At the beginning, there was Chocolate.

Hi there, food bloggers and food blog readers!

I've been tossing around the idea of starting a food blog of my very own for - well, years now.  And when you get to know me you'll learn that I really am the most indecisive person there is.  I like to think about things, make up my mind, then change it five seconds later.  This happens pretty much all the time.

I'm Li.  Nice to meet you.

I should probably say more about myself.  Well then... I'm a college girl, hailing from the sunny Down Under (do people even call it that anymore?  It's Australia, just in case you don't keep up with old fashioned phrases like me).  Law student and English Lit student; both, because I can't make up my mind.  Introvert.  Coffee junkie.  Psychology quizzes say I'm a peacemaker, whatever that is.  But the Arts student side of me likes to be alternate and refuses to be labelled, so forget all that.

Oh, and I like to bake and whatnot, apparently.

This blog is my way of combining my love to write and my passion to bake. Which is really what food blogs are all about, right?

I may also have a thing for experimenting with poetry.  Forgive me.

Okay.  The recipe.  I thought I'd start with sweet and simple.  And chocolate.  Chocolate makes the world go round.

So let's talk chocolate snaps.

Or to be more exact, chocolate snaps with sea salt, caramelized almonds and crushed pistachios.

Sound good?  I thought so too.  It helps that it comes from the incredible Nigel Slater, who is one of my food heroes.

It's so easy, it almost isn't a recipe.

You'll need some salty sea flakes.  Or sea salt flakes.  Whatever you like to call 'em.  I use Maldon.

Chop up some pistachios.  I love their bright green color.

Toast some almonds, then sprinkle some caster sugar on them and pop them back into the oven to get golden and caramelized.  They provide sudden bursts of sugary sweetness on your tongue to contrast the bittersweet chocolate.

Ladle small pools of melted chocolate onto a tray.  I love my mini-ladle, but for those of you who are normal and don't go around buying miniature sized kitchen tools, a spoon works just as well.  [Apologies for the terrible shot here, but it's difficult to hold the camera with one hand and still attempt to spoon an even layer of chocolate with the other.]

Sprinkle on pistachios, almonds and sea salt.  Yes, in that order.  Then pop them in the fridge to set for about half an hour.

And you're done!  Enjoy.  I hope you'll be back to visit my blog soon.

Chocolate Snaps with Nuts and Sea Salt
Recipe adapted from Nigel Slater

100g good quality dark chocolate
1/4 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
1/4 cup flaked almonds
2 tbsp caster sugar
Flaked sea salt

Toast the flaked almonds in the oven (around 180C) for about five minutes.  Keep an eye on them because ovens vary and they go from toasted to burnt really quickly.  Remove from oven, sprinkle over caster sugar and return to the oven for a further minute.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.  When the chocolate is melted, spoon or ladle disc shapes onto a lined baking sheet.  Working quickly, scatter over a small amount of pistachios and almonds over each disc.  Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, then chill the tray in the fridge for about 20 minutes, or until the chocolate is firm.  Carefully peel the snaps away from the paper and serve.