The Easter weekend was mostly a rainy one. But we didn’t let that stop us!
Bowser is off and running, leash in mouth.
Bowser says: Try and keep up, Oma!
The trails were…ahem…a delight. 😉
Bowser was not the only one getting soaked.
Home again, and ready to dry off and put the kettle on!
We hope you are staying dry and cozy, no matter the weather!
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. I just upgraded to the newest version of WordPress and now my images don’t seem to allow captioning anymore. 😩
How’s it goin’, eh? 😁
After spending last year enjoying my Universal Yums snack box gift subscription (and blogging about it), Donna and I were inspired to dream up a Canadian version.
We started with this list and then added some items of our own. I present to you, dear reader, our Canadian snack box:
Donna created a score card for us too (isn’t she talented?!)
But first, we sat down to a lovely Canadian lunch, lovingly prepared by Donna:
Now for the contents of our Canadian “Yum Box”:
Next up was the beloved (by Canadians, anyways) Crispy Crunch. I think the American equivalent is called a Butterfinger bar.
I was surprised to learn about the Kinder Surprise Egg being banned in the US because the toy within is thought to present a danger to children. Insert snarky comment about assault rifles and school shootings here.
Next up: the infamous Ketchup flavoured chips! I remember this flavour being introduced when I was a schoolgirl. Oh, the excitement of a new flavour of chips!!!!
Mover over Ketchup, there’s a new sheriff in town: All-Dressed chips! Side note: I had thought these were also known as “storm chips” but apparently storm chips are something unique to the east coast*.
Working steadily down the list, we come upon the Hickory Stick. I have not tasted a hickory stick since I was a child, and I remember not liking the hickory smoke flavour very much back then.
Would it be a Canadian Yum Box without the Butter Tart? We think not!
Speaking of peanut butter (of which I love all things made of and associated with this product), Donna informed me that Kraft Peanut Butter is uniquely Canadian, so of course it was added to our list!
Our finished scorecard.
We hope you enjoyed this Canadian snack box post as much as we did creating it.
Now take off, eh! Good day!
Rock on,
The WB
My lovely co-host – Donna – has abandoned me taken a short blogging break so it’s just me this month running this show. It’s spring on Vancouver Island and I am out of doors as much as possible, gardening and walking/playing with my granddog, Bowser. This means I need a quick and hearty breakfast to power me through till lunch. Steel-cut oats to the rescue!
I came across an online recipe years ago for cooking steel-cut oats in the pressure cooker. I know the recipe by heart now, so forgive me please: I’ve forgotten the source.
Here goes (serves 5):
1.25 cups steel-cut oats
3.75 cups water
Pinch of salt
Place in electric pressure cooker. Stir to mix. Close lid. Cook on high for 13 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. Open lid. Stir and serve.
That’s it.
JUST KIDDING. Of course I add all kinds of stuff to this recipe!
This time I added raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg. In past versions I have added embellishments such as dates, apricots, apples, nuts, tumeric (thank you Jonathan for that tip!)…you are only limited by your imagination! Ooooh – what about shredded carrots for a carrot cake oatmeal?!?!
And the next day, when you are in a hurry to get outside?
Now, doesn’t that look better than ripping open a packet of instant oatmeal? I think so. And it tastes better too. Dare I say it’s better for you?
Well, dear readers – I look forward to your comments and seeing what’s on your plate this month. Before she went on break (literally seconds before), Donna did the InLinkz thingy for me as I am so over it refuse to fight with it any longer. Fingers crossed (as usual), that it works for you.
Rock on,
The WB
Oma said I could write this post as she is busy with “the garden”, whatever that means. I want to help in the garden too.
I think I was a good garden helper. Mommy and Oma were laughing a lot. That’s helping, right?
I hope you laugh a lot too!
Rock on,
The Bowz 🐾
There is something new just past the entrance to the trail.
People tend to throw their yard waste into this area as it looks untended and abandoned. (Actually it is owned and/or managed by a logging company.) This means that any bulbs that are discarded in the waste have a good chance of coming up…blooming where they are “planted”, as it were!
Hoping the weather is bright and warm wherever you are this weekend.
Rock on,
The WB
What do you think Bowser is trying to say here?
We hope you are getting your points across clearly this weekend.
Rock on,
The WB
Bowser’s momma took him to the “spa” recently. And then snapped this shot.
Note: I did not pose him for the 2nd photo. He did that all by himself, and luckily my phone was close to hand.
Have a lovely weekend (what’s left of it), and don’t forget to “spring forward” with your clocks.
Rock on,
The WB
The day after the big snow dump, the sun came out and so did we!
All of this snow is not typical for where I live but I have to say I am enjoying it.
We hope you are having an enjoyable weekend where you are.
Rock on,
The WB
While I was away late January/first 2 weeks of February, I got a message from my co-host Donna asking if I had a copy of that old classic: The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, that she could borrow. I knew I had bought a copy once upon a time (as part of my longstanding yearning for creating a Hippy Dream Fantasy Life (HDFL)* but I couldn’t remember if it had made the cut when I was packing to move to Vancouver Island or not. Well, when I got back home I went straight to the living room book case and yep, there it was! (Of course it had made the cut, being integral – in my mind – to the HDFL! 😁)
By this time, Donna was able to source the cookbook from another friend so it was no longer needed but I decided to flip through it anyways, just for old time’s sake. I couldn’t for the life of me remember a single recipe I had actually cooked out of this book and I couldn’t find any of my scribblings on any of the recipe pages either. Huh? This must be corrected!
I found a recipe that sounded good and – after asking Donna if it was OK that I cooked out of the same cookbook as she had done (it was) and checking that I had all most of the ingredients – I set to work!
I decided to check on the loaf at the 1 hour mark, because 90 minutes seemed like an awfully long time at 350 degrees. I was very glad I did. Sorry Molly, but I think something must have been wrong with your oven when you made this.
Changes I made to this recipe: I used gluten-free flour, so my daughter could enjoy it as well. I only had slivered almonds in-house, and not enough, so I improvised by completing the almond quotient with some almond meal. As noted, I cut the baking time down to 1 hour.
So, what’s on your plate this month? Have you ever revisited an old cookbook and wondered why you haven’t actually cooked out of it, or cooked MORE out of it? Please join myself and Donna in this month’s challenge and let us know in the Comments or the Link Party, below.
Rock on,
The WB
*Hippy Dream Fantasy Life: a term I coined to express my longing for a life that is slower, richer, more artistic and meaningful than the one I was currently living. It is not historically accurate as it encompasses a lot of things I found meaningful not just in the actual hippy time (mid to late 60s) but also the 70s. So don’t come for me, historians. I was just a tad too young to be a hippy in the 60s (to my parents’ everlasting relief) but NOW I am working on making that dream a reality. Fantasy life no more? I think so!
*Riffing off of the Rush song: By-Tor and the Snow Dog. The first time I listened to this album was when I was introduced to tequila shots, at a friend’s house. I don’t listen to this album anymore nor have I done tequila shots since (Does this even need further explanation as to why?!? 🤣).
It snowed this past week.
We hope you are enjoying your weather, whatever it happens to be.
Rock on,
The WB
