This mousse was invented by a scientist named Herve This. While he has many other more profound discoveries to his credit, none are as intriguing to chocoholics and lazy ass cooks like me. The guy figured out how to make a delicious dessert with just chocolate and water. It’s, uh, something about the ratio of water and air to cocoa and fat…to be honest, I was not riveted when reading the science of the recipe. I was focused on the simplicity of it.

One caveat: you need to do a few months of strength training before undertaking the amount of whisking required here. I cursed several times at the mousse and at Mr. This while I whisked. I’d go electric next time, but supposedly you have to be careful not to overbeat, or the mousse will turn to brick and you will have to melt it and start over, which would mean more cursing.

Anyway, it’s delicious, of course. Especially if, after all that damn whisking, you are willing to make one more thing: whipped cream.  Here’s the recipe.

The other good news about heaven is that you can eat all you want and not get fat or redundantly drop dead. Until I get there, however, I have to exercise restraint and only make these blondies once in a while, because if I ate as many of them as I wanted, I would end up in heaven prematurely.

But on National Blonde Brownie Day on January 22^nd, I had an excuse to indulge, and indulge I did. I may have broken a New Year’s resolution, but it was worth every crumb. Try this recipe and you’ll know what I mean.

¾ cup unsalted macadamia nuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (plus extra for the baking pan)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Butter a 8-inch square baking pan, line it with parchment paper and butter that.

2. Place the macadamia nuts on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven until golden and fragrant, about ten minutes. Allow them to cool slightly, then chop them coarsely and set them aside.

3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the sugar and let it dissolve slightly. Allow this mixture to cool slightly, then beat in the egg and the vanilla.

4. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Fold in the butter mixture just until the ingredients are combined. Fold in the macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips and coconut. Pour the batter into the baking pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is shiny, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a little batter on it. Serve the blondies warm (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you’re really going for it) or room temperature.

Yield: 9-12 blondies

Those of you who know me well have often heard me complain about the lack of seasonal change in L.A. Well, this week, when the temperature shot up over 80º and my bitch-o-meter responded accordingly, I made a New Year’s resolution to put on a new attitude.

To paraphrase Crosby, Stills and Nash, if you can’t have the season you’re supposed to be having, love the one you’re with. I’m going with the hot flow, putting aside my recipes for cozy, wintry stews and, instead, making summer pudding. (The supermarkets in L.A. always have an abundance of berries no matter how radically out of season they are elsewhere.)

In keeping with other resolutions, summer pudding is also low-fat, and works well for my lactose-intolerant daughter if she forgoes the whipped cream. It also requires no actual cooking, just assembly, which spares you cursing over a hot stove on a day when Mother Nature clearly forgot to take her meds and thinks it’s August.

Here are a few summer pudding recipes, from Ina Garten, Food52 and the L.A. Times.

It will not cure your winter/summer confusion, but it tastes so good you will think you have nothing to bitch about.