Hot chocolate ice cream cones...

How to make an hot chocolate "ice cream cone", using an engineered approach (a.k.a. the hard way).

Okay, this is a somewhat difficult process to describe in words.

First, you need to make a cone out of cardboard. You may wonder where you are going to get the cardboard, but then you'll remember that cereal doesn't need to be in a bag *and* in a box. One or the other is good enough.

Bend a square piece of cardboard into a round pipe, then tighten one end of the pipe until the hole closes completely. On second thought, actually, leave just a tiny whole, you'll see why later. This should result in a cone shape... Tape the cardboard together so it holds that shape. Duct tape, of course.

Stick the cone, pointy end first, inside a clear plastic bag, so the point is buried into the corner of the bag. Wrap the rest of the bag around the cone, and tape it to itself with clear tape (yes, you can get clear duct tape). You now have a cardboard cone inside a clear plastic cone. Good job, but we're not done yet.

At this point, it is best to have a wife. Foremost, she able to help you in what has become a four-handed process ("Need a hand?"). She is able to guide you in focusing on the task at hand ("What in the world are you doing?"), and aid you in developing proper process justification ("Why are you doing that?"). And very important to any engineering process is recognizing the resources you have at hand ("Look at the mess!!!"). Then she gives you a little wink and you remember who you're doing this for.

Hold the cardboard cone upright, while your wife carefully pours hot chocolate mix into into it. For a big freezer bag, we found about 2/3 of a cup to be about right. Slowly pull the cone out of the plastic bag so the hot chocolate pours out of the small hole and into the plastic bag. Once all of the mix is in the bag, place the bag *inside* the cardboard cone. (The cardboard one will help it hold its shape while you do the next few steps.)

Shake things carefully so that the mix settles down into the bag. Your belly may jiggle a little bit as you do this, so distract your wife while you do it... "Look over there! Is that cat eating your casserole?". Pour a few (1/3 cup) chocolate chips into the cone, and then put a few (2/3 cup) coloured mini marshmallows. Tie the top of the bag shut with a twist-tie.

When you pull the clear plastic cone out of the cardboard one, you should see something resembling an ice cream cone, with the hot chocolate mix as the cone, the chocolate chips as chocolate dip, and the marshmallows as the ice cream? And your wife will tell you its beautiful, even though it probably isn't.

Now, start again, and try to salvage some of the hot chocolate. Because at this point you will realize that you don't have nearly enough hot chocolate mix to make as many "ice cream" cones as you wanted to. Don't fret, 'cause a quick walk in a snowstorm for the two of you should get you the extra chocolate chips you are going to need.

Clear as mud? Actually, it doesn't matter... Like the best things in life it is about the process, not the product. And a walk in the falling snow can be kinda romantic.

If the response to this is good, next week I'll describe how to make your own version of the space shuttle's hydro-pneumatic thrust affectors out of expresso beans, milk, and a steam injector. It may feature an early morning metro ride and a quiet movie night out.