Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

Easter Bunny

Today I had the opportunity to go out for lunch with a very good friend of mine, Mariane McLeod of 97.7 the Beach and we got talking about food and recipes. Normally, I’m not the Suzy Homemaker type of gal, but Mariane has some terrific culinary ideas and I enjoyed hearing them. She makes everything sound so simple.

We ate at Café Chartreuse which is on Hurontario at 2nd Street (or Simcoe Street). Delicious and decadent! We had freshly baked croissants. She had tomato salad. I had a beet/apple salad with cappuccino; reasonably priced!  When lunch was finished, we walked down Hurontario Street in Collingwood, between 1st and 2nd Streets to peruse the items for sale in a couple of candy/chocolate stores. I am so out of touch. I had no idea there were two chocolate stores in the span of only 2 blocks. I knew about one of them, but Mariane had the other scoped out and it was apparent that she was familiar with the place well enough that she could direct a customer like she worked there. Did I mention that Mariane is clearly insane? Before she was done in the first store, she had rung up over $40.00 worth of delightful, tasty chocolate and sweet and/or sour candy treats to give away to her nieces. And if that wasn’t enough she spent another $20-$30 more at the second store for a dinner party she is throwing for close friends this weekend. It’s Easter this week so I’m told.

Easter is of course the holiday which is associated with the consumption of copious amounts of chocolate. I’m not sure how this tradition began but it’s a pretty good tradition if you ask me. As we left the second store, she opened my little hand and pressed a square of hand-made dark chocolate into it. Oh my God! It was to die for. That almost sounds blasphemous, but it is true.

Dark chocolate reminds me of two other things. Dear reader, you are going to think I’m nuts for saying this, but dark chocolate has always reminded me of fresh coffee beans and tobacco. It’s not for everyone. It’s an acquired taste. It’s slightly bitter and a little burnt tasting. At first taste, it is almost unpleasant – but when you allow your tongue to savour the flavour, it’s addictive! Apparently, it is loaded with flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals. The health benefits don’t end there. Dark chocolate also relaxes blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide and balance certain hormones in the body.  I won’t pretend I even know – or care what all this means, but I am told that it is good for you – yes, decadence with health benefits.  All I know is that once you become adjusted to the unusual flavour of dark chocolate, you are launched into an expensive new candy bracket. It’s not cheap but if there is anything merciful about dark chocolate, it is not something that you can eat a lot of. It’s intense and it is best savoured in small pieces. It’s akin to a sexual experience. Yeah, I said it. It’s like an orgasm! If I still smoked, I’d have lit up a du Maurier and prepared a freshly brewed cup of java to follow the experience. Let the chocolate melt slowly – sensually so, in your mouth, allowing your tastebuds to respond like you are engaging in foreplay. Your eyes will roll back in your head, you will take a deep breath and you will marvel at how flavourful this little piece of heavenly dark brown candy tastes. It’s a wonderful experience that will cause you to feel in awe of this decadent gift from Mother Nature. And although it is sinfully delicious, it is actually good for you. We are warned that anything this good has to be bad for you, yet studies have  proven the exact opposite. Dark chocolate in moderation is delicious, delightful and good for you!

So this weekend, my choices are as follows:- do as Mariane has planned for her friends; have wonderful traditional Easter dinner followed by the Easter Egg hunt which are simply some adorable fun-shaped dark chocolate treats, or spend my time being useful and productive; cleaning much less fun and and disgustingly unpleasant Dust Bunnies from every possible nook and cranny – and skip the traditional Easter Egg hunt and the inevitable calories and extra pounds that will no doubt follow.

What would you do?