What is this you ask.
It is a sausage roll from one of my favourite cookbooks - Recipes From America's Restored Villages.
This recipe is from Harmony, Indiana, a town of 656 people (in 2010); the first town introducing communal living in the US (thus the name).
Easy to make with mashed potatoes as base.
The recipe says unseasoned mashed potatoes. My readers, does that mean no milk or butter or just regular mashed potatoes with no spices? I went with the latter, but given how difficult it was to roll, I am not sure it was the right interpretation.
You mix the potatoes with sausage, onions and herbs and turn into a roll (after the fact, I thought it would have been fun to keep the sausage intact in the roll - next time).
The recipe calls for covering the roll with oats. I had none so used corn meal.
Despite the messing up on the recipe and after baking in a 350 oven for 1.75 hours, it was a very flavourful dinner.
Glad I tried it. Will I do it again? Most likely.
Dear Readers. Catsess took over Wacky Thursdays for the next month to tell us about her day. Wacky Thursdays will resume in March.
_________________________________________________________________________
"It is 6:00 am. Get up. I am bored. I was alone all night. Get up. Feed me. Play with me."
"Do I look like a cat to be eating my food on the floor? I am catsess who is part cat, part shmoo and part polar bear. I only eat at the highest point in the castle."
"One cannot live on wet food alone. Not even human food is as good as my favourite crunchies. Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
"Okay, now I need to burn those calories. Are we playing? Yes, let's play. The sun is up, it is play time."
"What do you mean you need to sit at your desk and work? What about me? Let's see you getting me off your desk chair now."
"I am warning you. If you get me off this chair, I will bloody your face and that fancy necktie you have on."
"Fine. I am bored with your chair. Let me do something useful, like making sure you are working. Mars needs cat food."
"It's almost noon. My favourite time of the day. Time for the first nap; on the chair."
Tune back next Thursday for A Catsess Day - Afternoons
_________________________________________________________________________
Beautiful name for a restaurant.
Horrible night club decor that is more than made up for with the great service and fresh, tasty food.
(It is Kelowna after all where people are friendly and food is local).
Two unique appetizers to share:
Wild mushroom bruschetta with two types of mushrooms and fresh thyme cream sauce with, as the Mimi's staff say, EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).
Crispy artichoke hearts that are amazing and addictive.
While the menu is packed with delicious Italian options, after those appetizers, a smart choice was a salad.
I chose the poached Okanagan pear and walnut salad.
With a lemon honey shallot vinaigrette, this was a great choice.
But my guest's spinach salad looked even better than mine.
Oven roasted tomatoes and artichoke hearts, Okanagan goat cheese and dijon vinaigrette - yum.
I like my Kelowna trips!
Mimi's Italian Grill
366 Bernard Street
Kelowna, BC
It is very clear from the picture above that dinner is a BLT sandwich.
But this is not any BLT sandwich, it is Replacement Chef's BLT sandwich that is thick, beautifully stacked and delicious.
And what makes it so special you may ask?
First, it is the way you cook the bacon - Replacement Chef's directions on this are very clear:
"you lay them out flat in the frying pan then lay them flat when done and cover them flat to keep them flat for the sandwich".
Why is catsess looking so annoyed?
As she was craving the bacon, Replacement Chef added another special touch to the BLT Sandwich - a layer of fried eggs.
But that did not stop me from extracting pieces of bacon to feed catsess as I was enjoying layers and layers of this delicious fatty sandwich.
But let's not focus too much on the fat content; there was also French Fries which no BLT sandwich is eaten without them.
Thank you Replacement Chef - I am already looking forward to a repeat BLT performance.
When I arrived for a business lunch at Harold's Bistro and Bar in a hotel lounge in Richmond, I was prepared for the worse.
But this was not a bad experience at all.
I had the salmon special which was filling and nicely cooked.
Their soup was a meal on its own, and nicely presented.
All with good service - a good place.
Harold's Bistro
7551 Westminster Highway
Richmond, BC
On a cold Sunday evening, on the second day of a weekend that felt like a full week of work, I crossed the street to My Dear Lovely Neighbour buffet dinner.
Completely low sodium vegetarian meal - exactly what the doctor ordered.
And an Indian omelette that was so packed with hot chili peppers to clear any flu.
But small indulgence in the name of Indian Christmas cake (it is done differently than that made in Britain I learned) was allowed.
Thank you My Dear Lovely Neighbour for keeping me fed and healthy on this busy work weekend.
On a cold Saturday evening, on a weekend that felt like a full work week, My Dear Lovely Neighbour showed up with dinner delivery.
In the bag was freshly made chicken curry, a simple salad, pears and... a box of Pot of Gold chocolates.
Simplicity could not be better, thank you My Dear Lovely Neighbour...
...even though catsess does not seem to be impressed!
Easy to make with mashed potatoes as base. 
You mix the potatoes with sausage, onions and herbs and turn into a roll (after the fact, I thought it would have been fun to keep the sausage intact in the roll - next time).
Despite the messing up on the recipe and after baking in a 350 oven for 1.75 hours, it was a very flavourful dinner.
