Happy Labour Day everyone! It’s the last day of summer vacation so go out and enjoy it, whether it be firing up the grill one last time, hiking to a breath-taking view, or licking up melting scoops of ice cream off a fresh waffle cone. (At the time this post goes live, I’m probably portioning out cookie dough at work, so please have extra fun for me.) I’m so deep into my summer mode that the idea of school is as blurry as my vision when I don’t wear my contacts for two days. Soon I’m going to smack into reality like a bird that didn’t see my living room window. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be giving up my shorts, ice cream, and white clothing anytime soon. Long live summer vibes!

This summer, I really did feel like I got to fully immerse myself into the carefree feeling I once felt in grade school. Free time was an actual thing and I got to fill it with spontaneous trips to the park, travelling, jumping into lakes and oceans, karaoke-ing in broad daylight, scrapbooking, and getting breakfast at bakeries early in the morning. On one particular Sunday, Chew and I had made the effort to hop on a bus to Chinatown and get our hands on some fermented baked goods from the rising local star Annabelle. 

In order to locate the small pop-up shop, we had to follow our noses. The smell of freshly baked bread pulled us onward and our tummies could hardly wait to be fed. As we stood off to the side of the front door, we were glad to see other people waiting for the bakery display to be set up with Annabelle’s artisan sourdough loaves and breakfast treats. I guess it ain’t that unusual to be lining up for fresh bread at 9am on a Sunday morning. She motioned us to come in and we were the first customers of the day, and thank goodness we were because everybody that came in after us quickly swept up the remaining kamut black charcoal loaf and hot fermented sticky buns.

The two of us gobbled up a pecan sticky bun, a chocolate blueberry sticky bun (omg this was so worth the sticky fingers), and a spelt oat scone before heading off to host our own workshop. The kamut black charcoal loaf took a trip around town with us that day and we each took half a loaf home with us at the end of the day. The texture and flavour of this loaf is phenomenal and exactly the type of bread I love; the centre is moist, dense but fluffy, while the crust is sturdy. Like outdoor activities and peanut butter, Chew has somehow influenced me to appreciate and enjoy sourdough. (I swear we need to publish a book of Chewspirations).

This post is less of a recipe and more of an idea to add to your repertoire of avocado toasts. You can use any type of bread you like but I do recommend sourdough as the sourness adds a lightness that contrasts the creamy avocado. The wasabi macadamia nuts I used were bought during my trip to Maui but you can definitely mimic the same flavour by smashing wasabi paste or powder (use sparingly at first so you don’t set a fire in your mouth) with your avocado. So on the days you need something other than salt and pepper on your avocado toast, try this slightly spicy and crunchy one!