What’s On My Bookshelf – Blast From the Past Edition

On November 20, 2021November 19, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Hmmm?, Read Books, What's On Your Bookshelf80 Comments

You know, I really should have predicted this would happen. I’ve been going on almost-weekly adventures with this woman, and by now I should know by now not to open my mouth around her. Case in point: we were idly browsing a favourite thrift store prior to embarking on a soggy beach walk, and I happened to notice a cook book that I used to own, placed on a table right at the front of the store. This book DID NOT – I repeat – DID NOT make the cut when I was packing for my move to the island. Seeing it in the thrift store, I had a momentary ~~failing~~ ~~weakness~~ flood of nostalgia as I gazed upon its cover – recalling flipping through it during many a Christmas Past. I remember looking for inspiration or maybe it was just an escape from the chaos that was that season at my house what with 2 young children, no money, an insufferable monster-in-law, and an unsupportive spouse. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget rampant consumerism and commercialization spoiling the season too...

Is it any surprise that my formerly insane love of this holiday got permanently squashed like a creepy bug on the bathroom floor?

Anywho…there I go digressing AGAIN. The point of my story (and this post) is that I resisted re-buying this book even though the store clerk was helpfully pointing out that it was ONLY A DOLLAR and YET somehow, someway I ended up leaving the store with this book…thanks to Donna sneakily adding it to her purchase and immediately thrusting it into my hands! I pretended to be exasperated with her (how can anyone be pissed at Donna though, really?) but secretly I was looking forward to paging through the book once more…

The book was just as wonderful and aspirational/inspirational as I remembered it. Here is the only recipe that I recall actually trying.

The kids and I made these ornaments. I remember them smelling wonderful; even the following year when they were brought out again and rehung on the tree!

As I was flipping through the book, I kept finding pieces of paper stuck between the pages. Like these: not 1, but 2 printed copies of some woman’s fruitcake recipe.

Gosh! Two copies. Is this a sign that I should try this one?! I’m a bit *suspish*, as the pages are too clean. (A clear sign the recipe has not actually been attempted, in my view 😉 ).

One copy of the recipe was stuck between these 2 pages, see photo below. This recipe looks good too.

And then I found this piece of paper: a couple of recipes cut out from a newspaper.

No indication of date or what newspaper it came from.

But the most surprising find of all? Not a piece of paper but this recipe:

Can we take a moment to remember last Christmas’s Black Forest Trifle kerfuffle? Here is the link. Now I have the source recipe once again, it seems.

But I don’t want to attempt it again this year. The wounds are yet too fresh. However, I have been thinking about making a fruit cake (again). Those wounds have healed over, apparently. Remember this near-disaster, also from last year?

Readers, I need your help (and your votes). The poll will close on November 30th. Help a badass out, will ya?

Thank you, Donna! ~~I may curse your name later but for now~~ I am really happy you ignored my babblings about how I was not going to buy this ~~damn~~ book again, and instead bought it for me.

Rock on,

The WB

500 Posts!!!!

On November 18, 2021November 17, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Blogging, Good Times, Hmmm?, What's On Your Plate59 Comments

Dear Bloggie,

I have known for some time now that we were approaching the magical event of having 500 posts published. And I had promised myself that I would make a big deal about it. And I was counting it down, from about #493 until, well NOW.

So imagine my surprise when I realized – only AFTER yesterday’s post went live – that it was indeed post #500. And that I had completely missed it.

Well, fear not my faithful long-suffering ~~blogge~~ friend….It is Not. Too. Late.

Inspired and informed by fellow blogger Rivergirl, may I present to you and all my readers: a piecaken (dessert’s answer to the turducken) that I had made just for this wondrous occasion! 😉

From the Food Network. My teeth ache just looking at it. Not going to appear as a #WOYPBC post anytime soon.

Here’s what a piecaken (Thanksgiving version) is comprised of:

In other words, a fat and sugar bomb. A conglomeration of pie and cake ~~what, no pudding?~~. *Not that anything is wrong with that!* Why take multiple trips to the dessert bar when you can put a slice of this beauty on your buffet plate instead?

Anywhoodle, I digress ~~as usual~~.

Back to you, Dear Bloggie…I apologize for having missed this momentous…uh…moment. ~~(But only by one day, so can you give me a break?).~~ I also apologize for having taken so long to get here. Despite you being in existence for over 12 years now (yup, missed that one too), it has taken me until now to get to this milestone.

I spent a lotta years in Crazytown (as the Mayor, no less) and the lack of blogging during that time is the proof in the ~~pudding~~ piecaken of that.

So please accept this piecaken as my sweet attempt to make up for all the lost years and forgotten milestones. Enjoy! ~~And don’t come crying to me when your teeth hurt.~~

Rock ever onwards, to the next 500 posts!

The WB

Wordless (Almost) Wednesday – What Is That Bright Ball In The Sky?

On November 17, 2021November 16, 2021 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors55 Comments

Today the sun came out. Why is that exciting, you may well ask. Since Saturday afternoon, here on Vancouver Island we have been experiencing what meteorologists have dubbed an “atmospheric river”. If you can picture a river flowing overhead and ~~leaking river water~~ dropping rain all along the way non-stop, well…that’s been exactly it. Leading to rainfall records being broken for the province, people being trapped in their cars on washed out or flooded out roads, and mass evacuations.

It has been quite the weather-event year for British Columbians – a heat dome, a summer-long drought, forest fires, and now flooding and mudslides.

I have been lucky where I live, having escaped the worst of the effects on the land. And lucky enough to get out today and enjoy the sun at Neck Point Park. Here are some photos.

Here they are. (Using “they” as I do not know the gender).

The land is still draining, and created this pixie-scaled waterfall, seemingly coming from a cavern within the tree.

More rain is in the forecast. This is supposed to be our only completely dry and sunny day this week. What is the weather like where you live?

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Not My Typical Beef Stew Edition

On November 3, 2021November 1, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate64 Comments

~~It was a dark and stormy night.~~ The weather approaching Halloween had turned cold, dark and rainy. That means one thing and one thing only at Chez Badass Kitchen…it’s time for comfort foods! And I had developed a hankering for a good ol’ fashioned beef stew in the slow cooker. That I don’t really use a recipe for, as I generally throw things in the pot and hope for the best. I didn’t want to do that this time, so I found this recipe on Ye Olde Interwebs and gave it a whirl with some great veggies that I had picked up at a farmers’ market.

They look even cooler, peeled and chopped.

They look kinda *Yukon Gold*-ish to me, when sliced open.

The recipe called for some unusual spices for a beef stew, in my opinion. Including smoked paprika, mustard and my ~~nemesis~~ a bay leaf. I tried to remember what I hated so much about bay leaves but I’ve been avoiding them for so long that I kinda forget. I got to thinking this after my last WOYP post, where I dissed this ingredient. I thought it was time to revisit ~~my nemesis~~ the bay leaf.

ATTENTION: A bay leaf has entered the slow cooker. I repeat: A BAY LEAF HAS ENTERED THE SLOW COOKER.

Seashell Jesus says “Gurl, you sure about this?” Bettie Page the Kitchen Aid says “No Comment”. Ditto for Alexa (far left). All are crowded around to witness this strange event.

Fast forward to 8 hours later (on low). The stew turned out quite nice, actually. Although I am not sure about the smoked paprika. I think next time I will just add regular paprika. Turns out smoky beef stew is not my jam. And as for ~~my nemesis~~ the bay leaf? I couldn’t pick out what it had contributed to the stew’s flavour so I guess bay leaves are back on the menu (and in the spice cabinet). Who knew?!?!

“*I’m ready for my closeup, Ms. Badass*.”

As always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post (or both, if you are so inclined!). Please check out Donna’s post, here. It’s a winner!

Remember: if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tags #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge or #woypbc so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Rock on,

The WB

Silent Samhain Sunday

On October 31, 2021 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors32 Comments

It is a beautiful day so I walked down to the beach. Across the street I saw the grounds maintenance crew hard at work. 😉

I had brought some local (from the community of Cedar) honey, to leave as an offering for the spirits of the ancestors of this land. Tis the season, after all.

I left a similar offering for the spirits of the land itself.

I was also looking for a hag stone (stone with a naturally occurring hole). No luck. Does a hag oyster shell count? 😉

There was most of a dead Pacific octopus on the shore.

As to be expected, there were people both in and on the water.

However you choose to celebrate this time, I hope it is wonderful. Happy Halloween!

Rock on,

The WB

Too Much Information?: A Bidet Story

On October 25, 2021October 25, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Hmmm?, Home Improvement63 Comments

WARNING: Please click away if your nerves are far too delicate to read about bathrooms and associated functions.

Remember back at the beginning of the pandemic when everyone was losing their minds and all sorts of craziness was happening? We were all so scared and unsure of what was going to happen next. And some scoundrels tried to buy up all the essentials, leading to shortages of everything and the people were going on Facebook to beg for toilet paper AS THERE WAS NONE TO BE HAD IN ALL THE LAND? Yeah, thanks a lot hoarders! Gone through your stockpile(s) yet, jerkwads?

Scene at my local grocery store in March 2020.

Well, around that time I began chatting regularly online with a bunch of blogger friends via Zoom and the topic of bidets came up during one session, and how great they were to use and – especially – how you didn’t need all that much toilet paper if you used one. I remember researching bidets at that time – along with the rest of the universe, apparently – and although I could find information on them, there were none to be had as demand has far outstripped supply. Go figure. Sigh. Turns out I had just enough TP to get me through until the shelves were restocked, so I promptly forgot all about bidets once the GREAT TP SHORTAGE OF 2020 was over.

Fast forward to present day: I somehow severely ~~fucked up~~ strained my back muscles last week. I could hardly move and when I absolutely had to move it was groan-out-loud painful (sorry, neighbours!). We are talking A STRUGGLE to put on socks and underwear, and to get from lying down to sitting to standing and vice versa.

And did you know how much you need to involve your back muscles in order to thoroughly wipe your nether regions clean after using the toilet? Let me elucidate you, in case you didn’t already know: IT’S A LOT, ACTUALLY. IT’S QUITE A LOT.

I was ~~bitching~~ ~~complaining~~ chatting about this very thing with my massage therapist this past week when she said those 3 magic words that sent me running back to Amazon: GET A BIDET.

This baby arrived yesterday. Amazon’s Choice, with thousands of great ratings. *Thousands upon thousands of happy butts!*

I bravely started to do the install after reading the instructions and putting my talented son-in-law on speed dial, just in case.

And then, dear Badassians, it all went ~~to shit~~ wrong. Trying to affix the t-valve to the toilet tank….water leaking everywhere once I turned it back on! So I undid everything and tried to put the toilet back together as it was before I started messing with it. No good. Still spraying water everywhere. I shut the water valve off yet again and frantically called the SIL, who came right over and diagnosed the problem!

First – as I suspected – it was partly the blame of the shitty plastic wrench included in the kit. Although I thought I was behaving like a pretty poor workman blaming the tool and all that, but whatevs. Second – and completely related to the first – when I was tightening the t-valve I was loosening the fitting coming from the toilet at the same time. Thankfully SIL came prepared with a REAL wrench and his big man hands and a less sore back than mine, and soon there was this:

After thanking SIL profusely and seeing him out the door, it was time to take Ye Olde Bidet for its (and my) maiden voyage. I want to say it was a dry run, as I didn’t actually need to use the facilities, but “dry” is not the right word when describing how a bidet is supposed to work.

With great trepidation, I reached down to the dial at my side.

Note to self: be careful not to dial it up too fast, lest it get downright invasive!

It has taken some finessing (one must develop a technique; some skill, as it were), but overall I am quite happy with this upgrade to Ye Olde Water Closet. In the succinct ~~words~~ word of someone named Brad (see quote on box, above), this bidet addition is:

“FANTASSTIC!’

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Bookshelf – When Books Make You Shop…er… Work Edition

On October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Artistic Endeavours, Read Books, What's On Your Bookshelf70 Comments

Usually reading is a very passive thing. That’s why we like to do it, amiright? One can escape into a book and leave the present world behind…at least for a little while. I love those kinds of books, especially for the past 18 months since we have pretty much all had to assume the role of armchair travellers if we wanted to get someplace different.

But for the past few weeks, I have been diving into a book that is making me sit down and paint. I bought Everyday Watercolor back when I was still working for a living…thinking I would find the time to do the exercises every day. Well, that never happened (quelle surprise!) yet somehow this book made the cut and got packed to come with me to my new home on Vancouver Island.

I have to hold the cover down as I’ve been weighting it down with objects to keep it laying flat while I work through the exercises.

I’ve been making s-l-o-w but steady progress through this book (hindered somewhat by a strained back that makes sitting forward to paint – or blog – quite fatiguing). I am enjoying it. So much so that I have been ~~tempted~~ ~~seduced~~ ~~forced~~ inspired to shop for more watercolour painting supplies (See Princeton brushes, above! Thanks to Karen, for telling me about these!).

For instance, this beautiful palette of Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints (Thanks again to Karen, for introducing me to these paints as well!):

Swatching the colours in the conveniently provided chart, inside the lid. You can buy this palette on Amazon.

And these gorgeous colours, “Northern Lights” by Indigenous-owned company Beam Paints (Thanks yet again to Karen, for making me aware of this company…uh, I think. Hmmmm. 😉 ):

I love their commitment to avoiding any and all plastics in their packaging.

I like that the paints are made from local (to them) and natural ingredients. But that doesn’t make them safe to consume. Be safe:

Kinda sad that this needs to be stated. Besides, these paints would make a pretty expensive snack!

Here’s what they look like, in my workbook:

Close-up:

Such a beautiful shimmer, created by the mica in their paint.

Have you ever used a book that helped you learn a skill, with daily exercises? Did it make you ~~shop~~ better? I can see some improvement already and am encouraged to keep up with this, as my back ~~(and credit card)~~ allows.

Thank you to Donna et al, for providing this interesting monthly blog challenge! And thanks to Karen, for helping me to drain my bank account and increase the art supplies hoard. 😉

Rock (and paint) on,

The WB

There Are No Bad Days Hiking…

On October 13, 2021October 13, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, The Great Trail49 Comments

…only bad gear and bad attitudes.

Luckily we brought both the good gear and the good attitudes to this rainy day hike.

I wore my bear bell, just in case (not needed on this hike, fortunately).

Known as “The Abyss”. Apparently caused by an earthquake in the 1940s.

It’s quite deep but not very wide. However, sometimes small dogs fall into it and have to be rescued.

There were many other stunning sights and views, even in the rain and mist.

I think this is called bristly beard lichen.

Beautiful foliage. So many shades of green.

Misty view of Nanaimo and the Salish Sea.

Donna capturing the view looking east from the ridge.

Hawthorn. We were also this dripping wet during our hike. 🙂

I’m so glad we got out on this trail, despite the wet weather.

Rock on,

The WB

Giving Thanks Today

On October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors30 Comments

For the sun lighting up the changing leaves

For someone to share the mysterious woods with

For beautiful, musical spawning streams and rivers

For witnessing the annual chum salmon run

For learning more about the salmonid species that inhabit the rivers and seas

For fish tacos and Jarritos at Tidal Tacos

For sneaky, cheeky birds eyeing our lunch

For the beauty of a Vancouver Island autumn

For Thanksgiving gatherings with family and friends

For life and for health; for everything!

Rock on gratefully,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Soup Weather Edition

On October 6, 2021October 4, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate41 Comments

Well, the weather outside is not exactly frightful…but it has changed and fall is definitely in the air. At Chez Badass, that means it is that special time of year once again. Oh yeah baby – I’m talking about Soup Weather! I like to make lots of different soups once the weather cools down…and one of my favourites is Lemon Chicken Soup.

I base my soup on this recipe: Yum & Yummer’s Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo but I use rice instead of orzo and spice it differently ~~because I am lazy like that and I hate bay leaves~~ according to my preferences.

Assembling some of the first ingredients needed, and using the actual recipe for guidance.

Chop onion, carrot, garlic (I use the already minced stuff) and celery and sauté in olive oil until onion is soft and translucent. (I don’t measure. I just chop till it looks like enough, to me.)Then add the seasoning. I like Italian seasoning for my soups. ~~I put that shit on everything.~~ Again, I don’t measure. I just shake it on till it seems like enough. I can always add more later.

Then I prepare the chicken stock. Since I don’t have a big freezer anymore, I no longer have homemade stock on hand. This is the next best thing, I have found.

I usually make about 6 cups worth of bouillon to go into this soup. Then I get to work on the lemon. Best to have it at room temperature – makes it easier to get the juice out ~~or so I’ve been told.~~

Zest BEFORE juicing. I can’t stress this enough. It is so much harder to zest a juiced lemon ~~not that I would know anything about that~~. This recipe calls for 1/4 cup lemon juice. I managed to get just that amount from my lemon.

Cut zested lemon in half and juice that rascal!

Add lemon juice and zest to the soup. Then I add the rice (1/2 cup). I have used brown and basmati, in the past. This time I used arborio, just for a change. You could add whatever starch you like to this recipe. Barley, noodles, potatoes…anything (or nothing) would be good. Go crazy!

Sometimes (like this time) I add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric for colour.

I had previously cooked and chopped up chicken breasts in the freezer, so that got added to the soup.

I took the chicken out of the bag before adding it to the soup. *Just to make that clear.* 😉

Let everybody in the soup pot commingle and get to know each other for about 20 minutes or so while things are simmering.

Did you notice that freshly baked loaf of rustic bread in the table shot? I sure did. I also adjusted the recipe a bit – now I only use 1/4 tsp yeast, add an extra 1/3 cup of flour and let it rise for 18 hours. Even better!

That’s some ooo-ey chewy goodness, right there!

Remember: if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tags #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge or #woypbc so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Rock on,

The WB