What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Taste Of The Island Edition

On June 7, 2023June 6, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate46 Comments

Last month I had a good friend come to visit me (and attend a work conference in Victoria, but yeah let’s say the main reason was to visit me 😉). Kalena invited me to come down to Victoria with her, and amuse myself while she was busy doing the conference thing. As I am easily amused, there could only be one response: HELL YES. So this month’s post is going to be about that time, and some of the wonderful things we ate and drank during her visit.

We made sure that a stop at The Butchart Gardens (enroute to Victoria) happened!

Ready to visit The Butchart Gardens! Taking the Mill Bay ferry across the inlet.

It was gently raining when we first arrived. Luckily the gardens have umbrellas conveniently placed throughout, for just these occasions!

This is easily the most photographed view of Butchart Gardens – overlooking the sunken garden.

Not a bad place to hang out and refuel after touring the gardens! Sitting down to nosh at the restaurant at the Butchart Gardens.

We split the tea tray, which was just perfect for our lunch! (That’s the Italian Garden in the background.)

We had several memorable lunches while Kalena was on a break from conference-ing (is that a word?) but my favourite meal was actually at the hotel (Marriott Inner Harbour). It was a meal for me, but a snack for Kalena as she had a gala dinner to attend!

Of course we had to start with a drink. Cocktail hour at the Marriott in Victoria. Kalena chose a glass of wine while I decided on something fancy-shmancy, for a change!

There could be no other choice, for me. It was amazingly delicious!

I had to order this cocktail. With a name like “The Butchart Garden”, how could I not?

Kalena: looking like a gorgeous model for a fancy lifestyle magazine

Delicious charcuterie plate, at the Marriott Inner Harbour in Victoria. Kalena could only nibble at it due to the gala dinner awaiting her, but I happily chowed down. I could eat charcuterie for dinner every day!

After the conference, we had only 1 full day before Kalena had to fly back home. We decided Cathedral Grove and Goats on the Roof were two good ways to spend it.

The goats were putting on a show that day. Nice and close to the edge. At Goats on the Roof aka Old Country Market, in Coombs.

What’s that, Kalena? Something about standing in the danger zone?!?!

Dining al fresco for the first day of “patio season” at Cuckoo’s Italian restaurant in Coombs (behind Goats on the Roof.)

Cocktail – Aperol spritz. Not too sweet and plenty refreshing!

Our lunch at Cuckoo’s. I had the Cuckoo pizza, and Kalena had a pasta dish – some kind of shells stuffed with cheese (forget what it was called, sorry…but the leftovers of both tasted great the next day!).

I think I gave Kalena a good enough “taste of the island” that she will come back to visit me again 😉. I know that I certainly enjoyed myself!

That’s what was on my plate in May! 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). Note: When this post goes live I will be traveling by plane to Ontario for a very quick visit to my hometown so please forgive me as I may be tardy in replying or visiting your blogs.

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – When You Don’t Have Time Edition

On May 3, 2023April 29, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate52 Comments

I probably should have titled this “What’s In My Glass” as there is nothing to put on a plate in this post, but here we go…

I have been pretty busy lately with my backyard. Buying and assembling together patio furniture; buying patio stones and sand; buying plants, mulch, soil and wood chips…and now I am at the stage of implementing my grand vision for the space. And this involves a lot of dirty, sweaty labour. That means I don’t feel like spending much time in the kitchen. But a gal’s gotta keep her strength up, ya know?!?!

Bowser supervises my work in this garden bed.

It’s protein smoothies to the rescue! I am no stranger to protein powders – been using them for years – however I have never found them to be all that good at keeping my hunger at bay. But recently I tried a pre-mixed protein drink and it’s ability to keep me satisfied for hours and “going” in the garden has been nothing short of amazing to me. Thank you, Premier Protein!

The basic start to this protein smoothie.

Today’s add-ins: frozen baby spinach, collagen powder (for my aching joints 😉), Vitamin D oil (for my sun-starved hide), peanut butter (for my soul and taste buds 😁).

I like to pack in as much spinach as I dare.

Sometimes I add some ice to make it thicker and colder. Using ice from the cute silicone cube tray I scored as a freebie at Ye Olde Libations (Liquor) Store.

Blending it all together. Please excuse the state of my manicure. Yard work…what can I say? 🤷‍♀️

Finished peanut butter shake – Delicious! (With a many-year’s-old bubble tea straw I kept and keep re-using.) I don’t taste the spinach. Just a salty sweet peanut buttery glass of refreshment!

This ~~meal drink snack~~ drink is a lifesaver for when you can’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen for whatever reason. Back to the garden-in-progress!

That’s it for me for this month. Please check out Donna’s post where she presents a feast for the eyes, from her recent trip to visit her son in Hong Kong. Looking very much forward to your comments!

Here is the link to the the InLinkz party:

Rock on,

The WB

Because You Asked – What We Put In Our Canadian Snack Box

On April 11, 2023April 9, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Good Times70 Comments

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:

From top left: All-Dressed chips, Hickory Sticks, Ketchup chips, Kinder Surprise Egg, Crispy Crunch bar, Kraft peanut butter, Butter tarts. Missing: Macintosh’s toffee (chilling in the fridge).

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”:

Firstly, I retrieved the chilled toffee bar from the fridge and gave it the *de rigueur* “whack” across the counter’s edge to break it into pieces. *Way to be bilingual, eh?* 😉

Now this is how I serve a MacIntosh’s toffee bar!

Next up was the beloved (by Canadians, anyways) Crispy Crunch. I think the American equivalent is called a Butterfinger bar.

Mmmmm…I had forgotten how good these were.

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.~~

The danger involved makes it all the more appealing 😉.

Inside the egg. Note the few escaped hickory sticks on the board as I forgot to take a picture of them outside of the bag.

Inside the capsule were these adorable spinning tops, that actually did spin very well!

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!!!!

Now as an adult, I feel kinda “meh” about ketchup chips. Pretty much the last flavour I would pick.

The former It chip, known as ketchup-flavoured.

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*.

I always thought these chips came about as a happy accident when someone at the factory decided to use up all the leftover bits of various seasonings on a batch. But I can’t find anything to support that notion, so I must have just dreamed it up.

They are pretty tasty, but no exploding tastebuds were sacrificed by either Donna or myself. I think I speak for both of us when I say we prefer a perfectly salted, kettle-cooked plain chip.

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.

These are really good! Why have I been depriving myself of their tastiness all these years?!?!

Would it be a Canadian Yum Box without the Butter Tart? We think not!

These grocery store “buttery” tarts can’t hold a candle to a real bakery or homemade butter tart BUT they taste very much like the butter tarts of my childhood (my mom was not into baking) so the nostalgia factor wins these for me.

There is a great Canadian debate on which is best: a runny butter tart or a solid-centred one? Solid ones are definitely easier to eat but there is something about a runny one…I dunno. My all-time favourite butter tart comes from a bakery in my former home town – Dee’s peanut butter butter tart is the perfect combination of salty and sweet (and runny to boot) – butter tart perfection! Argh, I just found out Dee’s is no more 😫…RIP, Queen of Tarts Dee Miller.

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_QnNAncVw8

Dark roasted is my favourite, but Donna’s choice is tasty too. My question is: what did they replace the fat with? I suspect carbs.

Our finished scorecard.

Just 2 Canadian *hosers*, standing outside in their toques and flannels…😂 (Donna is wearing a toque in the colours of the Newfoundland flag…before they joined Canada).

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

* actual photo of storm chip run on the east coast 😉

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Easy Breakfast Edition

On April 5, 2023April 3, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate53 Comments

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.

I apologize in advance for how boring this post will be, photographically-speaking (if not in its entirety).

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!

Oats plus embellishments before adding the water.

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?!?!

I scoop out one serving for the day’s breakfast into my bowl, and put the rest into a container and then into the fridge for future breakfasts.

Breakfast is served! With even more embellishments: fresh berries and peanut butter. You can add whatever you like to your bowl – in the past I’ve added other items such as Greek yogurt, milk, maple syrup, honey, fresh fruits in season, protein powder, ~~that almond butter that you are so over~~ etc., etc.

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

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Blame Donna Edition

On March 1, 2023February 25, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate46 Comments

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!

Based on my inscription on the inside cover, I bought this book in 1994. That sounds about right as at that time I was mentally struggling to fit into managerial life and its values (a lot of which clashed with my own), hence the HDFL.

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!

Apricots and almonds together? Yes please! Something *sweet but not too*? Also, yes please!

First step: cooking and cooling the apricot mixture. Still no backsplash…sigh. But I did contract Home Depot to just get the damn job done once I came back home. Now I wait…

Orange peel, ready to go into the batter

Loaf ready to go into the oven. Already looking and smelling good!

Eating the peeled orange while I ~~impatiently~~ wait for the loaf to bake. It was delicious.

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.

Completely done at 1 hour. Next time I will check at 50 minutes.

Exactly as promised: *sweet but not too*. This recipe is a keeper!

There! Now I have marked up this recipe (and the book) as mine, officially! Thank you, Donna! You get the ~~blame~~ credit for 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!

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Ed’s Soup Shack

On February 1, 2023January 24, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate51 Comments

By the time most of you will be accessing this blog post on Feb 1st, I will be on a plane to Barbados after ~~being kicked out by~~ spending some quality time with Joanne in Ontario, first. I have been looking forward to this trip since my last one, in February 2020 – just before all hell broke loose and Canada went into lockdown.

One of my goals for this trip (besides relaxation and exploration) is to leave healthy, vacation healthy, and come home healthy. So far I have been “Novid” for Covid, and I’d really like to keep it that way. Thanks, Donna for teaching me this term! To that end, I’ve been super vigilant with hand sanitization and masking leading up to now and I have packed a lot of N95 masks and sanitizer in my carry-on to assist with this goal.

Imagine my dread then, when about 2 weeks ago now my daughter informed me she woke up with the worst sore throat and a fuzzy head. And my son-in-law wasn’t feeling good. Eeeek!!!! Luckily we had not spent much time in close contact in the couple of days prior to them falling ill, and now we agreed that they would isolate from me (and everyone else). Multiple negative covid tests later, it turned out to be either a bad cold or flu but regardless, not something I wanted to experience.

Still, I wanted to help them during their illness so I continued to walk Bowser every day and I did make them sustenance (dropped off just inside the door, with me in a mask). It was Ed’s Soup Shack to the rescue! Ed’s Soup Shack is a Vancouver Island business that makes gourmet soup mixes. I am a big fan, as you might infer from the photo, below.

My stash. *Still no backsplash in the new kitchen…sigh*

I made 2 batches of soup, to keep them nourished as they dealt with this virus. Firstly, it was Chicken n’ Wild Rice to the rescue.

This was my first time making this soup and I will definitely be buying it in the future. Very flavourful, and the addition of those mushrooms? *Chef’s kiss*

Once they finished this soup, a request came in for Mulligatawny – a family favourite.

Delightfully chunky soup (I don’t blend) with a little kick of spice.

Of course, I didn’t send ALL of the soup next door. I did reserve a couple of bowls of each for myself, purely for research and quality control purposes 😉. Ahem! Anyways, both kids are back on their feet and I am (knocking on ~~my head~~ wood) still virus-free.

So what’s on your plate this month? Do you have a go-to packaged mix (or two or more) that you turn to in times of ~~desperation~~ need? Do tell, in the Comments! And please join Donna and myself in blogging about What’s On Your Plate.

Here’s the invite to the Link Party. Hope it works because I won’t be able to fix it from however many thousands of feet in the air I’ll be…who am I kidding, I wouldn’t be able to fix it regardless 🤣

Rock on,

The WB

Because You Asked – The Last Box in the Subscription: Italy!

On January 17, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food45 Comments

Waaaay back in mid-December, Donna and I found some time to dive into the last Universal Yums box in my gift subscription of 2022. Donna wrote about it, here. Pardon my tardiness in posting! Mid-December to mid-January is usually a time when I “hibernate” both socially and in terms of projects (and become even more introverted and introspective than I already am) and I am just starting to come out of this period now.

So, without further delay: I give you the Italy box!

Donna and I had high hopes for this one. Italians are so good at making delicious food, amiright?!

We started off with the world’s tiniest cookies (to my knowledge 😉): Amarettini Almond cookies.

The story behind these cookies is that they were an improvisation by a young couple who wanted to make a treat for a visiting cardinal (a man, not a bird although I am sure cardinal birds would enjoy this also) and so they whipped these up out of apricot kernels, egg whites, and sugar. Now you know.

What they lacked in size, they made up for in flavour I am happy to report!

Next up: Pizza-flavoured corn rings.

Hmmm…looks interesting. Pizza is only about 300 years old, according to the booklet that came with the box. Should pineapple ever be considered ~~anything other than an abomination~~ a fit topping for pizza? Let’s discuss in the Comments.

She just had to go there 🤣. These were more fun to play with than to eat, *clearly*.

Another savoury treat followed – Paprika potato chips aka the main ingredient in BBQ chips we learned by tasting, as that is pretty much what these tasted like. Universal Yum’s writeup on this chip stated they had never tasted a chip seasoned like this before. Seriously? BBQ is an OG Canadian chip flavour, as I recall. It was around even before ketchup chips!!!

Italy’s favourite brand of potato chip, apparently.

After all that salt, we tried the Chocolate Tiramisu Cream Cake. The name tiramisu means “carry me up”, and the booklet assumes this means “to heaven”…LOL!

I thought it was OK, but Donna wasn’t too impressed.

After that we tried the chocolate bar with hazelnuts. I think everyone can imagine what that would taste like. (Nutella, that you still have to chew.) Apparently containing hazelnuts from the Piedmont region of Italy.

After all that chocolate, I was relieved to taste something different – the Italian fruit jellies. I am not normally a fan of fruit candies but these were quite tasty and delicious! Made with real Italian fruit juices, apparently.

Donna was not a fan which meant more for meeee!!!!

Finally, we came to the last treat in the box – Milk chocolate popcorn bites. Sounded intriguing but nothing extraordinary or exciting in flavour.

Donna says these taste like a candy you can buy in Canada called a Whopper. I don’t remember ever eating one, so I’ll have to take her word on this.

This gift subscription was a whole lot of fun – and the most fun when I got to share it with Donna and all of you lovely readers! Donna and I are going to put together our own box – the Canadian version of a Universal Yums package – we have all the goodies picked out already.

That probably won’t happen until later in February though as I am leaving the island next week. First, to spend some ~~shenanigans~~ IRL time with Joanne (of the now quiet blog My Life Lived Full) in Ontario, and then to join my practically life-long friend CJ for our annual 2 weeks ~~reading books under the palms and drinking Banks beer~~ enjoying the sea and sun of Barbados. YES! After 2 long years, I am getting on a plane and heading out of Canada to a tropical destination again, universe-willing!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Trying Out The New Range Edition

On January 4, 2023 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate56 Comments

For those of you who may not already know, I moved recently (late Summer 2022) from my city apartment to a separate dwelling located on my daughter and son-in-law’s semi-rural property. I have spent the fall waiting not-so-patiently for my kitchen to be installed and become workable. Thankfully, I am on good terms with my new landlords 😉, and had access to their kitchen while mine was being worked on. My kitchen is still not finished – backsplash, range hood, and under-cabinet lighting has yet to happen – but it is a fully working kitchen now, with brand new appliances. In December, I gave my new range a workout one Sunday as I prepared a meal for my ~~landlords~~ family. This post is about that momentous day, when I officially “broke in” Blue Steel, my navy blue Samsung range.

The inspiration for my range’s nickname:

Bluesteel GIFfrom Blue Steel GIFs

Blue Steel is very smart (and chatty). He sends me messages all the time, on all my devices.

I also get messages when Blue Steel has reached the desired temperature and when there are only a few minutes of cooking time left. You can’t say that I am left in the dark about what this appliance is up to. 😉

But how is he at actually doing the stuff he is built for? Let’s see, shall we?

The meal’s menu consisted of the family favourite: Greek potatoes, with a simple salad and air-fried chicken. I also made an almond cake.

Almond cake in Blue Steel. The oven will never look this clean again, so enjoy! 😄

It turned out beautifully. The recipe came from here, and I added almond flavouring to the batter instead of cinnamon. I will be making (and tweaking) this cake recipe over and over again.

Blue Steel came with an air-fryer function and also this tray, for that purpose:

You might know how fond I am of my counter-top air fryer. Let’s see how Blue Steel compares!

For the “fried” chicken, I used this KFC dupe seasoning recipe, with some modifications: I didn’t have buttermilk so I soured a cup of milk with 1 tbsp vinegar; I used gluten-free flour; I only added 1 tbsp white pepper; I skipped the MSG; I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt and added an extra tsp salt (I figured that was close enough). Instead of deep-frying, I air-fried the chicken for 20 minutes at 400F, then turned the pieces and air-fried them again for another 20 minutes.

Flipping the chicken at the half-way mark.

By the way, the Greek potatoes turned out perfectly!

Wow. Just wow. The meal turned out perfectly. The chicken was divine (best yet!); the potatoes too. And I have lots of seasoning left over for future batches of chicken!

That chicken was truly *finger-licking good!* It tasted exactly like KFC to me, if my memory serves me correctly.

To finish off the main meal:

We love a simple salad of greens, dressed with olive oil and this stuff:

This flavoured balsamic vinegar is DA BOMB.

And the cake?

Absolute heaven! Delicate, almond-y heaven.

Blue Steel, you did me proud. (And you were worth the 4 month delivery wait.)

via GIPHY

You’re welcome, Widow Badass.

Please share with Donna and/or myself what’s on your plate this month, in the Comments! Please check out her post on the delicious soup she made me, here! And here’s the Link Party, if you are so inclined.

Rock on,

The WB

Because You Asked – A Snack Trip to South Korea

On December 9, 2022December 5, 2022 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Because You Asked32 Comments

I really thought that this box would be our last one, for the subscription. But then, another box showed up in the mail. So here is the review of the now next-to-last box – South Korea! Once again, Donna’s husband Richard was able to join us as our extra special guest judge ~~insert favourite RuPaul’s Drag Race meme here.~~

This box looked quite promising, and it did not disappoint!

First on the list of snacks to be evaluated: the choco pie.

We all agreed we have tasted this confection in another form. Apparently this treat was given as a bonus to North Korean workers. It got so popular that the ~~buzz-kill~~ ~~evil dictatorship~~ government banned them. *No happy moments for you!* So South Korean activists sent thousands over the border using balloons. There, now you know!

Next up: spicy chicken flavoured corn puffs!

Also known as KFC – Korean Fried Chicken! American KFC used to be a special occasion treat for Koreans, but now they can eat it whenever they want (in South Korea only, that is). And they have spiced things up, including with this snack.

Then it was on to some marscapone shortbreads (What a lovely combination of 2 yummy things!)

And lovely to look at, too! This might be one of my favourite snacks; at least top 5.

These cookies have a weird (to us Westerners) backstory. Apparently Valentine’s Day in South Korea is the day for women to treat the men. And then came the sequel: White Day (March 14)…where men give white gifts to the women, including these cookies. Apparently this tradition originated in Japan – in 1978 – and spread to South Korea. Although LGBTQ+ folks appear to be left out of this celebrating, never fear Singletons! April 14 is Black Day, when you dress in black and go eat your feelings with all your single friends. Black-bean-sauce-smothered noodles is the preferred comfort nosh. All of this info according to the literature that came with the snack box!

Now onto some candy! Sweet and sour grape-flavoured chews.

Check out those super cool grapes 😎. Very flavourful!

Back to savoury snacks with the next on the list: Shrimp Chips.

I’ve eaten a lot of shrimp chips with Indonesian dishes. In fact, we used to have to deep fry them ourselves. It was exciting for me as a kid to watch the tiny hard chips expand into these airy delights when fried. I found the South Korean version quite “shrimpy” though…stronger flavour than what I am used to.

Last but not least were a bag of Peach Flavoured Gummies, to sample.

Isn’t the peach also known as the *butt emoji*, in social media? I can see the resemblance 😄.

I think this was my favourite box to date. So did Donna. Here is our scoring.

As usual, Donna treated us to a fabulous lunch afterwards. She wrote all about it on her latest WOYPBC post, here.

Yeah, you could say we were pretty excited about those cookies 🤣.

One more box to go! Stay tuned – we’re going to Italy next.

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – When You Know You Are Family Edition

On December 7, 2022December 5, 2022 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate52 Comments

My good friend and WOYPBC co-host Donna and I are taking an ElderCollege course in her home community on Wednesday mornings. We usually follow this up with a walk and lunch. I’ve been lucky enough to be invited back to her place for our lunch…or am I?! This was a pre-lunch conversation during one such walk.

Donna: I’m going to serve us the lemon-lime soup I’ve been telling you about, for lunch.

Me: The one you said wasn’t that good? And that you were hoping to pawn off on me, to get rid of?

Donna: Oh goody, you remembered! Yes, that one.

She then peppered me with food safety questions about this soup – was it safe to reheat it in the crock pot for hours; how long could it be left out to thaw before it became dangerous, etc. (By now my eyebrows had completely disappeared into my hairline and I was wondering who I could get to call me on my cell so I could plead an emergency and beg off lunch 😉). Then she revealed that it was actually still in the freezer and she would heat it up once we got back to her place. Phew!

Being safely heated up on the stove, with me in charge of cooking once again as Donna disappears! Remember this lunch? ~~Uh huh. I never learn.~~

Donna made up a nice charcuterie board ~~with my help, of course~~ so at least I could fill up on something other than the ~~dreaded~~ soup.

Donna does set a lovely table, I’ll give her that!

This is when I kinda got the idea that I was now considered “family”. When you see dinner accompaniments plopped on the table in their original packaging…

And you know for sure you are considered “family” when the soup comes to the table in the cooking pot!

And now, for the moment of truth:

Friends, it WAS delicious. After all the anti-hype about the lemon-lime soup, imagine my relief!

Donna also asked me to try this cheese that she said she didn’t like. It was fine too, but by now I am getting even more of a complex about this lunch.

Our dessert: more ~~shit~~ treats Donna is trying to get rid of. Also perfectly fine…in fact, delicious! Liquorice chalk, candied popcorn and white chocolate nut clusters. Served communally in the tin and help yourself by digging in. I truly am *family* now, friends!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this less than serious WOYPBC post. You know I am just kidding about Donna using me as a human garbage disposal, right? ~~You were just kidding too, Donna…right?~~ Please share with Donna and/or myself what’s on your plate this month! Please check her take on slow cooking, here! And here’s the Link Party, if you are so inclined.

Rock on,

The WB