A few weeks ago, my mom flicked someone off. It was entertaining and mildly embarrassing. She was driving and we were leaving a busy plaza. At a two way stop sign, she slowed down when a lady in a van signaled to turn into our narrow path. My mom stayed put, there was another car coming behind us, giving us little room to move. The other lady began to make frivolous hand gestures, motioning us to back up but we didn’t budge. Soon, she began honking and even her daughter who sat in the passenger seat joined in, yelling through their window. Other cars crammed the intersection, impatiently honking. The lady finally surrendered and as they drove off, her teenage daughter, faced us and with a cold glare, twirling a forefinger to her temple, the universal sign for crazy. In prompt fashion, my mom gave her the middle finger. I beamed and couldn’t have been more proud of her.
My mom is the sweetest, gentlest person you will ever meet. She’s a great shopping companion, never refuses ice cream (especially when offered a Magnum bar), and she’s always there to comfort me whenever I need a hug. She’s my biggest fan of this blog and always willing to sample any of the sweets I make. For Mother’s Day, I took her to L’Avenue Bistro for dinner. We stuffed our bellies till we couldn’t move, I regretted not wearing stretchy pants. This is my third time eating there and definitely remains as one of my favourite places to eat in Toronto. It’s a cozy restaurant with exceptional service and consistently serves memorable dishes.
Without missing a beat, our server brought us the dessert menu. We settled on the triple chocolate terrine, which was milk, dark and white chocolate whipped with heavy cream and then frozen. To my surprise, the white chocolate had the most pleasing texture, much smoother and lighter than it’s counterparts.
As if we weren’t big enough gluttons, I made baked chocolate pudding the following night. It reminds me of a dense chocolate cake with a gooey centre, sort of like a molten lava cake enriched with extra eggs and butter. I topped it with Speculoos ice cream, dulce de leche sauce and crushed nuts, pretty much the epitome of indulgence. Mom and I ate it with our feet propped up on the ottoman, watching tv and satisfying our inner fat child.
I actually finished my portion in three (!!) sittings, it’s insanely rich with a truffle-like texture and big chocolate flavor. I even ate my leftovers cold, straight from the fridge and liked it more, it makes me think of crumbly flourless chocolate cake, something you just can't say no to.
As if we weren’t big enough gluttons, I made baked chocolate pudding the following night. It reminds me of a dense chocolate cake with a gooey centre, sort of like a molten lava cake enriched with extra eggs and butter. I topped it with Speculoos ice cream, dulce de leche sauce and crushed nuts, pretty much the epitome of indulgence. Mom and I ate it with our feet propped up on the ottoman, watching tv and satisfying our inner fat child.
