I do not have a sweet tooth, and thank God for that because the appetite is quite voracious notwithstanding the aforementioned. That said,
1. Mapled & Baked Brie with Walnuts and Coronation Grapes
Those who know me know that I believe Cheese deserves the respect of having its own food group category. I’m not far off of taking a course on cheese to become an amateur Fromagier and learn how to properly pair it with wine, but until then i’ll continue to experiment as I go along my cheesy journey.
For soft cheeses, they’re typically paired nicely with sweet flavours, and Brie is at its best when slightly warmed. Use a brie baking ceramic dish, drizzle some walnuts and organic maple syrup ontop, then place it into a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Take a piece of that and place it on a crunchy cracker, with some coronation grapes on the side and you’re living like a Greek or Roman god from ancient times.
These particular cheese knives are from Henkels and I love them. I will do separate posts on both knives (German & Japanese, and why they’re both the best for different things) and Cheese (so much to cover), but for now, I’ll say German is best for cheeses. The beauty of this dish is that you can use any type of purple grapes really, and get any sort of brie with crackers of your choosing. Its nice as a euro style snack, or if you are having one or two friends over for some vino.
2. Banana Bread
I make these myself and each time seems to better than the last. Usually I sub sugar for honey or I add something like nuts, raisins or dried figs.
Just google a recipe as I feel like you can’t go wrong with any of them.
3. Oats & Honey Goat Yogurt with Pumpkin Seeds, Banana, Granola
A lovely little treat for days where you need a little kick but not too much. I love to make these with various fruit be it banana or berries, add some granola and drizzle honey ontop. Perfection.
4. Sugarfina Mini chocolates
Love to keep a box or mini eggs on hand to pop every now and then if I’m feeling like a bit of sweetness in my life. No affiliation but this is a cute little company that started in LA and can be found in 2 locations in Toronto – one on Queen street the other in Saks. All you need is one, and the box is cute.
5. Mini cupcakes
Ok, I know we don’t have cupcake dispensaries in Toronto, but we do have Prairie girl bakery and other specialty cupcake places sprinkled all across the city. And yes this is a sugary treat, but just a mini or even micro just brings joy to any day especially if it’s rainy outside and your mood is a little low. Nothing like a mini sugar blast of velvety goodness to pick you up!
6. Cheese and fruit platter
Grab whatever fruit and cheese you have in the fridge, throw a couple of crackers into a cutting board and you have a premium looking gourmet cheese platter ready to serve up and munch on as you Netflix and chills.
If you don’t know where to start, I will go into detail about how to create the perfect Wine and Cheese night in another post.