used one that was 95% dark chocolate
Add 100% dark chocolate powder
Add a pinch of chili powder
Whisk until frothy, pour into a cup, and top with whipped cream.
This will be so thick you will be able to drink it with a spoon. :)
When I first started writing, Falling in
Love with Emma, I’m sure it was a “dark and stormy night,” because I thought
about the French-style of drinking chocolate…a lot. Spoiler alert. It’s a
typical fall day in Seattle, and I’ve just brewed a warm cup of drinking
chocolate. Yum! Anyway, back to the
blog. In my story, I transported Emma and Björn back in time to 18th
century Paris, on the eve of the French Revolution, where chocolate houses were
almost as abundant as coffee cafés are in Seattle. For those who have read my
books, they know that somewhere in the story, someone will mention their love
of chocolate. My novel, Falling in Love with Emma took it to a
whole new level. Although I knew the
time and place, I wanted my readers to feel the atmosphere, or setting, as much
as I did. The setting needed to be as important as the characters. After all,
the setting would affect how the characters would react. Setting can enhance a
character’s mood, or bring them down. Setting can help a character achieve
their goal, or stand in the way.
This idea of setting as a character is
never more apparent than in a disaster movie, involving fire, wind, or rain. There
is a movie, Backdraft, with fire
fighter, Kurt Russell, where he and his brother refer to fire as though it were
a living, breathing, entity, unpredictable and capable of seeking revenge. This
makes fighting fires feel even more
dangerous. On the lighter side, the movie Chocolate,
with Johnny Depp, not only makes the symbol of chocolate a main character, but
this confection, changes in appearance and brings people together.
When you describe a setting or add symbols
to your novel, you must always ask this question. How does it move the story
forward? If you describe the wind or rain, it can’t be just because it sounds
cool, there has to be a reason why it’s raining. How does your character
respond to rain? Will her response help or hinder her as she tries to move
forward? The same can be said for symbols. In Falling in Love with Emma, I have
a scene where Emma and Björn are eating chocolate fondue. Yes, it can be a
sensual dessert, with opportunities to feed each other strawberries dipped in
chocolate, but that was not the reason I chose this dessert. Both Emma and Björn
were on life’s treadmill. They were both in the friend-zone, without knowing
how to escape. Björn, an Alaskan fisherman, was the type of person who grabbed
food when he was hungry. He didn’t taste it, or to expand this idea, he didn’t
taste life. Emma was an amazing baker, capable of creating swoon-worthy
desserts, and yet, she never took the time to appreciate her talent. Fondue was
the perfect choice for this couple. Fondue takes time.
Please check out book three in the Matchmaker
Café series, Falling in Love with Emma
and let me know what you think. I have posted the recipes found in my novel on
my website. pambinder.com
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