Sweet Little Nothings

With my mom visiting from Southwestern Ontario we decided to spend the weekend out and about. Of course we had a few errands to do, but we also want to just get outside and enjoy our free time. Having time for yourself seems scarce these days as there is always something to do.

Saturday we ventured to a craft fair at St Brigid’s School where I found Bez Gluten-Free. I picked up some Christmas pudding – The Honey’s family is always going on about Christmas Pudding. My nana stopped making it when her and my granddad moved to Thunder Bay and never started again after they returned. As a result, I’m not a connoisseur in this area, but The Honey is.

This pudding was moist, full of fruit and almonds, and had just a hint of brandy. With the brandy sauce, it was a great way to begin my Monday. Recently, Tara of Tea & Cookies wrote about eating dessert for breakfast and surprisingly to her, she was one of a few she knew who would (or could) eat dessert for breakfast. Like Tara, I don’t know many outside my family who do this, but in my family it’s commonplace. Those who marry into the family quickly get used to it and often become converts.

And what did The Honey think of the Christmas Pudding? He really enjoyed it. It wasn’t the same as his gramdma’s, but he said ‘Mmmm’ more than once.

Sunday we ventured to the Lansdowne winter market. I thought it would be interesting to see what it was like (and if it’s successful, it would be nice to see it return next year). We were pleased to see vendors from both the Lansdowne & Main St summer markets and picked up a few things.

The indoor environment felt different and if anything, a bit special. As we wandered around we could hear the string quartet and then some carolers creating a festive spirit, although there wasn’t a speck of snow on the ground. My mom was impressed to see not one, not two, but three gluten-free bakers. Simmone from 5 Cupcakes was there with an aray of goodies. We got a few cheese and asparagus quiches and butter tarts for lunch. They were delicious.

Her pecan pie made it home and was perfect in every way.

Later on we saw Joanna from Dolci with a variety of winter-themed cookies. Her gingerbread cookies are one of my favourites and remind me of my nana’s. Many gingerbread have too much molasses for my liking and Dolci’s have the perfect amount. I picked up a little bear (which bearly made it home), but she also does little packaged cookies.

We also happened upon Jacqui from Jacqui O’s Sweet Temptations who seems new to the scene. Her business concentrates on vegan and gf, although not always together (she also had regular flour items). Her fruitcake was beautifully decorated and I picked up some gf cookies (they were a little hit and miss).

There’s one more date left – Dec 18 – and it’ll be a perfect opportunity to pick up some special cheese and meat for the holidays, and just maybe some other things that catch my eye.