BROWNIE QUEST

(the brownie and the eater -- Sunday happiness)

D and I are drawn to chocolatey objects like moths to a flame. Every ounce of self-preservation and "good" eating habits are thrown out the window every single day with my fellow sweet-seeking gourmand. Each morning, I virtuously think this will be the day I pass by the Gujarati sweet shop, Portuguese Pastelaria (cake bakery), ice cream cart or hotel serving fancy things without indulging. So far, in the 4 1/2 years we've known each other, this thought train hasn't sailed-- this idea that I'll just pass those places and delicious items by. What a shame. I know myself better! I'm so easily derailed, it's stupid-- I say "okay" without a moment's hesitation. We often find ourselves musing, so many sweets, so little time. I attribute this habit to my beloved Grandma Ruth, who as far as I could tell as a kid, survived solely off hard boiled eggs, hard candy and chocolate cake-- the holy trinity of food groups. Grandmother's know best . . .

This particular brownie, the 4th on our quest, hails from the Goa Marriott, directly across the street from our apartment. It was interesting and pretty far removed from anything we call a brownie in the US. First off, it had cookies on top and a thin crust covering the bottom, secondly -- it had the consistency of molten lava style flourless chocolate cake, third, it had thin apple slices resting beneath the frosting goo near the cookies. Overall, it was a confection that had HEARD of a brownie, but definitely had strayed a great distance from Brownie-dom. . .

I've found the Indian taste level of any dessert to be VERY sweet, hurt your teeth sweet, so when they do a western-style dessert, they go way overboard with the sugar. I know it's a broad generalization, but in all of our dabbling (and there has been considerable research between the two tasters), this has been the case, 100%. And they do not use enough cocoa powder in their chocolate items -- it wants to taste like chocolate, but--tragedy--it doesn't get there. It's just a different palette -- a preference for nuts, fruit jellies and coconut in dessert and that intense sweetness. Needless to say, the brownie was still eaten and our bellies told us ENOUGH -- and my heart said, don't fret . . . there will be another something to try tomorrow...