What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Staff of Life Edition

On September 1, 2021September 2, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, COVID-19, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, What's On Your Plate72 Comments

This is going to be somewhat of a looong story and a picture-heavy post so I hope you don’t mind. If you do mind, I don’t mind – so feel free to click away. My introduction to this recipe started way back at the beginning of the pandemic, when my good friend gifted me the most delicious loaf of homemade bread you could imagine. Jonathan somehow secured not only flour but yeast (remember those days?) and told me that this bread was not only insanely good, but insanely easy to make. He was 100% correct on both counts. His recipe came from the New York Times, I believe…and there are a bazillion versions of this bread recipe floating around Ye Olde Interwebs. Even recipes for gluten-free ~~doorstops~~ loaves, which I have tried (and failed ~~miserably~~ at).

The loaf that started it all. In my old kitchen, back in Ontario. March 26, 2020

Despite having issues with wheat (not gluten, but something else in bread), I can digest this bread just fine and without pesky heartburn. I think it is the very long rising…something that doesn’t happen in a production bakery. Anywho, here is the recipe (adapted by me from a gluten-free one I found somewhere…) told in pictures for this no-knead rustic bread loaf; pandemic and/or lockdown not required.

You will need:

3 cups of flour plus a little extra for dusting
3/4 tsp active quick-rise yeast
2 tsp kosher salt (I don’t see why you couldn’t use regular salt)
1.5 cups room temperature water
measuring cup and spoons
large glass bowl (Why glass? Does yeast hate metal/ceramic/plastic?)
wooden spoon (Don’t ask me why it has to be wood. Aesthetics? The anti-metal thing? I don’t know.)
Dutch oven
tea towel
parchment paper
cooling rack
oven (duh)

Mix dry ingredients together. The wooden spoon does look nice though…

Add room temperature water and mix (with pretty wooden spoon) to form the dough. Cover with tea towel and let it do its thing for at least 8 hours (overnight works well). In winter when the air is drier, I make the tea towel damp first so the dough doesn’t dry out too much.

Amuse yourself for the next 8 hours. I made and served a blackberry trifle for my son-in-law’s birthday. I think he liked it. 😉 (Completely optional but if you do choose to do this, invite me over 🙂 ).

What it looks like after 8 hours of rise time. Finish admiring the magic, and then take a large piece of parchment paper and dust it with flour.

Take the dough out of the bowl and mound it up on the flour-dusted parchment paper. I pre-crease the paper to make it a bit easier to fit back into the bowl, and eventually the Dutch oven.

I usually put it right back in the bowl again once it’s on the paper…so the dough doesn’t spread itself out over the paper too much over the next hour. You probably don’t have to do this. But it bugs me, OK? *There, I said it*.

Cover and let rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When oven comes to temperature, place the empty Dutch oven (with lid) inside oven to pre-heat for at least 30 minutes.

Very carefully place the dough (in parchment) into the extremely hot Dutch oven. Can slash the top of loaf several times with a knife, ~~if you actually remember at the last damn minute.~~ Put the extremely hot lid on it, and put in the whole shebang back into the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

The loaf looks like this after 30 minutes covered bake time. Remove the lid (careful!!!!) and let the loaf bake uncovered for the final 15 minutes.

Cool the finished loaf on a rack. Resist eating it because you made it to share with friends, for lunch the next day. (Optional, but highly recommended! Your hips will thank you for sharing. 😉 )

Next day: Go on glorious hike with friends, on Hornby Island.

Take in the views: Helliwell Provincial Park, looking east.

Helliwell Provincial Park, looking west.

Me, trying to enjoy the view and *not* think of the tasty food waiting for us back at Ann’s place. Photo by Donna.

~~Finally~~ – Lunch time! Photo by Donna. Ann (between Janis and I) provided us with the most delicious Maui chicken and sides, and I provided the:

Homemade bread! And it was mighty tasty. I’ve made this recipe many times now, and it has never failed me ~~except for the gluten-free experiments that we really shouldn’t talk about anymore~~.

So…enough about me. What’s on your plate this month?

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!). My partner-in-crime Donna has crafted a beautiful post about food and friendship (a theme I have shamelessly incorporated into my own post, in a minor way). Please check out her post, to read more about the many happy hours spent sharing meals with friends over the past month.

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

Wordless Wednesday – Ucluelet Edition

On June 23, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery63 Comments

No need to sacrifice the view in the name of cleanliness or relaxation.

Sequoia candle. Indigenous women-owned and operated company.

Watching the sunset, moonrise from my deck.

Treatment room for my massage/facial package. 90 minutes of uninterrupted bliss.

Seaflora products used. Locally made in Sooke. Organic. Sustainably harvested by hand.

Kennedy Lake views. See you and Ucluelet again, in July!

Rock on,

The WB

Tofino Camping Adventure

On June 4, 2021June 3, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Retirement, Camping Adventures, Goals & Dreams, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors103 Comments

Last weekend I headed out to Tofino, to stay at Green Point Campground at Pacific Rim National Park. My friend and blogging buddy, Donna, had booked a site and let me know there was at least one other site available, and would I be interested in joining them? WOULD I???? In a hot minute, I had my site booked too. Then, in the most incredible coincidence imaginable, another friend and blogging buddy Erica/Erika let us know that she and her husband were staying there too. And their site turned out to be the one RIGHT BESIDE MINE. If we had tried to scheme and plan and pull this off, it would be next to impossible as this campsite is harder to get into than it was to score tickets to The Tragically Hip’s final show.

Hammock set up, with Erica and Chuck’s campsite in the background. Note kindly left on the picnic table by Erica, letting me know they were down on the beach.

Tent interior. Due to the campsite’s BARE policy, all food had to be locked up in your vehicle or a food locker (provided every few campsites). I decided not to hook my car up to the tent, and instead use it as my food locker. So my memory foam bed ended up in the tent instead of the back of my car, due to space considerations.

After meeting Donna and Richard at Tacofino for lunch, and setting up and settling in at camp, it was time to hit the beach!

The sky, sand, and water combo was stunning.

The next day was a bit drizzly and Donna and I went into Ucluelet to check out the downtown and the Ucluelet Aquarium. Amazing place!

Mr. Giant Pacific Octopus put on quite the show for us.

We also stopped at a delicious local bakery (Zoe’s, to fuel up for our next adventure), that had this sign posted outside. Cute Schitt’s Creek reference!

And here’s why. Within seconds of us vacating this area, they descended upon it. Looking for crumbs.

Speaking of birds stealing your food: Donna, Richard and I had to defend ourselves from some very aggressive sparrows outside of Rhino Coffee, in Tofino. I had my doughnut in my hand ($4 for a doughnut??? But man, it was good!), turned my head for one second and felt something pulling at my treat. It was a~~n asshole~~ sparrow, grabbing a chunk of doughnut in midflight, and then retreating a few feet away to ~~gobble it down~~ enjoy it.

You can bet I kept my eye on these cheeky ~~assholes~~ Steller’s Jays, once back at the campsite.

The evening ended over at Chuck and Erica’s for one of our delicious, communal camp meals.

The next day was spent beach walking and exploring.

Donna, the intrepid beach walking buddy.

There are always surfers to be found on Tofino beaches. Year round.

Donna and I played around with taking simultaneous selfies. Like a simultaneous orgasm, but waaay less work. 😉

We eventually met up with everybody else and went off to explore the rocks exposed by low tide.

Ever since I was a little girl reading picture books, I have been captivated by the idea of walking the shore and exploring tidal pools in search of marine life. But in my land-locked former home, there was no opportunity…until this trip! At almost 62 years of age, I finally got to live my childhood dream.

Red sea stars and goose barnacles and clams and mussels (and probably a whole buncha other things too).

After returning to camp for another delicious communal meal (Chuck’s homecooked BBQ ribs were amazing!), it was back down to the beach for another sunset.

Filled with peace, gratitude and wonder in heart and soul…

Sadly the next day it was time to go home. It was another gorgeous day, and the drive home was filled with spectacular views, like this one.

Kennedy Lake reflection. What a beautiful island I live on!

Colour me windblown, wind burnt, and completely happy with this adventure!

Rock on,

The WB

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Sheet Pan Edition

On June 2, 2021June 1, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, Camping Adventures, What's On Your Plate64 Comments

It’s that time of year when the weather is almost always nice, and that means a whole lot less time is spent indoors. Especially in the kitchen. A wonderful excuse to break out a sheet pan dinner! And luckily I have 2 pans because I needed the other for a crafty thing I was MacGyver-ing in preparation for future camping adventures: homemade fire starters. Very useful to starting fires here on the Wet Coast, where wood and tinder are sometimes too damp to facilitate a quick and satisfying campfire. Hey, those S’mores ain’t gonna roast themselves, ya know?

As usual, I came across something on Ye Olde YouTube that sparked my interest. The video is here:

Try to ignore all the bullet adoration in the intro to this guy’s channel. I did.

I watched the video and gathered my supplies. Then I got to work.

Note my improvised double-boiler, for melting both the petroleum jelly and the candle wax. Will the MacGyvering never end?! 😉

Cotton rounds soaked in melted petroleum jelly and ready to go into freezer to quickly solidify, in preparation for the next stage.

Starting the 2nd (and final) dip process.

These fire starters turned out great, and they burn heartily for more than 10 minutes after being lit with a single match.

The same afternoon I made these, I also made a delicious sheet pan dinner, inspired by this YouTube video:

The actual recipe to be printed off can be found here.

I hustled off to my little local grocery store and was disappointed that they didn’t have any fresh green beans in stock. They did however have some delectable-looking bundles of asparagus in the veggie section, so I made that swap. I think it turned out at least as good, if not better.

I also used sambal (Indonesian pepper paste) instead of cayenne pepper because I think it tastes better.

Finished! The sheet pan dinner, almost complete…

Now complete! Served on a bed of some deliciously-nutty brown rice.

Have you ever made a sheet pan dinner? Chime in, in the Comments below!

And, as always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna (she is dishing up some food for thought, this month!) or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post. And remember if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tag #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!

Rock on,

The WB

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday – Camping at Miracle Beach Provincial Park

On May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Retirement, Camping Adventures, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors, Travel Badassery66 Comments

This was my home last weekend. Donna and Richard’s vehicle and set-up are behind me.

My stand-up board, “Nauti”…in kayak mode.

Donna and I split up the meal duties. This was breakfast the morning I was in charge: baked oatmeal and crispy bacon. Made only AFTER watching the sunrise on the beach, of course!

After breakfast it was time to go back to the beach, for a beautiful walk.

Sand dollars (living and dead) can be found all over the beach. RIP, Sand Dollar.

Time was carved out for a visit to Hammockville.

Trying out one of my homemade fire starters.

It worked very well. This was the start of a beautiful fire.

The morning we left was cloudy but dawn was still gorgeous.

These ~~assholes~~ sea lions woke me up with their barking at 4 am.

A deer couple came down to the shore to check out the ~~assholes~~ sea lions too.

Mergansers also wondering what the ~~assholes~~ sea lions are barking about.

~~Asshole~~ sea lions aside, it was a fabulous weekend at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. I’ll be back!

Rock on,

The WB

Late to the (Virtual Tea) Party #virtualteaparty2021

On March 19, 2021March 19, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors74 Comments

Better late than never, they say…whoever “they are. At any rate, here I am with my offering for this month’s Virtual Tea Party, held by our ever gracious hosts Su and Del (go check out their blogs, please!) A day (or two) late, and a dollar short, through no fault of my own! This week marked the end (at least I hope so) of a long story for me involving esophageal spasms, acid reflux, gastritis, the reveal of a hiatal hernia, and not one but two gastroscopies. Let’s blame it all on the hospital-administered sedation! Anyhoodle, here I am: hale and hearty (and sober) again and wanting to share with you a delicious, substantial blueberry lemon oatmeal muffin cup recipe, from the Clean and Delicious blog site.

This recipe rings all the bells for me. Easy to whip up, contains my favourite flavours, powers me through to lunch, easy to sub in other things if need be, and contains no wheat (a trigger for my acid reflux). I need a quick and easy brekkie these days as I find myself running down to the beach while it is still dark if there is even a hint of a pretty sunrise to come. And those runs sometimes pay off. Behold:

By the time the sun has fully risen and I’ve made my way back to my place, I can just about chew my arm off. My poor stomach thinks my throat has been cut. My belly button can touch my backbone. Cue all the hunger idioms you can think of….I need victuals, STAT! These muffin cups come to my rescue so I make sure to always have some in the freezer.

Also with cottage cheese and blueberries.

These would make a fine addition to any tea table, in my decidedly-biased opinion. 😉

Do you have a go-to quick breakfast? Do tell, and…

Rock on,

The WB

Wordless Wednesday for February 2021

On February 24, 2021 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors52 Comments

A Departure Bay Beach morning…

Plenty of bird action, and the sea lions were in fine voice this morning…

One of the big boats I saw in the distance.

Uh oh. And just like that, the clouds roll in…

Rock on,

The WB

We Interrupt Our Regular Programming…

On February 7, 2021February 7, 2021 By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, COVID-19, Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors89 Comments

In lieu of the annual blog posts on Barbados that occur at this time every year, (there’s a global pandemic on, don’t you know) Widow Badass Industries brings you instead some views of the west coast of our local island paradise. Specifically: Ucluelet and Tofino. My daughter and I spent a couple of days there recently. And here’s what we saw and did.

Morning view of Tofino Inlet from Tofino Resort and Marina (highly recommend staying here).

We headed to Ucluelet first. My first visit. Won’t be my last! We decided to experience the Lighthouse Trail.

BC trees are like none I have ever seen in Canada. On the Lighthouse Trail.

Rock formations and islands in the misty distance.

On the way to Ucluelet, we passed a sign in Pacific Rim National Park that said “Rainforest Trail”. That was our next destination.

The Rainforest Trail did not disappoint.

When not staring at the trees, the chevron pattern on this platform caught my eye.

Tried to capture the sun rays in the woods.

After the Rainforest Trail, we had worked up an appetite so it was off to our favourite Tofino eating establishment, to refuel before our next adventure.