Hot chocolate (not the 'you sexy thing' band)

I don't want to start a heated debate here, but the issue had to come up of hot chocolate; perhaps the most divisive topic of all for us treat-seeking missiles.


Some argue that much of the pleasure to be had from chocolate is in the texture; transforming it from crackingly solid to meltingly gooey in seconds on the tongue. For this reason, hot chocolate, in a purist choconaut's eyes, has no place even using the word chocolate in its name. But for others, it's a piping hot liquid unmatched by any other and the only brown liquid worth heating up milk for. The sugary sweetness, the frothy top, the sludge in the bottom, and the potential for dunking a chocolate biscuit and getting a double hit is certainly an attraction for me. I admit there was a time when milk made me feel a bit queasy - I still can't drink it cold, not even on cereal. Perhaps it's the greasy udderiness that I can't get past. But I have learned to enjoy it hot with the help of my faithful friend chocolate.

For the record, if you're drinking out then there are few hot chocolate's to rival Marks and Spencers for me, in which they always seem to deliver the perfect milk to chocolate ratio. It's good quality chocolate too, what else would one expect? Cafe Nero also delivers a first-rate hot choclate but I mark them down for charging extra for soya milk - cheeky monkeys. And I have been boycotting starbucks because of their unforgiving stranglehold on the coffee-shop market. Let someone else have a bit of business you greedy bucks.

If you're into making a hottie at home then a jar of good old Cadbury hits the spot every time. I don't hold with these low-cal varieties though. They are far too fake and nasty tasting and seem to be stuffed with sweeteners, aspartame, E numbers and the like. Full-fat all the way I think. Just have one less often if you're worried about becoming a bloater.

Ok, might go and put a pan on the hob and choc it up right now to send me into snoozeville. Sleep tight choc-kins and sweet dreams...

Easter - the aftermath

Well Easter is over. I really think it's my favourite of the bank holidays, even better than Christmas. Not just because of all the chocolate involved, but spring is happening, trees are getting green, cherry blossom is bursting out and lambs are gamboling in the fields. It's just an all-round lovely time of year.

But, back to the chocolate. How many eggs did you consume? I only had three - Smarties, KitKat and Malteasers and friends - that's pretty restrained I think and they were shared with other people. I have to stand by my original claim that Nestle make the best Easter eggs. And why is Easter egg chocolate so damned tasty anyway? There's something about the way thin shards of chocolate melt in the mouth, and the irregular sized pieces are more interesting to eat that the uniform chunks in a bar - when you hit upon a piece of egg that's so thick you can barely break it, it's a pleasure unmatched. Smarties eggs are good too because you can open the tube, and tip it into half of the egg for a bit of pot-luck variation on just pure chocolate. My only gripe with the Smarties egg is that there was only one tube of Smarties in there - for shame. The KitKat had two KitKat chunkys (both gobbled by my Mum) and the Malteasers and friends had a bag each of Malteasers, Revels and Minstrels. Seems like Smarties could loosen the purse strings a little and treat us to two tubes per egg if you ask me.

I also took part in my first ever (I think) Easter egg hunt, which was a hoot - hoofing it through the park looking for decoy eggs to take back to base camp and swap for a prize. We found three in the end, which translated into a bag of mini eggs and a little belgian dark chocolate egg, which we scoffed that very afternoon to offset the exercise we had done finding the pesky things.

By the way, I spotted in one of my Mum's magazines, a whole page of recipes for left over chocolate - but I ask you, who ever has leftover chocolate?

Anyway, I hope you are rubbing your swollen tums with a bashful expression but inward glee and lets think ahead to our next chocolate experience.

Choc on

Choccy

Its Easter, my little choc chicks

It's almost Easter - which means we're going to choc down to electric avenue with egg and bunny shaped goodies to gorge on with our families. What fun. If you've given up chocolate for lent and are dribbling at the thought of having a mouthful of the brown stuff (or white stuff, you milkybar kids) then hang in there, and just think how sweet the reward will be when you finally dig in on Easter Sunday.

Myself, I knew giving up chocolate would never happen, so I've given up coffee and crisps - five weeks down and all good. A coffee-fast by the way just means I can't have the drink, but I'm allowed coffee cake, coffee-flavoured jellybeans, coffee revels or coffee creams in a box of black Magic (do they still do coffee creams? I used to love those). As for crisps, that's been slightly harder though I've managed to keep it up so far. The crunch point (crunch indeed) is always after-workies in th pub. With an empty belly and a pint in hand crisps are the natural option. I've had to content myself with farty-smelling dry roasted peanuts, which aren't the same at all.

Anyway, our theme for the next mission is gorge - we've done the abstinence and on Easter Sunday it's time to let your inner chocolate centre come oozing out. Might I suggest you try putting a whole creme egg in your mouth at once, biting the heaad off a Lindt bunny with gay abandon or keeping an entire Easter egg back just for yourself. Sharing? What's that?

I still maintain the Nestle Easter eggs are the finest around - Smarties, Yorkie, Aero, oh my. But I'm open to suggestions. Bring your feasting Easter tales to the table my little chocolate chicklets, and when you go out tomorrow, why not smile at someone you don't know in the street and spread a little spring cheer?

Choccy

Ps. Don't forget the clocks go back at the weekend - one less hour of giving stuff up for lent!