It’s National Chocolate Day. Chocolate, called the food of the gods, has a rich history in Mexico, beginning in the Aztec and Mayan cultures. So let’s create the drink of Aztec goddess Xochiquetzal. She has dominion over sex, childbearing, creativity, flowers, hummingbirds, and butterflies. She manifests for feather-workers and metalworkers. Xochiquetzal loves weavers, painters, sculptors, florists, homemakers, sex workers, mothers, pregnant women, and midwives.

For plant energy, pin Aztec marigold (Tagetes erecta) to your clothing, hair, or hat. Then make the spicy chocolate.

Ingredients:
* 3/4 cup quality dark chocolate chips
* 3 cups milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* Pinch of coarse sea salt
* 1 chili pepper, cut vertically and seeded
* 4 Mexican cinnamon sticks
* Sweetener (optional)

Whisk the chocolate chips in 3/4 cup milk in a pot on a stove set at medium. Whisk in the rest of the milk briskly for several minutes until well blended. Then whisk in the ground cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt. Blend well.

With the heat on medium high, steep the chili pepper and a halved cinnamon stick in the mixture for ten minutes in the pan with the cover on. Then remove the cover and discard the solid ingredients. Whisk in sweetener if desired. Pour the spicy chocolate into three small cups and serve with Mexican cinnamon sticks.