This has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition, but before I get onto chocolate covered strawberries (mmmm!), I feel compelled to tell you about The Big Dog Walking Disaster.

We have a gorgeous golden retriever called Jasper who is absolutely head over heels in love with Princess Leia, a German shepherd. I'm sure some of you are sceptical, but it must be love, not lust, as Jasper had his "operation" a few weeks ago.

The poor lad, we did feel awful about it but it had to be done as he was getting rather, er? amorous, with his bed and most of our furniture! We thought this may also do something to subdue his feelings for Leia, but it seems not (so this must be love!) and they are still the very best of friends.

So this morning I offered to take Leia for a walk with Jasper after work. It seemed like a fun and neighbourly idea at the time and so at the end of the day, I drove them down to the Botanical Gardens in the hazy evening sunshine. Aaaah, how idyllic!

However, they must have had a tiff in the car, because once on leads in the gardens they became arch enemies. At best they were standing on their hind legs, fighting like polar bears and at worst, Princess Leia had her jaws around Jasper's neck ? despite her name she is not entirely ladylike.

I did persist, however, and at one point we were having a lovely stroll down the slope towards the "Peace On Earth" flower bed. That is, until Leia saw a sausage dog in her direction, Jasper saw a Doberman in his direction and off they both went at one hundred miles an hour. I on the other hand went head over heels and ended up on "Earth" ? quite literally. Jasper also managed to surpass himself by rolling over first some dog poo and then a dead toad, so you see it was pretty much a disaster? is it this difficult handling children?

Now I bet you're wondering how on earth I'm going to link all this to chocolate covered strawberries and it is a rather tenuous link, I admit!

But when you've just had a traumatic dog walking experience, you need a treat to cheer yourself up. This is absolutely the simplest recipe I have and it is so, so good, that you have to try it. It looks extremely impressive when it's done, so you can lap up the praise from all your friends and family, having really only been in the kitchen for 10 minutes. It's also a fairly healthy dessert as strawberries are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants such as quercitin ? all useful for protecting the heart and boosting the immune system. Dark chocolate is also lower in sugar than most milk chocolate and contains some antioxidants.

Added to that, it's an easy way to get children and other reluctant family members to eat more fruit. However, please note, these are delicious and fruit is certainly healthy, but when covered in chocolate it becomes less so (damn it!) So make them, enjoy them, but have them sparingly!

Serves at least 4

?3 100g bars of dark chocolate (I love the Endangered Species Chimpanzee Bars from Lindos, Lindt 70% or Lindt Bittersweet chocolate); 1 large punnet of Strawberries; 3 kiwis; 1 handful raisins; 1 tsp butter or margarine

Equipment:

?1 non-stick pan; 1 large or 2 small baking sheets; Waxed baking parchment

1. Melt the butter/dairy free margarine over a very low heat in a non-stick pan

2. Break up the chocolate into single pieces and add to the pan, allowing them to melt very gently (this takes about 5 minutes)

3. Meanwhile rinse the strawberries and blot with kitchen towel to remove excess water. Peel the kiwis and slice into 6 round slices. Cover a large baking sheet with waxed baking parchment.

4. When the chocolate is melted, take off the heat and tip the pan a little to one side so that it creates a pool of melted chocolate.

5. Dip each strawberry and kiwi slice in chocolate, so that is half covered in chocolate. Then place the fruit immediately on the waxed paper.

6. If you have any remaining chocolate, stir in a handful of raisins till they are covered. Then place these on the baking tray using a teaspoon. Don't worry if they are not all separated, they break apart easily when they are set.

7. Place in the fridge. The chocolate will have set in half an hour.

8. These peel off the waxed paper easily, but if you are with friends, just place the baking sheet on the table and peel off the fruit directly!

P.s. Next week I'm back on to the more serious and sensible articles, so make your chocolate strawberries while you can!

@EDITRULE:

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291 4725 or clinicalnutritiongmail.com