Between bouts of whining and fanning ourselves, the boys and I have been keeping cool by imagining that we could escape to a faraway, make-believe land where summer temperatures average in the 70s.
Oh wait... that's not a fairy tale, there really IS such a magical place. Perhaps you've heard of it? A little place called Maine? (Is it just me, or has the hellish heat made me snarky? I mean snarkier than usual. Is snarkier a word? Whatever.)
Anyhow, while poring over a Maine guide, we discovered Lenny, the famous life-sized chocolate moose. And I thought MOUSSE! Cool, creamy, doesn't-require-me-to-turn-on-the-dreaded-oven, chocolate-y and did I mention COOL?
Mmmmmm. Mousse and margaritas. I may survive this heat after all.
In the case that you too find yourself on a slow boat to hell, and are dreaming of a cool escape, try mousse! Here's the recipe we used (adapted from this one) :
In a bowl, combine a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1/3 cup water. Microwave for 30 seconds to melt. Stir. If it needs a little more time to melt, give it another 15 seconds or so. Now leave it on the counter to cool.
Beat 2 cups of heavy whipping cream until peaks appear (I don't know if they're stiff peaks or soft peaks or twin peaks or what... just whip it until it looks like Cool Whip, okay? Or you know what? Just use Cool Whip). Add in 1/3 cup of powdered sugar (or skip that if you're using the Cool Whip). Put this in the fridge to stay nice and cold while the chocolate cools to room temperature.
Using a slow beater, mix the chocolate and whipped cream. Pour into cups (or just straight into your mouth). Put the cups into the fridge until the mousse has set up.
Now listen, no matter how heat weary you are, remember that you have to actually close the refrigerator door. You can't just stand there with it open or your mother will yell at you and your mousse won't ever set. Of course if you ARE the mother you can open the door far more times than necessary under the pretense that you're "just checking on the mousse."
Try not to actually crawl into the fridge though. It's just not ladylike.
Now grab a spoon and take a bite. Close your eyes and dream of falling mercury.
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Read more about our imaginary trip to Maine at the Ranch.
