Vegan hot chocolate for 2

“You just need a little perspective. Warmed chocolate can give you that.” chef Giada De Laurentiis, Paris

There are two new mugs in our cabinet.

They match in ways — same size, same outline of mountains tracing around the same white exterior. They don’t match in others. One has deep blue on the inside and blue skis stuck into the snow in criss-cross fashion on the outside. The other is green inside with a green rowboat on the outside.

As a basket full of toys leaving the house for the Goodwill recently marked the close of one season in our family life, these mugs look ahead. To a time when, Lord willing, our household will again be a two-person affair, as it was when we started.

I pull out one of the mugs and try to imagine a future us, welcoming the morning on a cabin porch somewhere pretty, coffees in hand and no longer in a hurry to be somewhere else doing something else. I imagine quiet nights in front of a fire instead of at a school concert or a track meet.

It will be different. But, if the story God has unfolded so far is any indication, it will also be good.

Two mugs. We hope to need them someday. Perhaps today even. Here is a dairy-free version of the French-style hot chocolate my husband likes to make. You may like it, too.

Vegan Hot Chocolate for Two

Heat together 1 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk and 2 teaspoons sugar on medium heat, stirring frequently. Turn off the burner just as tiny bubbles form, but before the mixture comes to a boil.

Add 8 ounces of very dark chocolate (check label to make sure there’s no dairy). If it’s in chip form, just pour them in and stir to melt, reheating a bit if needed. If it’s in bar form, chop the chocolate into coarse bits before adding it to the nut milk mixture.

Serve in two mugs, topped with a vegan marshmallow or a dollop of coconut cream if you like.