Dark Chocolate Easter Eggs are good news!

Hi R
Have you heard the good news about dark chocolate?

Summarised from Ease Easter Guilt": go for dark chocolate - Nicola Conville, Sunday Telegraph 24/3/13
Easter promises calorific overindulgence but according to studies by researchers from Monash University, the choice of dark chocolate offers significant health benefits, including improvement of blood flow and a "feel good" factor.
It's a healthier option, especially since with a 70 per cent cocoa component, dark chocolate generally contains less added sugar and fat than milk chocolate, with other studies stressing it be part of a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise.

Sounds like great news to me!

Happy Easter to you R and to all.
Clara - lover of dark chocolate


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Pears offer elegant tastes and textures

Corella pears look attractive as a table centre

Hi R
The first day of Spring today.  The early spring garden players are there - fragrant Jasmine, orchids, magnolia and wattle.  Not much in the garden to cut for indoors,  but I love the look of fruit and vegetables as much as all their other benefits.  Pears, pomegranates and quince are my favourites because of their shape, with oranges and lemons for their colour.

Pears are in season at the moment with many varieties to choose from - taste being the best test.  I don't know why the saying goes, 'Everything went pear shaped', with a negative connotation, since the shape of a pear is beautiful.  So many beautiful old paintings feature pears see below  and one day I want to use pears as a subject for printing or pastels. 

Of course, the best way to serve pears is raw, perhaps cut into 4 and served with almonds, but 'Pears in Red Wine' is an elegant, relatively healthy dessert so long as the cook doesn't drink the rest of the wine! 

Clara

Pears in Red Wine
6 large brown pears
250 ml / 1 cup good quality red wine
150 grams / 5oz - sugar
cinnamon stick
orange and lemon rind

Method
Wash the pears and core, leaving on the stem
Place upright in a baking dish into which they fit tightly
Sprinkle with sugar, add cinnamon and the orange and lemon rinds and pour over the wine
Bake in 190 degrees C (375 degrees F) oven until the wine has almost evaporated. Baste during the baking. Serve with indulgent yoghurt.


Right - 'Pears in Art'

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Fresh nectarines and dates in a cinnamon syrup
with roasted slivered almonds

Hi there
We had a lovely day playing host to a beautiful couple with a gorgeous new baby. 
An ordinary dessert , I thought, was appreciated and the recipe asked for. 
So here it is - of course it could be used for any fruit in season - adds a little glamour to an already fabulous fruit.

 February is my favourite time of the year for fruit - how exquisite are the peaches, plums, nectarines, and this year we also had apricots tasting almost like they did when we were fortunate enough to pick them from the tree............
Of course the best way to serve stone fruit is fresh.


But sometimes we want to serve a dessert that feels special and goes a bit beyond that. This is an in-between concept which fits that need.
Make a sugar syrup - equal quantities of sugar to water over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add a cinnamon stick, a few drops of vanilla, and a slurp of white wine if there is some available - add the stones for flavour.
Meanwhile, slice nectarines, add dates then combine with cooled syrup.
Sprinkle with roasted slivered almonds and serve with Greek yoghurt.
(roast almonds in oven for about 10 minutes at medium temperature - keep watching because they turn brown quickly)
Click on 'comment' at bottom of page to have your say or email clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au www.babyboomerconnections.com.au