By September. Apple butter in the slow cooker. The autumn smell. The house smelling like October in September, same as every year, the annual cheating of the calendar that apple butter allows.
Clay mentioned, in the way Clay mentions things — sideways, to the coffee cup, not to my face — that he's thinking about doing more with the VA. Not just the group. Not just the Thursday meetings. Something more. He said he's been talking to the peer counseling coordinator about volunteering, about sitting in rooms with veterans who are where he was, who are in the garage with the rifle, who are at the bottom. He said he thinks he could help. He said Dr. Rivera thinks he could help. He said he wants to help.
I put down my coffee. I looked at my son. I said Clay, that's the bravest thing you've ever said to me. He said it's not brave, it's just talking. I said no. Walking into a room with men who are at the bottom and sitting with them and saying I was there too and I'm here now — that's not talking. That's everything. That's braver than the mines. That's braver than Afghanistan. That's walking back into the pain on purpose to pull someone else out. He looked at me. He didn't say anything. He drank his coffee. But his eyes were wet and so were mine and the coffee was between us and the morning was between us and the bravery was between us, and between is where the important things live in this family.
The apple butter cooked all day — that slow, patient smell that turns September into October before October earns it — and by the time the evening settled and Clay had gone back to his place, I wanted something else old-fashioned, something that tasted like a time before the mines and before Afghanistan, before the garage and the rifle and the bottom. An old-fashioned chocolate malted milk is that kind of thing for me: simple, a little sweet, a little rich, the kind of drink that asks nothing of you and gives everything back. I made one and stood at the counter and thought about bravery and about the wet eyes over coffee cups, and it was exactly right.
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Malted Milk
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk, cold
- 3 tablespoons malted milk powder
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream (about 4 scoops)
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
- Chocolate syrup, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the base. Add the cold milk, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla extract to a blender. Blend on medium speed for about 20 seconds until the dry ingredients are fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
- Add the ice cream. Add the vanilla ice cream scoops to the blender. Blend on low speed for 20—30 seconds, just until combined and thick. Do not over-blend — you want it creamy and substantial, not watery.
- Taste and adjust. Taste the malt and add a touch more sugar or cocoa if needed. Pulse once or twice to incorporate.
- Serve immediately. Pour into two tall glasses. Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup if desired. Serve with a wide straw or a long spoon.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 55g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 180mg