Dec. 18, 2007 - Issue #635: Mass Effect
For non-sinful chocolate, go to Health
A self-proclaimed “addicted” nutrition counselor, Laine brings joy back to the dessert table through her insightful and holistic guide to cooking the humble cocoa bean—healthfully. Long thought of as the bad boy of the pastry world, chocolate has had a reputation for being less than wholesome. In fact, cocoa is chock full of endorphin-triggering, mood-lifting, hormone-balancing phytochemicals and heart-smart anti-oxidants.
When prepared in its darkest, most natural form, chocolate can be a healthy addition to the North American diet. Laine demonstrates how to avoid the pitfalls of fat-laden milk chocolate and embrace the healthy benefits of the purest of dark chocolates. Cocoa is not only good for you, it’s practically a requirement in your diet.
The holiday season generates an array of not-so-healthy squares, brownies, macaroons and other tempting treats, many of which end up languishing uneaten in festive tin cans. Mine end up slowly growing hard on a plate in the office coffee room. It’s not that I don’t like them; I just can’t justify the estimated 100 calories in a single, hip-seeking macaroon.
Laine puts your mind at ease with her thoughtful insights and simple recipes. Stay away from milk chocolate, processed flours and refined sugars and you’re on your way to enjoying chocolate without guilt. I decided to put some of her recipes to the test at an impromptu games night with a half-dozen hungry, chocolate-loving friends. With a list in hand, I headed to the nearest organic food market. I usually shop at a big-name grocery chain, where the frozen pizzas are conveniently located adjacent to the antacid tablets, so I predicted a challenge.
Like a deer in the headlights, I prodded medium-firm tofu and fondled packages of pitted dates. I bought a bar of 100 per cent unsweetened dark chocolate, a bag of whole wheat pastry flour and a half-kilo of raw sugar. I topped that up with a bottle of La Belle Province’s maple syrup and some organic strawberries. I bought pecans, almonds and coconut milk. Before long, I had a shopping cart filled with enough to feed a crowd of famished vegans.
I’m a fairly competent cook, but I’m the Milli Vanilli of baking. I’ve faked my way through more than a few family barbeques with the devious use of a store-bought pie and a well-worn Salvation Army pie plate.
Still, I folded and blended, whipped and stirred my way through five recipes in Laine’s easy-to-follow cookbook. When I was done, I had a plate of Baked Strawberry Puddles: cored, stuffed with dark chocolate and floating in an orange-ginger sauce. I balanced a dollop of Silky Whipped Topping made from tofu, maple syrup and cashews on each oven-warmed strawberry.
These went over very well, each one stabbed with an escargot fork doing double duty as a strawberry pick. Just the right amount of orange juice and ginger gave them a hint of the exotic, though they took only minutes to prepare. That’s the kind of dessert I respect—it makes me look like a skilled chef when a trained monkey probably could have stuffed the fruit with chocolate.
I proudly created a dishful of Laine’s Passion in a Pan, a layered concoction of peaches, pastry and pecans, topped with a sinfully delicious Creamy Chocolate Banana Custard.
This dessert looked so decadent that several of panic-stricken friends called out, “Just a small piece for me!” and “I’ll share with someone!” I explained that, although there were calories present, they were far less than my guests might expect. While I graciously read out the list of ingredients, the whole pan managed to disappear. I was glad I’d had the foresight to put my share aside.
Not everything was as successful. My self-confidence came to a halt when I attempted the Double Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies. Instead of a firm prune-and-almond brownie, I ended up with a pan of mushy, prune-flavoured pudding. Though surely popular with the nursing-home crowd, the dish was as firm and attractive as the latest incarnation of Britney Spears.
My friends were very supportive, rolling it around in their mouths while trying to think of just the right word to describe my culinary disaster. “Very prune-y,” one brave friend ventured through a forced smile. I wasn’t put off. I knew I had done a pretty good job for a novice.
Health by Chocolate is not only a lovely book filled with beautiful photos of mouth-watering drinks, puddings, cakes and cookies, it’s a tribute to the joy of recapturing a guilt-free relationship with one of nature’s most pure foods. With careful attention to detail, Laine brings her experience as a nutrition counselor, a wellness instructor and yoga teacher together in her first book. At $24.95, it’s an ideal gift for the holiday season, or a perfect excuse to bake for the ones you love. V
Cookbook
Health by Chocolate
By Victoria Laine
OwL Medicine Books 2008, $24.95
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