PICNIC IDEAS WITH RUNA TEA
Last week, San Francisco had one of the hottest heat waves ever recorded. We are not equipped for scorching weather like that. Most homes here don’t have air conditioning so it’s important to find other ways to cool off. With that heat wave, I thought it would be the best time try these RUNA TEAS. This tea has a beautiful mission. The making of RUNA helps reforest the rainforest. RUNA is made from the guayusa (GWHY-YOU-SA) leaf which grows in the Amazonian rainforest. Incredibly, the cultivation of guayusa doesn’t destroy the rainforest, in fact, it’s exactly the opposite. It’s tea you can feel good about drinking! So I invited one of my best friends over to have a little girl time and try some tea with me. I put together a few cheese plates— they are my favorite! I will list my tips for creating the best cheese plates below! Anyways, this tea hit the spot. I made sure to chill them in the fridge and serve them with ice since the weather was literally making our faces melt. The flavors we tried were mint honeysuckle, guava and hibiscus berry. They were unbelievably refreshing on that hot day. I’m not usually one to drink ice tea because some can be sickening sweet, but these were just the right amount of sweetness. With San Francisco’s Indian summer coming up, I plan to stock my fridge with these refreshing teas!
Now, onto creating the perfect cheese plate. I love cheese plates because they are and easy spread to do and the options are endless. So here are my tips for creating your own beautiful cheese plate. I bought everything from Trader Joe’s!
- Choose your cheese- I like to pick at least three different cheeses. I look for different textures and flavors. For this spread I used a brie, white cheddar, pepper jack and blueberry goat cheese. You have creamy, spicy, sweet and salty all as options.
- Choose the vehicles for your cheese- a variety of crackers and breads are a must when eating cheese. For this plate I used the fig and olive crackers, whole wheat pita crackers, brioche toasts and sourdough bread. Similar to the cheeses, I look for different flavors and textures.
- Sweet snacks- salty cheese and sweet fruit make for the perfect pairing. It’s entirely up to you as to what fruit you choose to use. Apples are one of my favorite fruits to add because it tastes so good with some sharp cheddar cheese and honey. I also like to add some dried fruit for extra sweetness.
- Salty snacks- olives, almonds, salami, you name it. Meat and cheese is always a yes! These salty snacks help balance out the sweet snacks. It’s all about balance and having options!
Cheese plates are so much fun and simple. They make for the perfect picnic too! I highly recommend trying them out with some RUNA TEA!
*Thank you to RUNA TEA for sponsoring this post! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
