What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – GreetingsNotStale* Edition

This month I am trying to recreate a dish I was treated to several months ago, by my co-host Donna’s husband, Richard.

I enjoyed this meal so much and have been thinking about it ever since. I knew I had to try to make it again for myself. I give you HelloFresh’s Black Bean Taquitos, lovingly made by Richard:

Photo by Donna

I had to forage for the ingredients from my own pantry and refrigerator, so here is what I came up with:

I sauteed the chopped veggies (onion, garlic, yellow and red peppers) in a pan with some oil. Then added the drained and rinsed canned black beans. I found a packet of almost expired taco seasoning mix in the cupboard and tossed that in too, along with a can of Rotel brand canned tomatoes and chilis.
Putting the mixture on the tortillas and adding the cheese. I didn’t have Monterey Jack on hand, so made do with extra-sharp cheddar instead.
Ready to go in the oven.
Done! I loved how the shells got crispy at the ends.
A little salsa, a little sour cream, a wedge of lime…ready to dig in!
A delicious, hearty lunch. Definitely not as pretty as Richard’s, but every bit as tasty. Even after noshing on these for most of a week, I’m already planning to make this recipe again. I’m thinking these could also work individually frozen (before OR after going into the oven), and then to finish/reheat in the air fryer.

That’s it for me for this month…Be sure to check out Donna’s post here, and to let us know in the Comments or via the Link Party what’s on your plate! Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Rock on,

The WB

* my homemade version of HelloFresh. Get it? 😉

The Sunday Schnauzer – February Walks

We had a pretty mild February, here on Vancouver Island.

Here are some of my favourite photos, from last month.

How every walk starts, on our street. The poop bag is never let go of, no matter how pressing any other business is.
It’s hard for me to get front-facing shots of Bowser, because he likes to range ahead. So I snap one whenever I get the opportunity.
I finally got to see the wild elk herd whose tracks I come across almost every day. Here they are – quite a distance away in a farmer’s field – across the creek from where we are on the trail.
An action shot of Bowser, mid-gallop.
Bowser – probably annoyed I called for him, mid-exploration.
A rare “standing still” opportunity for a portrait shot.

We hope you had some amazing February days. Here’s to an equally-amazing March for everyone!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Another Winner Edition

I can’t praise the recipes I’ve tried at Sip and Feast enough! Every one has been a winner so far, and subject to repeat requests by my family. Here is a recipe for scalloped potatoes that I have made multiple times already since trying it.

Prepped and ready to go into the oven.
The finished dish..glorious!
What’s been on my plate this past winter. (This was actually our non-traditional Christmas dinner for 2023! My daughter wanted a break from turkey.)
Our dinner included this family favourite too.
And of course…a trifle (blueberry, made from the past summer’s pickings). No recipe here – I’ve made this so many times I just free-wheel it now 🤣.

That’s my short and sweet post for this month. I hope you’ll join my co-host Donna and myself and let us know what’s been on your plate lately, either in the Link Party or in the Comments.

INLINKZ:

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Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Fairmont Empress Edition

In December my co-host Donna and I decided to treat each other for Christmas with an experience – Christmas High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. We had already tried a couple of high teas closer to home and I knew we would eventually make our way to the Grand Dame of all high teas on the island but didn’t think it would happen so soon. Kudos to Donna for suggesting it and making it happen!

We were kinda excited to make it to the lobby of the hotel. In case there was any doubt.
High tea is always served in the upstairs Lobby Lounge. Our table (framed by potted palms and near the grand piano) was waiting for us, candles in the tea warmers already lit.
Our server Yousef brought our teas shortly after we made our selections, and instructed us on the use of the tea timer.
Yousef also offered to capture the moment of our first sips of tea.
My beautiful friend and co-host, Donna.
It was a Christmas High Tea, and the sweets tier reflected that beautifully.
The savouries were also delicious! These are just a few of them.
And the still-warm scone was absolutely amazing with clotted cream and strawberry-vanilla jam.
Donna insisted I shoot this proof of her eating Christmas cake. (It was very good and I would have gladly eaten her piece and she could have eaten my chocolate thingy…which I ended up taking home for the kids, along with Donna’s macaron.)

During our 2 hour tea we were treated to piano playing as well as carol singers. Magical! After experiencing uh..overwhelm at the size and quantity of offerings at another high tea, we were pleased to be able to consume almost everything on our tiered tray…it would have been a shame not to; everything was so pretty and delicious!

I remember having high tea at the Empress back in 2003 with my late husband (then boyfriend) and the kids. He kept asking our server for more sandwiches, which were promptly supplied! I suppose this happens, with the men people with larger appetites who partake? I wonder if extra sandwiches would still be provided now, in these different times.

It was the perfect kick-off to the fast-approaching holidays, and with the perfect companion! Of course, we found our way to the hotel’s gift shop after our tea experience, and as well as purchasing some tea and one of those cute tea timers, I found the holy grail this:

I had been looking for a new waffle weave robe for years…ever since the one I had bought on my honeymoon had become threadbare from constant use been retired. SCORE!!! Merry Christmas to me 😉. Thank you, Fairmont Empress!

Please join me and Donna in sharing what’s on your plate! Join the Link Party or let me know in the Comments. I hope you all had a wonderful December however you celebrate (or not)!

InLinkz:

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Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Feeding a Crowd Edition

I came across a recipe last month that I think is perfect for this month of celebrating, potlucks, and hosting a crowd. It’s pretty easy to make (and make ahead!), can be made vegetarian easily, is gluten-free, is a HUGE amount of food, and tastes even better the next day! What’s not to love?!

Without further ado, I give you:

Riso al Forno recipe

I made this recipe AS IS (I know…who am I?!?!) for the first go-round but I am already planning to make it again with more and different vegetables added in…and maybe (spoiler alert!) cut the recipe in half next time 😉.

The meat sauce, ready to go!
Assembled casseroles!!! If you watch the video, you will see that he makes ONE dish out of all the ingredients. I had so much food prepared, I needed to use a second casserole dish for the overflow!!! (Not a bad problem to have if you have the freezer/fridge space, though!) Sadly, Robert Plant the Fridge (he’s my tall cool one 😎) could not accommodate all this bounty so off to my daughter’s I went with it.
Out of the oven.
What’s On My Daughter’s Plate.
Closeup of all that comforting Italian delicious-ness!

This recipe is a KEEPER, in my books anyways.

As always, my co-host Donna and I are looking forward to seeing what’s been on your plates! Please check out Donna’s post where she transforms one of my garden squash into a delectable meal. Here is how to get to the link up party…and/or feel free to let me know in the Comments!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Harvest Festival Edition

The second Monday of October has been designated (since 1957) as the day Canada officially celebrates and gives thanks for the annual harvest. Although it has been recognized as an annual holiday since 1879, there wasn’t an official date to celebrate before then and sometimes it was celebrated in November instead of October. I don’t know if we ever shared the same date as American Thanksgiving however we did adopt their customs of making the meal centre around turkey, pumpkin pie, and squash!

This year’s Thanksgiving was even more special to me because it included some food that I had grown or harvested myself (which I am truly thankful for!) AND because it included a special cranberry relish made by my challenge co-host, Donna. Donna and Richard were able to join us at my daughter’s house for this special meal (another in the long list of things I am thankful for!)

Donna’s delicious cranberry relish (photo stolen from by Donna)

Kabocha squash (aka buttercup; aka Japanese pumpkin) is hands-down my favourite squash. This was my first year attempting to grow it and for some reason I had it in my mind that it was difficult to grow, or maybe that it couldn’t be grown in my climate. I’d only even seen imported kabochas in the grocery store and never seen it at farmers’ markets either so I had incorrectly surmised this. Thankfully I found some seed and took a chance, anyways! The plants ended up almost taking over my garden, like some kind of alien life force 🤣.

Kabocha squash spreading like the tentacles of an octopus all over the garden. Clearly not difficult to grow!
Most of this year’s kabocha squash harvest. One of these beauties ended up on the Thanksgiving table.

Another item featured in our harvest celebration was the blackberry! We had as a family gone blackberry picking on several occasions in August, and some of this hard-earned bounty ended up being featured in a trifle.

Blackberries from my freezer. I think most of the scars on my legs and arms from the harvesting of these have faded by now 😩 😉.
Blackberry jam made by my talented son-in-law being spread on the sherry-soaked cake as part of the assembly process for the trifle. The name on the jar says it all.

And here are some shots of the harvest feast:

Some of the dishes on the breakfast bar – turkey, stuffing, Donna’s relish, mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta, kabocha squash. Photo by Donna.
What was on our plates! Photo by Donna.
Ready to enjoy this feast! Photo by Donna.
My blackberry trifle and a fantastic pumpkin pie from the Wild Poppy (a delightful gluten-free bakery in town), for our harvest celebration dessert.

Bonus content: Last month there was some fun discussion in the Comments about my drawer of shame. I thought I would include a photo, so you have a visual…

A chaotic, chronic mishmash of mostly useful kitchen gadgets. STILL not organized.
For contrast and comparison, this is the drawer above the Drawer of Shame. Much more civilized.

That’s it for me for this month. As always, please join in the fun in the Comments section and/or join the Link Party.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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And please check out Donna’s blog, where she “goes bananas”!

Feeling thankful for all my readers and contributors to this challenge…💕🙏💕

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blogging Challenge – The Tried and True Edition

Well! This month came and went in a flash as evidenced by the lack of journal entries AND lack of progress on my To-Do list for September:

As you can see, I did take a stab at a few things, and they were mostly of the big and multi-layered variety…🙄

In my defense, my TV died suddenly at the beginning of the month and that got me to thinking all sorts of thoughts…like:

  • Do I even want to replace it if it can’t be repaired? (at this moment it looks like it is repairable)
  • If it can be repaired do I want it back in the same spot, in my studio space? (the answer is no)
  • If I move it, then that opens up all kinds of possibilities in the 2 main living spaces in my place. (at the moment, I am planning on turning a closet into a “cloffice”, freeing up more space for other things in my studio/guest space aka The Everything Room 😁)
  • Why am I piling even more projects on my To-Do list?!?!?!

Also, I received much-anticipated guests at my place part-way through the month (and we had a blast whilst together, so much so that I don’t have any pictures of what was on my plate during this time).

All of this to say: I was relying on past favourite recipes – my tried and trues – to feed myself and my houseguests.

Such as Greek potatoes and Air Fried Chicken. Both were received very well. I also made a killer beef roast in the slow cooker…no recipe, really. Just brown the meat (blade roast or cross-cut rib is best), then throw it in the slow cooker with beef broth, fresh ground pepper, lots of garlic, generous lashings of Worcestershire sauce, and let cook on low for at least 8 hours.

That’s it for me for this time! Pardon me as I have a free fireplace mantle to paint (more on that coming up on the blog if it turns out OK).

I would love to read what you’ve been eating, in the Comments. And please join my co-host Donna as she managed to put together a delicious dish in her challenging month as well!

Here is the Link Up party link, should you care to visit there:

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Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – It Came From The Garden Edition

Joanne and I returned from our fabulous trip to the west coast of the island (read about it here and here) to find this:

How do zucchini grow so fast in such a short time?!?! Rhetorical question – I know it is just their thing, to explode in size when your back is turned.

We decided to make a quick lunch, from this and other bounty from the garden. With the help of these and a can of pizza sauce:

Miracle product! Add a little pizza sauce, a little shredded mozzarella and you’ve got lunch!

I had made some quick refrigerator pickles from my pole bean bounty, before Joanne’s arrival.

And Joanne made a quick little zucchini salad using olive oil, vinegar, garlic…and oregano and chives from my garden.

Joanne’s plate – with an almost basic Margherita pizza (she added some shredded salami) – the basil came from my garden
My plate – basically the same except I added a cremini mushroom to my pizza and decided against the salami.
A quick and delicious al fresco lunch. With the clothes from our recent trip freshly laundered and drying in the background 🤭.

That’s it for me! And Donna is off hiking in Portugal with her husband, so no Link Party this month. She wrote about what was on her plate here before she abandoned me left.

Please let me know in the Comments what was on your plate this past month! As always, I look forward to them.

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – It Came Out Of A Jar Edition

🎵Summertime….and the living is easy BUSY🎵

All of this stuff is happening around Chez Badass, all at the same time. The weather has been hot and super sunny, the garden is going gangbusters, the grandkids are here, nature is calling, the wild berries are ripening, AND I am undergoing some long awaited renovations (of my 2nd bathroom and my entryway). Whew!

What’s a gal to do, with all this mayhem happening ALL at the same time? Turn to the pantry (or in this case, her daughter’s pantry 😉), that’s what to do!

I had some long-suffering frozen shrimp thawing in the fridge and we combined that with a jar of sauce, some frozen mango chunks, chopped onions, and these babies:

Fresh picked pole beans from my backyard!
Languishing jar of sauce, from my daughter’s pantry. I’ve been disappointed by jarred sauces before, so my expectations were non-existent low.
Simmering it all together. Looking (and smelling) good so far!
Dear Readers, it was unexpectedly amazingly delicious. The fam came trooping through the back garden gate – lured by the pleasing aromas wafting from the kitchen – and everyone enjoyed this hastily put together masterpiece! Now, please excuse me while I make an emergency run to the store to pick up more sauce…🤣.

So that’s it for me, for this month! Please join my co-host Donna (she lost the golf game but won at dinner!) and me in sharing what’s been on your plate lately!

Here’s the Link Party deets if you care to join the party that way:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Otherwise, I hope to see you in the Comments!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Donna-Approved Edition

Donna came over to my house last month (surprise, surprise), one of several visits actually. I forget why or what we were doing this particular time but I don’t forget what I made for lunch! Or was it supper?! 🤣

My daughter had served me this meal previously, and I not only thought it delicious but perfect for my mostly-vegetarian friend and co-host. Here is the recipe: Instant-Pot Mujadara.

I would describe this lentil and rice dish as comfort food that is easy to prepare, and quite healthy (as opposed to most comfort foods 😉). I think you could spice it up easily, if you wanted. For my first time making it (don’t you love how I make my guests my guinea pigs?), I made and served it exactly as the recipe stated. I don’t know who I am anymore either. I made it the day before so there would be less time in the kitchen and more Donna-time.

Lentils soaking.
My favourite brand of brown rice, measured out and ready for the rice cooker.
Sauteing the onions for almost 30 minutes. I stopped at about 21 minutes as I was afraid they would start to burn. Also, I was damn sick of hovering over the pot and constantly stirring.
Looking plenty caramelized to me!
Reserving half the onions for a topping.
Finished dish – ready to go in the fridge, for heating and serving the next day.
Plated with yogurt, lemon, and salad. Fresh herbs from my garden top the salad, and the mint leaves came from there too!
Donna approves of this meal. She even had seconds!

That’s what was on my plate in June! I’ll be adding this recipe to my repertoire, especially for the colder months. Please join Donna and myself in sharing what was on yours, either in the Comments or via the Link party (if you wish to link your blog post). 

Rock on,

The WB