Tag Archives: Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge

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Honestly, it’s been years since I read a book that included actual recipes in it, But I do love stories that describe food, especially when they goes in great detail about it.

All of these dishes seem simple enough to reverse engineer recipes for, so I figured that’s close enough for this week’s prompt. 🙂

Tarts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

In the next moment, her eyes fell on the White Rabbit that was serving the court as a herald and was reading the accusation that the Knave of Hearts had stolen the Queen’s tarts. In the middle of the court, a large platter of tarts was on display.”

(In my imagination, they’re strawberry tarts!)

“Dickon made the stimulating discovery […] there was a deep little hollow where you could build a sort of tiny oven with stones and roast potatoes and eggs in it. […] Very hot potatoes with salt and fresh butter in them were fit for a woodland king—besides being deliciously satisfying.”

 

Blueberry Pie from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White:

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 I can’t wait to read everyone else’s stories! This is one of those WWBC topics I’ve been looking forward to all year long.

Story #1

My extended family is interracial and multiracial. Various versions of this conversation have happened multiple times over the years, and I hope I always see the amusing side of them.

(Yes, I do share relevant details with medical professionals or friends. I simply choose not to explain the intricacies of my family tree to every nosy stranger in the world).

Them: Who’s that person?

Me: They’re my <cousin, etc.>

Them: But they’re Black! <Cuban, etc.>

Me: They sure are.

Them: Okay, I get it. You’re biracial.

Me: No, I’m Caucasian.

Them: Are you sure about that? I mean, you do have curly hair.

Me: Yes, white people have curly hair, too.

Them: So are they biracial then?

Me: Nope. (Well, not in most cases).

Them: I’m confused. Are they your real <cousin, etc.>?

Me: Yep.

(repeat ad infinitum).

 

Story #2

This happened at the end of an exhausting holiday shift right before Christmas at a retail job I had years ago. Normally, I would have been much more responsive, but my brain was fried from the long hours, rotating shift work that made it impossible to get enough sleep, and frantic workflow for retail workers in the weeks and months leading up to Christmas. This customer had been inspecting our pans for a few minutes before she waved me over.

Customer: Excuse me, do you sell adamantium* pans?

Me: Sorry, we don’t sell them.

Customer: Do you know where I can adamantium pans?

Me: I honestly have no idea!

*That is to say, the fictional metal alloy used to coat Wolverine’s skeleton and claws in Marvel comic books. (And I still have no idea what she meant or why anyone would want to make baking pans from that material if it really existed).

 

 

Story #3

The most recent story of them all. A few years ago, I noticed a weird-looking mole slowly growing bigger on my body and decided to ask my dermatologist to take a look at it.

The dermatologist asked me a few questions about the history of the mole and then brought out some specialized tools to peer more closely at it.

He was silent for a moment and then exclaimed, “your mole is bland!” It looked a little odd,  but it wasn’t cancerous like I’d feared it might be.

I still chuckle at this memory ever so often. My name is Lydia, bearer of bland moles. Ha!

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I have three answers for this week’s prompt.

Several other WWBC participants are also fans of Lord of the Rings, so I might horrify some of you a little by admitting that I think the films based on them that came out in the early 2000s were better than the books.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a wonderful storyteller, but he could be longwinded at times. This was especially true when it came to his descriptions of settings. I’d much rather see a windswept hill or an ornate hall in a castle than read pages of descriptions about every little detail of them.

As much as I liked the original novella version of The Shawshank Redemption, the details and character development added to it when it became a feature length film made it even better. Stephen King had the opposite problem that Tolkien did here. He didn’t spend enough time describing things in this novella for my tastes. 

Honestly, I want to lock King and Tolkien into a room together and have them rub off on each other a bit. 

My final answer is Children of Men by P.D. James. The novel spent a lot of time focusing on the psychological burden faced by all humans on Earth once we stopped being able to have babies.

It worked well for the original form, but this story became even more compelling to me once the thriller elements were added. I’m saying that as someone who generally enjoys introspective fiction! There does come a time when characters need to step away from their ruminations and spend more time directly dealing with their problems.

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Yes, I changed the topic a little this week because I’m firmly on the side of rereading books.

Rereading books is something I tend to do in spurts. I’ll either do a lot of it or not much at all, and my reasons for doing that are simple.

Reason #1: There’s something deeply comforting about stepping into a story when you already know what’s going to happen to it. This is even more true when life is uncertain or when I’m feeling worried or sad about something.

Reason #2: Sometimes I pick up on things I didn’t remember about the characters or plot before, especially if its been a long time since I read that particular story. It’s such a warm feeling to realize that you either missed out or forgot about a small part of the storyline that makes the whole thing feel even better.

Reason #3: Rereading is like visiting an old friend and reminiscing about the adventures you had years ago. The familiarity of taking that trip down memory lane makes me smile.

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Here are three Canadian recipes you all might like to try.

I’ve had dairy-free versions of the first two, and they were amazing! Someday I want to try pemmican as well.

 

 

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter

5 Tbsp (75 mL) cocoa powder

¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 ¾ cups (425 mL) graham wafer crumbs

1 cup (250 mL) shredded coconut

½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped almonds

Middle Layer

½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, softened

2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40 mL) whipping or heavy cream

2 Tbsp (30 mL) vanilla custard powder

2 cups (500 mL) icing sugar

Topping

4 oz (115 g) semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter

 

Instructions

Bottom Layer

1. Pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of double boiler. Place on stove over medium heat and bring water to simmer.

2. In top of double boiler; combine butter, cocoa and sugar; place over simmering water. Heat while stirring until the butter has melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Add beaten egg and stir until thick.  Remove top of double boiler from heat. Stir in graham wafer crumbs, coconut and almonds.

4. Scrape into parchment paper-lined 8-inch (2 L) square baking dish. Press firmly to create even bottom layer.

5. If you don’t have a double boiler, half-fill a saucepan with water and heat over medium heat until water begins to simmer. Place a metal or glass bowl over the simmering water and proceed as directed.

Middle Layer

1. Cream together butter, cream and custard powder into a bowl. Gradually add icing sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Scrape over bottom layer, smoothing top with spatula.

Topping

1. Melt chocolate and butter together in a clean double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. When cool, but still liquid, pour over custard layer.

2. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

 

Poutine

Ingredients

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1 (10.25 ounce) can beef gravy

5 medium potatoes, cut into fries

 

2 cups cheese curds

 

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep heavy skillet to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). While the oil is heating, begin to warm up the gravy in a saucepan on another element of your stove.

2. Place the fries into the hot oil, and cook until light brown. This should take about 5 minutes. Make the fries in batches if necessary to allow them room to move a little in the oil. Drain the fries on a paper towel lined plate for a minute or two.

Pemmican

Pemmican was a type of food traditionally made and eaten by several different Native American/First Nations tribes in North America, from the Cree to the Metis.

The specific ingredients for it do vary depending on who is making it and what ingredients they have on hand. They might look something like this:

• 1 1/2 lbs of lean, grass-fed shoulder roast,
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh or frozen wild blueberries
• Grass-fed bison or beef kidney fat, leaf fat, suet, or tallow

This post will give you the full list of instructions on how to make pemmican, complete with pictures of every step of the process. Since I’ve never made this dish, I wanted to ensure that you were all getting the right instructions for it.

If you’ve made or eaten pemmican, tell us what you think of it!

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Narrowing down my ideas to only one suggestion was tough. There are many topics I believe all adults should have a good working knowledge of, from history to budgeting, the latest scientific data on what constitutes a healthy diet to how to do basic repairs at home.

But by far the most important book everyone should read is anything that gives scientifically-accurate, up-to-date information on first aid like the American College of Emergency Physicians’ First Aid Manual.

(Ideally, I’d want everyone to take a basic first aid course, too! I took one many years ago and hope to refresh my memory as soon as these sorts of classes are offered again in Toronto).

No matter who you are or where you live, there may come a time when you or someone near you about will unexpectedly need medical care for a physical or mental health condition if it hasn’t happened already.

It’s imperative that all of us know how to:

• Determine when you should call a medical provider in a day or two, visit a non-urgent medical clinic this afternoon, or call for an ambulance immediately.
• Immobilize a broken bone
• React to possible spinal injuries or head trauma after an accident
• Treat burns, sprains, cuts, fevers, panic attacks, dehydration, blisters, bruises, bites, sunburns, nausea, gastroenteritis, heat exhaustion, hypothermia and other illnesses that may or may not be able to be treated at home depending on the circumstances.
• Help someone who is choking, seizing, having an asthma attack, or having a mental health crisis
• Safely address heavy bleeding after, say, a puncture wound
• Perform CPR
• Recognize the signs of a heart attack, stroke, severe allergic reaction, or any other life-threatening health problem
• Behave in an emergency in general.

There are no doubt other many other things to add to this list, too. Some people will naturally freeze up in an emergency, so it’s crucial that all of us study the best ways to react when someone suddenly needs medical care.

The more of us that know how to respond to scenarios like these, the easier it will be for everyone who needs help to receive it whether they’re being treated by a lay person or a professional.

Have you taken a first aid class? Have you read any nonfiction books on this topic recently? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on my pick for this topic and see what everyone chose as their answers, too.

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Autumn is a beautiful season in Ontario. You can spend hours outdoors without worrying about sunburns or frostbite, so most of my answers will reflect the benefits of taking advantage of such mild weather.

The Word on the Street Festival. This is an annual Toronto festival about literature that features local and well as international authors and publishing houses. It covers every genre and age group you can imagine, and everyone is welcomed. Of course, it was virtual this year due to Covid-19, but the food there was amazing in the past. They had cuisine from many different cultures, and the portions were so generous at many stalls you could easily buy one meal and split it with another adult if you wanted to.

Photography. I’ve mentioned my interest in this hobby in previous Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge posts. Autumn is the perfect time of year to play around with this, especially when I’m photographing the marvellous autumn landscape.

Stocking Up on Treats. Every store that sells food will have some candy that’s dairy-free, but it’s always fun to visit specialty shops and, before this pandemic happened, various food fairs/festivals to stock up on fancy vegan chocolate and other hard-to-find treats that are safe for my milk allergy before winter hits. (I get the winter blues, so having small things like this to look forward every X number of weeks helps my mental health).

Nature Walks. Autumn is my last hurrah for long nature walks until spring, so I spend as much time as I can outdoors before (this part of) the world freezes and everything is coated in ice and snow.

Nuit Blanche. This is an outdoor, overnight, free art show in Toronto that features the work of (mostly) local artists. You can find everything there: robotics, concerts, dances, interactive art displays, live theatre, light shows, and so much more. One year the city was even “attacked” by zombies. (Nobody was actually harmed. My spouse and I saw dozens of folks dressed as zombies who were roaming around and groaning dramatically every so often). I’m officially inviting all of you to come check it out online on between 7 pm on October 3 and 7 am on October 4 if you enjoy this sort of stuff. The programming is wildly different every year, so I can’t even begin to guess what they’ll have this time!