Thursday

Tru Love

Forgive me, gentle reader, for disappearing!! Kisses! I missed you too!!

The long and short of it is that I have been travelling and catching up with friends and family. Over the last few weeks, I have probably visited you or missed your phone call as I was driving madly, swallowing the miles between us! On the bright side, these last few weeks of craziness present irrefutable and much-needed proof that I do have a life. Yay!

Needless to add, much food has been cooked and consumed. New friends and old have joined us at the table, and almost every meal has joined hosts of others as a cherished memory.

On a recent trip to Buffalo, we stopped at Tru Teas on Elmwood Ave. Roughly speaking, Elmwood Ave is to Buffalo what Park Ave is to Rochester. Bright, vibrant and filled with a kind of youthful energy, its a great venue to shop and catch a meal. We fell in love with Tru Teas, a tranquil, crative oasis.

We tried the Steamed Vegetable Dumplings and the Mad yak Hummus and Flat Breads. Both were excellent - flavorful and well-presented. Finished things off with the Green Tea Ice Cream. It was a generous portion, served with raspberries and a sprig of mint. Absolutely delish!!


I have often asked friends for food reccomendations and Tru Teas was among many others, put together in a list, meticulously compiled and shared. Thank you so much - we could not have enjoyed ourselves more!!

Friday

The George Clooney Brownie

Be warned, gentle reader, I am about to hold forth on a topic that may elicit violent passion. The George Clooney brownie. This is a brownie thats completely charming and quite sinful. Absolutely delightful morning, noon and night. Just like George Clooney. Deep breathely.

While it is true that I have yet to meet a brownie I didn't like, I will be the first to admit that not all brownies are created equal. The idea for this one was born from Mascarpone Swirled Brownies featured in Food and Wine Magazine. The recipe is generous with butter (ahem) and does not include nutritional information. Ignorance is bliss!

Not willing to risk putting my will power to harsh tests, I halved the recipe and eliminated the mascarpone cheese. Let nothing stand between this woman and her chocolate.

Thanks to the butter and sugar in it, the brownie has that magical melt-in-the-mouth quality. Its awfully easy on the eyes - turned out a gorgeous shade of brown. Full of chocolatey richness, this brownie will tempt you out of a sunday afternoon nap, "promise you more than the Garden of Eden", ...make you all kinds of happy. Just like George Clooney!

Lets spread the love! George goes to Brownie Babe in Zurich for Brownie Babe of the Month 2!! and to DMBLGiT at Food and Paper!