Super Easy Any Chocolate Chocolate Sauce

It’s been busy these past days, what with the school season starting and all. And whereas I’ve had only one child in school for the past three years, this week I officially have two. Yes, my little H turned two last month and is now a card-carrying member of the preschool community. It’s not much…don’t think that I’ve signed him up for college prep. It’s just two and a half hours three times a week where he will get to be with other children his age (my main objective in sending him already…same as with little C when she started) and have to learn to adapt to another environment.

Seeing him on his first day, hair brushed, collar folded nicely, tiny knapsack on his back, and a water bottle clutched in his pudgy fingers I felt a sharp twinge in my heart. When did this all happen? How did we get from our little baby boy to this toddler all spiffed up and ready to go?  Too fast!

Then I realized, that I’ve never really talked about him here, well not that much. Not nearly as much as I’ve talked about his sister. And it’s not just here. I am guilty of that awful sin…having spent so much time, attention, and effort on our firstborn (do you know I used to log every thing she ate, her pees and poops, and even the hours and minutes she slept? Those were crazy times.) that we are all but spent with our second. It’s not that we give him less attention or love, certainly not, but I am ashamed to admit there are definitely areas where we are lacking. He didn’t get the detailed pee and poop logs for one. He also doesn’t have as many photos as little C has (something that I try to correct now daily). We are also more laid-back when it comes to things like his food and his naps (with little C I would have mini nervous breakdowns when I thought she wasn’t getting enough sleep…which was often because unlike her mother she does not really like sleeping too much!).

But oh how I love him. My little man. So I’ll tell you a bit about him if you don’t mind…to assuage my guilty conscience.

Very much like the boy that he is, he is as simple as his sister is complicated (very much like the girl that she is…sorry for the generalizations but it’s true). He has two “modes”: sweet mode and destroying mode. When he is not wreaking our house while racing around naked on one of his bikes or scooters, he likes to sit on my lap and have me “read” a book to him. I say “read” because he doesn’t actually let me read…he starts flipping through the pages so I need to quickly improvise my own story to the pace of his page-flipping. Also, I must confess, he bites (sorry teachers, forgot to tell you that bit!) and pinches, both of which can be quite painful. He does it when he is frustrated or angry but also when he is extremely happy and in the moment. Which may seem strange but it’s true. I’ve had him run into my arms laughing and smiling and then planting a quite a painful nibble on my leg. If you say “ow!” though he is very quick to say “sowi” with a sweet smile. He has the sweetest smile imaginable…it just lights up my heart. I can never stay upset at him for long…especially when he looks up at me with his big eyes, that smile, and his easy “labu” (I love you).

So he just started school, yes. That’s not all he started though. When my children turn two, right before they go to school, I also give them their first taste of chocolate. It’s a rite of passage (at least to me!) that I love being a part of. No judgments please!

To celebrate, I’m sharing with you my method (it can hardly be called a recipe) for my super easy chocolate sauce.

Super Easy Any Chocolate Chocolate Sauce

• Any amount of your favorite chocolate or whatever chocolate you have on hand
• All-purpose cream

– Weigh your chocolate. Break it into pieces.
– Place the same amount of cream (grams chocolate = ml cream) in a pan or small pot over low heat and bring up to almost a bubble but not quite.
– Take the cream off the heat and place all the chocolate into the hot cream. Stir until all the chocolate is melted. You can place the pan back on the heat briefly if your chocolate isn’t melting all the way but watch it and keep stirring.
– When all the chocolate is melted and the chocolate and cream are blended well check the consistency. You want it to be thick but pourable. If you think it needs thinning, add a bit more cream.  That’s it!  Use responsibly!

You can, as the name suggests, use practically any chocolate for this sauce. Use your favorite kind or whatever you have on hand (or even evil candy bars!) in a pinch to have instant, homemade chocolate sauce. It’s so easy to make you can get your kids involved too…and trust me, they will want to get involved when they see you breaking up chocolate bars and melting them with cream! You can use this sauce for just about anything: drizzled over cake or cupcakes, with pancakes, French toast, or crepes, to dip fruit in, or, as we like to use it, in ice cream sundaes. Suffice to say, both my offspring love this and lick their spoons and bowls clean!

I never really thought of sharing this because it seemed too simple and easy, but I figured others may benefit (as I have!) from having a homemade, emergency chocolate sauce to come to the rescue for any eventuality or need.

I’ve always wondered if it’s true what they say…that every parent has a secret favorite. And I can tell you, at least from my meager experience, that it’s impossible. Each child is so different, and each relationship you have with each child is likewise so different, that you just really can’t pick. At least I can’t. My connection with my daughter is so special and intense and unique. It fizzes between us like electricity and fairy dust. With my son I am a gooey mess, unable to say no, wanting only to nuzzle his chubby limbs, melting each time he smiles at me. They are both pleasures I enjoy immensely, different pleasures equally gratifying. So…even if I talk about (and take more pictures of) my firstborn, Mr. #2 is right up there with her, stealing our hearts even as he runs bare-butt through our living room, leaving a trail of broken toys and scratched-up parquet (and, it must be said, pee) in his wake.