Whittaker's White Raspberry Chocolate

I love chocolate! 

And I do (kind of) recognise that there is nothing particularly special in this statement . . . after all, does not everybody love chocolate? 

However, I maintain that my relationship with chocolate is a special one. Chocolate has been by my side as long as I can remember. It has been with me through the good times and the bad. Chocolate has the ability to accentuate a fantastic day or alternately brighten a bad one.

And so over the years chocolate has been both my very best friend and (at times) my worst enemy - as I do find it hard to stop . . . struggling to maintain my self control at times!

Lucky for me my chocolate tastes have matured over time and I have narrowly avoided becoming the size of a house by learning that the best way to enjoy chocolate is in small doses . . . savoured . . . everything in moderation and all that.

Oops! That all went out the window the day I set eyes on the newest addition to the Whittaker's chocolate range, White Raspberry chocolate:

Because it is absolutely delicious . . . rich, decadent, creamy deliciousness! And all for a good cause - the New Zealand Breast Cancer Society is receiving a 20 cent donation for every block sold. 

And no, I was not out of control, I did share . . . and it was savoured, and savoured, and savoured some more. Till all that was left . . . 

. . . was the evidence!

If you haven't already tried it, I would strongly suggest that you do so. In fact, I might go so far as to insist. I can assure you, you will be left with the satisfaction of having enjoyed the taste of something truly divine. 

Whittaker's White Raspberry chocolate is available nationwide in 250g blocks, at the same price as the rest of the Whittaker's 250g range. And as you too will be supporting charity with every block you buy, why not enjoy generously, throwing moderation out the window. You know you want to!

BBQ! + blue cheese and mushroom sauce

Yesssss! Finally it is BBQ season, such a treat!

I am loving daylight savings, more time in the evenings for getting out and about, in particular chilling out while dining alfresco style on the deck. After a long winter of inactivity the BBQ has finally made its seasonal debut . . .

This recipe is for steak served with blue cheese and mushroom sauce and is pretty simple to put together considering how spectacular it tastes.

Ingredients:  (enough for four servings)

100 grams Blue cheese

100 ml Cooking cream

Small onion, chopped

Half a dozen chopped button mushrooms 

This sauce doesn't take too long to make - approximately five minutes - which is perfect considering that's about how much time it took for my Husband to perfectly cook scotch fillet steaks on the BBQ!

In a food processor blitz the blue cheese and cooking cream until smooth:

Meanwhile, in a pan brown the onion and mushrooms:

Add the blue cheese mix to the pan, stir through and heat slightly 

(takes about ten seconds!)

Serve.

See? Simple! But absolutely delicious.

 

This sauce is so versatile - you can easily change up the amount of cheese / mushrooms / cream depending on the amount of sauce you want and what you are doing with it - you don't need a lot for this dish, but you may want more if you were to use it as a pasta sauce.

In the spirit of a good old BBQ this was served with a couple of salad sides - coleslaw and a bean salad. YUM!

Lazy Sunday at the Mount

Had a lovely day wandering about the Mount today - with both the Little Big Markets and the busking festival going on it was a pretty busy day in Mt Maunganui!

Very pleased with my purchases form the Little Big Markets - including a few tasty cupcakes for afternoon tea:

Passionfruit:

And lemon curd, yum! :

Before a potter down the Mainstreet to check out the busking festival and a quick bite and cider in the sun at Astrolabe. I couldn't resist a plate of the blue cheese wontons from the small plates menu, served with a berry sauce - this was my favorite from a platter I dined on last time I visited!

Awesome way to spend the afternoon . . . feels like it is just about time to get ready to herald in the start of summer!