Merienda with Hot Chocolate

Merienda is a late afternoon snack enjoyed in many Spanish influenced countries. In Yucatan, it is commonly eaten around 4pm and is often comprised of hot chocolate and bread or a pastry. Since we were eating a late dinner at a Spanish restaurant last night, yesterday afternoon we decided to partake in Merienda. We had hot chocolate with banana brownies , sweetened with some agave nectar instead of sugar, organic whole wheat flour, and natural yogurt instead of buttermilk. Lacto-ovo vegetarian.

This is the method we often use in making the hot chocolate. We heat soy milk until very hot, but not boiling, sometimes with a cinnamon stick. We put it in the blender (removing cinnamon stick first) with two squares of unsweetened South American chocolate. We add a few teaspoons of sweetener, this time turbinado sugar, and blend it in the blender. A twist we sometimes enjoy is to pour a shot of espresso into our cups of hot chocolate. Vegan.