Promptvent - Day 14
25 days of winter prompts to thaw your writers (ice)block - and this year it's all about being Cozy.
Hello and welcome to day 14 of Promptvent!
If you’d like some wintry musical inspiration whilst you write, why not try listening to ‘Warm Cocoa Winter’ by Evening Eden on Spotify.
Listen to me read the guided invitation via audio below or if you prefer to read the transcript, that is also available for you underneath the audio.
Welcome back to our Promptvent village advent calendar where you find yourself standing once again before the cozy Christmas window.
Bundled up in your warm woolen mittens and thick scarf, you are eager to to know what wintry word of the day awaits you. What world will you step into and discover today? You lean closer, and can feel the eagerness in your fingers as you pull off your mittens and reach for the iron latch on the window, lifting it with care.
Hints of chocolate surprise your senses, making your tummy rumble and your mouth salivate. You are looking into a cozy festive kitchen, with a small pan on the stove. There is steam coming from the pan and soft music plays in the background.
All of a sudden, the red wreathed door to your left slowly opens, inviting you further. You step through the door, stamp off the snow from your boots and hang your winter coat up on a golden brass hook. You walk over to the stove and peer into the pan, it is gently heating some warm milk. There are some ingredients next to you on the kitchen counter and you inspect them with glee. A huge tub of Cocoa, the one you always used to love, sits next to a variety of chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows. You squish the marshmallows between your fingers in the packet and they bend and return to shape. There are also bottles of syrups and containers of spices all ready for you to explore. You used to love concocting your own recipes of hot chocolate, or ‘Cocoa’ as your parents and their parents called it. It was always a treat in your household and you try to keep the tradition alive where you can.
The pan of milk starts to froth gently and you take it off the heat. You look around for a mug to no avail and so you open the cupboard door. Each mug is one you remember and love from your past, and some of your favorites are there from your present. There are even a few mugs that were sadly broken and now sit there, pride of place and completely fixed. You choose the right one for today and put it on the counter, slowly pouring in the hot milk. You open the cocoa and the powder puffs into the room, filling the air with scents of chocolatey goodness. You grab a spoon and heap tablespoons of cocoa into the hot milk. You add various extras to the cocoa depending on your taste and lift the mug up to your nose, so close, a little gets on the tip of your nose, making you laugh.
There is a rocking chair in the corner of the kitchen with cushions and a blanket, you decide to sit there and relish your cocoa, watching the snow fall and world move beyond the window. Each sip is full of creamy chocolatey heaven and you feel like a little kid again, oh the simple pleasure of hugging a cup of cocoa. As you put the mug down on the side table besides the rocking chair, you notice a candle and a notebook and pen. You would like to write some of these simple pleasures down and encapsulate them to pass to your loved ones. You open the notebook and notice one word in large cursive script written at the top of the first page.
It reads: COCOA
You drain the mug of it’s delicious contents, lick your lips, and then you write.
PromptVent day 14
COCOA
Nothing can welcome you home from a wild
and wintery walk, better than a roaring fire
and a mug of hot milky Cocoa with tiny floating pink clouds of marshmallows and chocolate sprinkled like the sweetest of kisses.
Steaming with the tenderness and the warmth
of love.
Prompt vent 14
Cocoa
Cocoa is a much loved ingredient, great for drinks or chocolate cakes . By adding some grated courgette and coffee grounds a secret synergy is created , a sublime chocolate experience results . The first ingredient adds succulence , the next one subtlety, complimenting the precious cocoa . It worked and I was amazed .
A little while ago I had a chocolate craving . I was loathe to go to the shop and buy some . Remembering the cocoa in the cupboard I heated oat milk and mixed cocoa power with a small amount of milk into a paste before adding the warmed milk with some honey and vanilla essence . I felt satisfied and pleasured because it was a healthier choice in a subtle way . Not giving into Mr Cadbury or a syrupy mix made me a victor .
I haven’t made chocolate cake since the late stages of the pandemic where I challenged myself to bake . It was easy and I enjoyed the creativity but had to give the cakes away . Now my creativity is channelled differently and the desire to bake has dissipated . Having no one in need of a cake further supports . However , I am so glad to have cocoa in the cupboard as one morning my coffee might just need a healthy boast . Cocoa is apparently immunity boasting , aids digestion and breathing , the heart and brain as well as providing minerals selenium, iron , zinc and magnesium . All those marvellous attributes from a pod that grows on a tree . Another reason to love and revere .