Chocolate!Need I say more.......

Last night I was looking at a documentary "Chocolate Confidential" on theCBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.). It dealt with the history, politics, business and yes.....the pleasures and benefits of eating chocolate.

The doc touched again upon something I had heard before about the poor wages being paid to children in Africa who were also denied schooling. Of course, my heart went out to them when I had heard the story. I knew that I should reduce my chocolate consumption which I did somewhat since I felt that it was the best thing to do. But then Christmas came and I.....well purchased a bag of chocolates and of course a large bar which had raisins and hazelnuts......heaven. Plus, since I am vegetarian I had to of course read all of the ingredients before making any purchases. Well it didn't take long for me to polish both of them off.

A week or two later I was at the local health food store and I decided to make some changes for the better.....I purchased a bar of fair trade, organic, dark chocolate with orange and spices.....What a mouthful.......The cocoa beans were cultivated using bio diverse farming methods...sounded environmentally friendly. The bar weighed 35 grams, contained about 55% cocoa solids and cost about $1.50 with taxes...I felt good...no, let me rephrase that...I felt really good...I had done a good deed.

I tasted my first piece of fair trade, organic, dark chocolate that had cost me an arm and a leg and what do you know...it was bitter...I was terribly disappointed. I nearly cried since I had paid so much, for yes...35 grams of chocolate, a small bar compared to what I pay for my usual everyday chocolates that usually are laden with a lot of sugar, etc. to mask the bitter taste of chocolate. Well, I decided to remain calm and placed the remainder of my chocolate bar in the fridge while I contemplated what to do.

Days went by and then I had another 2 fegs of my chocolate bar...I was expecting the bitter taste again and I braced myself for it. But you know what.....it was good.....it was really good.....And then last night the doc was on and since it looked interesting I decided to watch it. I remembered that I had the remainder of the bar in my fridge. As I continued watching the doc, the experts reminded me of the numerous compounds in chocolate that were beneficial for our health including heart problems.

Of course, using all my will power, I resisted as long as I could the trek to my fridge.....the question was should I or shouldn't I.....Eventually I could resist no more, I got up and had a couple more fegs.....Great Stuff.....I put the rest of the bar in the fridge, about a half of the chocolate bar.

As I was writing the above, I had no will power left in me.....Yes, I have already devoured the other half of my fair trade, organic, dark chocolate bar with orange and spices that had cost me about a buck and a half Canadian including taxes.....Chocolate was not supposed to be so politically charged and taste so good at the same time.

It is a simple, addictive pleasure that everyone enjoy, especially women. Well, I don't know how long I will survive without any chocolates in the house. But wait, you know what, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.....Hmmmmm.....Got to get me some more chocolate.