Fabulous Chocolate Bark

I was taught that good guests never arrive empty-handed.  At holiday time, I’m always looking for new homemade presents to bring instead of wine or flowers.  This year I discovered a fabulous host/hostess gift – homemade chocolate bark candy with dried fruit and nuts.

There’s a lot to love about this chocolate bark.  It’s super easy to make, no-bake, and quick too.  It’s not messy to clean up afterwards, there are endless variations, and it looks fabulous presented in a gift box or bag, surrounded by nice tissue paper.  It’s addictive too – sweet, but not cloying; unusual, but appealing to the less adventuresome eaters too.  And at less than $5 for an 8 ounce gift box or bag ($6 or $6.50 if you count the fancy box or bag), it's an inexpensive present. 

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Microwave mini-chocolate cheesecakes - easy, single serving desserts

Last week, I experimented with microwave cooking mini cheesecakes.  I promised to report back.  Bottom line - the chocolate mini cheesecakes were a success here in MotherWouldKnow-land.  My testers (daughter Eleanor and husband Kevin) liked the amount of chocolate and the overall taste.  They described the dessert as rich and tasty, but not super chocolaty.  Not bad for an experiment.    Just had a delicious spoonful, right after I took this picture.

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Microwave cooking 101

 In this weather, I’d like to live in, or at least from, the refrigerator.  (For those of you not in the Northeast US – think oven without an “off” setting.)  But there are times when you need to cook, or at least warm, your food.  And for that, you need a cook/stovetop, oven or microwave.  Especially in this weather, microwaves are useful, if you know how to use them and are aware of their limitations.     

Teaser alert. Read to the end of the post to find out what this is.

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