Miniature chocolate mud pies

Little pieces of chocolate heaven

from Rose Reisman’s Family Favourites

Serves 12

These are the best-selling desserts at Rose Reisman Catering.They are so dense, they will put you into chocolate heaven. You will never believe they are lower fat. Drizzle with melted chocolate for an extra special touch.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs, 1 Tbsp water and oil until mixed. Divide and pat into the bottom of the muffin tins.

3. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips, 2 Tbsp hot water and coffee. Microwave for 40 seconds on High or just until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until smooth.

4. In the bowl of a food processor, add the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, corn syrup and vanilla. Purée until smooth. Add the chocolate mixture and purée until smooth. Divide among the muffin cups and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or just until the centers are still slightly loose. Cool and chill at least 2 hours before serving. Carefully remove from the tin with a knife. Decorate with icing sugar.

per serving Calories 220 • Protein 3.6 g • Carbohydrates 30 g • Fiber 1.5 g • Total fat 5.8 g • Saturated fat 2.1 g • Cholesterol 23 mg • Sodium 62 mg • prep time 15 minutes • bake time 12 minutes • make ahead: can be baked 2 days in advance and refrigerated.

• nutrition watch There is increasing evidence that compounds in chocolate (dark chocolate) may beneficially affect cardiovascular health.

Fast Food Nation

A dose of reality

Fast food … definitely not for me. Having just watched this movie, I’m even more convinced that fast food is a fast way to poor health. It’s not just that the planet suffers from the tree clearance to create feed lots, or that the biological waste from massive feedlots hosting thousands upon thousands of cattle gets into the rivers and lakes.

It’s not only that the highly processed ingredients, posing as ‘food’, challenge our health.

This movie – surprisingly – doesn’t focus on the obesity epidemic. It highlights the conditions (in a United States processing plant)  in which hamburger meat is produced. Staffed by poorly trained, underpaid migrant workers operating in awful conditions under management that focuses only on the bottom line, it’s tough to watch as the story unfolds. It’s what happens in the killing rooms that got my attention – you just know something awful is going to happen.

This is not, however, a movie review. And, yes, I acknowledge that it was a story created by film makers. However, it is based on the non-fiction work Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2001, a book by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser.

It was a lot of food for thought. Not the least of which is that there may be cow faecal matter in burger meat.

The last time I had a burger was four years ago. The next time I have a burger, it’s going to be made from a piece of steak, from a single animal, that I grind at home. That’s if I ever venture to eat meat that isn’t organically raised, or organically killed and processed.

If you’re interested in knowing more about what happens to your food before it gets to the supermarket, I recommend a book by Felicity Lawrence, called “Not on the Label”. You may never eat factory farmed chicken or shrimp from Asia again.

The more I learn about food handling, the less I want to eat processed foods. Makes you want to be a vegetarian.