Lousy Spring weather and a yogurt parfait to drown that inner voice that keeps begging for chocolate

I'm positively tired of this weather. It keeps dragging my energy levels down, along with my good moods, all this grey, all this rain, all this darkness. It makes me want to curl up reading or binge watching bad horror movies, or write lousy novels featuring vampires and witches, and I cannot say there has not been a bit too much of that going on here lately...

But I shouldn't complain, because life has been pretty good, lately, despite all the set backs - I am so used to these by now that I see them as normal - and the worries. There has been a lot of ingredients to play with, and the disposition to cook with them. There have been bouts of creativity where things get done, beautifully done, if I may say so myself, and there has been a sweet loosing track of time while writing. There's also been a bout of Spring allergies like I never saw in my life before, but we'll leave that one aside for now, shall we?

There has been also a lot of nuts, hazelnuts being center stage, along with wild cravings of chocolate and creamy, thick, fresh desserts. I have also been craving chilled wines, white and rosé and good portuguese green wines. But the weather does not comply. Cold, and dark, and grey outside. Rain. Who wants to drink chilled beverages when one's fingers are numb from the cold, who wants to gorge on salads when one's stomach is begging for a good cauliflower and tomato stew, who wants to eat icecream for dessert when one's body longs for a hot of the oven apple crumble? I do, that's who.

Just last Friday, when I went to pick up my son for lunch, that fifteen minute walk from his school to our home left us drenched to the bone. The rain was that hard and that heavy! It was unreal, the road looked like a wild rapids' river, the clothes on our backs and the boots on our feet not enough to keep away the outpour of water coming down from the skies. Enough to leave anyone in a sour mood the rest of the day. Enough to have me keeping the kid home after lunch, for fear that he might get another wetting, that's how hard the rain was. I hate having him skip school, but somedays it cannot be helped. Friday was one of those days.

But then on Saturday, it was warmer than we expected and we sweated and heaved inside our Winter clothes as we hunted down the mall for a birthdy gift for one of our nephews. And Sunday it was glorious, and warm. The sun was shining outside and the temperatures were warm and good enough to wear a blouse and a pair of flimsy shoes on my feet. Good enough to have my boy go play outside with his cousins, and come back up all red and sweating and thirsty and smiling and happy. I need days like that. The kid needs days like that. Days where the thought of a chocolate and yogurt parfait does not sound preposterous.

The moment I came across these parfaits on Heather's blog, Flourishing Foodie, I knew I would have to get a version of these for myself. I was actually salivating as I was reading her post, and I craved a fix of chocolate so bad I could hardly control myself. So, as soon as I managed to get all the ingredients I wanted in my kitchen, I dove into it. My recipe is a bit different, as it has one ripe banana added to the rest, and I made a quantity only fitting for one serving. I'm sefish that way, plus, I was pretty certain I would be the only family mamber craving this wonder. This chocolatey wonder.

So, without further ado, here it is, a parfait that is perfect for one:

• one pot of natural yogurt
• a dozen hazelnuts - yeah, I'm that specific!
• six squares of good dark chocolate, 70% cocoa or more
• one ripe banana (you can leave that one off, if you want to)

Start by melting four chocolate squares and a spoonful of yogurt. Peel and slice the banana and throw it into the blender with the rest of the yogurt. Blitz. Add the melted chocolate and blitz some more until it's all smooth and mixed. Pour half of it into a bowl or a verrine or a glass, whatever you prefer. Roughly chop the hazelnuts, leaving about three or four intact for decoration. Chop the two remaining chocolate squares. Scatter a handful of the hazelnuts and chocolate over the yogurt mix and then pour the rest of this mix over it. Now you can scatter the rest of the chopped nuts and chocolate over the top and add the hazelnuts that you've reserved for decoration. Munch away, it's a treat that will fill you up good and calm down any chocolate cravings you might have. Perfect for certain days of the month.