I wouldn't change a thing.
Um, except that I desperately wish that there was such a thing as cleaning fairies. And laundry elves. And it would be awesome if the kids could learn their manners without me having to turn into the poster child for nagging. And I wish I had more pistachios in the pantry so that I could make another batch of this bark.
I have a soft spot for pistachios anyway, but a recipe that includes dark chocolate, pistaschios, and sea salt is nothing short of genie-style wish-granting. I saw a picture of this in Whole Living last month, and I flagged the page, but then the unfinished magazine found itself buried unceremoniously within a disorganized pile of other reading materials, and then I got behind on some work, and the dishes needed to be done, and Princess Hazelnut started taking ballet lessons, and we got busy with field trips and science projects and, well, the sad truth is I just forgot about it.
That's right. I forgot about a recipe for Dark Chocolate Pistachio Bark. I hardly recognize myself.
Lately though, we seem to be getting better settled into the current rhythm of our life. My new clients have become more familiar to me now, and I have reached some sort of truce with the household duties as to what is crucial (clean underwear) and what should be tolerated (popcorn and roasted garbanzos for dinner, anyone?).
Priorities are key, you understand, and by relaxing some of my more obsessive-compulsive standards, time was freed up last week for making a batch of this Dark Chocolate Pistachio Bark after the kids had finally, blessedly, gone to sleep. Trust me, all manner of shoddy housekeeping can be overlooked when this sort of obscene deliciousness is at your fingertips. The recipe only takes about 10 minutes to pull together, roughly the same amount of time you could spend, say, sweeping your living room or folding and putting away a load of clothes.
You tell me which will have the biggest impact on your happiness.
Since there are only three ingredients used, the beauty is in the purity and simplicity of the finished product. The richness of the chocolate, the texture of the individual flakes of sea salt, and the flavor of the nuts are all there is. And they are all you need to achieve a new standard of decadence. There is no added fat and no added sweetener to muddy the waters or to mask the individual flavors, and, if you look at it just right, that small detail makes it almost healthy.
You're welcome.
*****
DARK CHOCOLATE PISTACHIO BARK (adapted from Whole Living, serves 6 if you're lucky)
- 8 oz high-quality dark chocolate (70% cacao), melted
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped (or whatever nut you prefer)
- 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
- Line an 8-inch pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Pour melted chocolate into pan, and smooth with a spatula.
- Sprinkled with pistachios and sea salt.
- Chill in fridge until completely set, about 30 minutes.
- Peel off paper, and break into pieces.
