S'more Lovin'

I hope it doesn't seem like all I've been talking about lately is food. Because even if food is on my mind a lot (mainly because it's all you smell in the summer as you walk down your BBQ filled streets) I don't want to bore everyone to tears with my incessant chatter about it. I'll leave it to this post and then go on to more pressing matters (like weight loss, ha!).

But for now, I have to tell you about my love for s'mores. It goes about the same length as my love for fried dough: both seem easy to make and can be eaten year-round, even if I tend to crave them more during the sweltering summer months. I make them on the stove-top. I stick the marshmallow right into the flame and let it puff up on fire until I have to blow it out. That's the best: it's crunchy and gooey and just plain delicious.

And they're versatile! Above is a picture of s'more brownies I made for my sister's graduation party last sumer. It was real easy because you just use brownie mix over some graham crackers and then put marshmallows on top when you bake it. I think we have some kind of baking obsession in my household because my sister loves to make cupcakes and I love to make cakes. Any kind of cake, ice cream or otherwise: 

This one was especially easy because you just layered ice cream sandwiches ontop of pudding mix with little bits of oreo cookie in it. You frost it with cool whip, press foil around it and freeze until you're ready to serve! Below is a cake I made for my nephew's

 birthday this year (thank you www.bettycrocker.com) : 

Another reason I'm talking about food is because I've been looking for a job lately. My entire resume is full of food service experience and personally I am IN LOVE with literature. Not food. But you wouldn't know it by looking at my resume and that depresses me. I've worked at a few places in the Buffalo area that just had amazing selections. Such as this panini below from Diamond Hawk Golf Course (Sonwil Drive in Cheektowaga), which I bet you didn't know you could eat at without golfing, and most of the pastas at Bravo Cafe and Catering (Seneca Street in Elma). 

Of course we're in hard times and everyone is trying not to eat out as much, understandable, yet my mother is a seasoned waitress (currently at the famous Chef's downtown [side note: Won Best Italian in Artvoice's Best of Buffalo 2009: http://artvoice.com/issues/v8n19/best_of_buffalo_winners ]), so if you feel the urge to put a little discretionary money into the economy, feel free to send it her way! (Ask for Sharon M.) 

So until my first book is finally finished and awaiting some miracle of success, or until some head honcho at a major publishing firm in the beautiful NYC decides to send an entry-level position my way, I'll be steering clear of the food service industry in the nearby city of Rochester. I love you Buffalo, you're my city through and through (and I apparently have the accent to prove it). 

Until next time, be nostalgic, think about good times, and remember, home is where the heart is.

In rememberance. . .

In rememberance of my times at Brockport I was thinking about what annoyed me most during my time there. After all, it's always easier to stop missing something when you focus on the negative (which also explains the troubles with me and long-distance dating).  So when I think about all of the wonderful times I had during my 3 and a half years at SUNY Brockport, I stop and remember the complaining that others did. The number 1 complaint that I heard during my time in that tiny town was that there was nothing to do. However, I was never bored. Imagine that! I was trapped in the bubble of Brockport which only housed a Wegmans and a Wal*Mart and yet I was never bored.

How? You ask. Well, we had a thing called an events calendar (do you sense where I'm going with this? I'll skip the runaround and cut right to it: http://artvoice.com/calendar/2009/5/31 ). Also, I was a member of clubs and I held a job. I wasn't Miss School Spirit 2008 but I knew what was going on and where I wanted to be. Therefore when others complained that there was nothing to do I sighed and bit my tongue inspite of desperately screaming inside "there are a million things to do! Pay attention!" 

That's why if you live in Buffalo, NY and you think there's nothing to do I'll fill you in on something, and take it as a secret tip from me to you ... open your eyes! For instance, yesterday I went to Delaware Park (and not just for my secret people-watching hobby) and am fixated on taking up tennis again. I wish I could say "because it's so much fun" but really I have a slight obsession with The Biggest Loser and am intent on having a Fitness Magazine body before the end of summer. Tomorrow I'll be at the Buffalo Zoo (because that's where I was supposed to be yesterday, but who knew they closed at 4pm!?). 

When I'm not busy thinking about losing weight or visiting animals I'm practicing driving down the small roads surrounding Buffalo. Another secret tip: Forest Lawn Cemetary is not only beautiful, but also a great place to practice some safe and slow driving. Yes I am 21 and learning how to drive. To each her own. 

Another fun summer activity: looking at classical cars at local eateries such as Anderson's (voted best ice cream/frozen yogurt in Artvoice's Best of Buffalo 2009). 

Local fact about me and Buffalo: My mom was first married at Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful, as was she. 

Until next time, keep smiling!