Vanilla Milk for the Kiddos

Every week I spend some hours sitting at the Starbucks down the street to catch up on my email, read articles, and prep lesson plans for class. I often take care of online errands for the family, researching preschools or making doctor appointments. At some point I buy a drink as an offer of patronage, usually a short chai latte with whole milk, extra foam. Sometimes I add a shot of espresso if I need to perk up. It's a pricey little ritual.

The other day when I was digging out the popcorn popper from the highest shelf behind the fridge, I came across my milk steamer and remembered that I could make a frothy little chai for myself at home.

Not to be left out, the boys wanted their own "coffee." So we revived our recipe for vanilla milk. It has become their comfort food, a calming treat that they look forward to in the early mornings or just before bedtime. The kids have made a happy routine of drinking it from their mini mugs.

The recipe is too simple:

Vanilla Milk

1 cup whole milk
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

The steamer is great for this but a microwave or pot on the stove works just fine, you only need to gently warm the milk. If you are using a microwave, one minute turns a cup of cold milk lukewarm, which is perfect for this age. Let the kids spoon in the sugar and vanilla and stir it up, then you can pour it into their cups.