Food, Link Ups

What’s On Your Plate this August – Three Sisters Casserole with a Side of Bannock

Retirement Reflections

The July/August edition of Chatelaine Magazine featured six recipes from female, Canadian, Indigenous chefs. The very first one looked simple, healthy and meatless — urging me to give it a try.

‘Three Sisters Casserole’ is so named because of the traditional indigenous practice of growing squash, corn and beans together “with the cornstalks holding up the beans while the squash protects the roots at the base” (Chatelaine, July/August 2021, pg. 79).

Produce ready to be chopped, and bannock dough prepared for the cast iron skillet.

Designed by Montreal Chef, Norma Condo, I was delighted to discover that this dish was as easy to prepare as it looked. In its simplicity, it was also incredibly delicious. I served it over rice, with a side of bannock (with a drizzle of honey). You can find the casserole recipe here and the bannock recipe here.

Three Sisters Casserole – Recipe by Norma Condo
Dinner with a side of Bannock — whatever you do, don’t forget the drizzled honey!

After a month-long “get-out-of-lockdown, visit-every-(vaccinated)-person-you-know, and throw-all-healthy-eating- habits-to-the-wind,” Richard and I were happy to settle down to a nourishing, low-fat meal. We both gave this dish two thumbs up and will make this recipe again — definitely with the rice, and double-definitely with the bannock!

What’s On Your Plate this Month?

Thank you for dropping by this month’s version of What’s On Your Plate. Deb (cohost) and I would love for you to share a favourite meal or recipe. You can leave a message/link/photo in the comments, write and link your own post, or display on your choice of social media. Please include #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we don’t miss it. I will add all linkups to this page.

As mentioned in my last post, in appreciation of all What’s On Your Plate participants, we are offering a WOYP Participant’s Badge (in a wide choice of colours and patterns). If you would like to display this badge on your website, just take a screenshot and follow these simple instructions. If you would prefer a larger image for your screenshot, you can get one here. If you would like to use a jpeg rather than a screenshot, please email me, and I would gladly send a jpeg badge to you.

Sharing what’s on their plates this month are

The Widow Badass: The Birthday Edition (laugh-out-loud funny!)
Touring My Backyard: Recreating a Food Memory.
Women Living Well After 50: Making Memories Through Baking.
And Anyways: Savoury Loaf.
Deb’s World: Anyone for a Scone?
Curls N Skirls: Spice Cake in a Mug
Thistles and Kiwis: Fish Pie
New Classic Recipe Clam and Corn Chowder
Stories Served Around the Table Grilled Delights
Equipoise Life – Balsamic Green Bean Salad
Easing Along: Grilled Shrimp Foil Packets
Natalie the Explorer Asparagus and Sausage Penne
The Sandy Chronicles – Eggs for Breakfast
Eat, Play, Live (Eat Around the World) – Tomato Galette
Equipoise Life – Poutine Supper

We would love to add your meal suggestion here. 😀

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

97 thoughts on “What’s On Your Plate this August – Three Sisters Casserole with a Side of Bannock”

  1. Hi Donna – I love that combination of foods … butternut squash, corn and beans … so this recipe with the Bannock, served with rice … ideal for the times and time of year. Stunning looking plates with delicious sounding meal atop them. I’ll enjoy visiting other participants – cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks, Hilary – It’s a fast, easy, nutritious, delicious and low-calorie meal, win-win-win!
      It was awesome with the rice and bannock. Thank you so much for dropping by and for visiting other participants as well. Greatly appreciated!

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  2. Pingback: What’s on my plate – anyone for a scone? – Deb's World

  3. Hi Donna I love the story behind the name of the Three Sisters Casserole and the way you wove it into your post. The butternut squash, corn and beans yummy and healthy! I haven’t heard of Bannock before so I’ve learned something new. The meal looks delicious and your photography is excellent! Thanks for hosting #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge I look forward to it every month.x

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    1. Hi, Sue – Bannock is the North American term for Damper (campfire bread–wheat flour, leavened with baking powder, enriched with lard). Thank you for your kind comment, and for being a regular contributor to What’s On Your Plate. I absolutely loved ‘Making Memories Through Baking’. What a great recipe twist!

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  4. Who need coffee at 4:30 a.m. when you have this treat in your WP feed! This is fantastic, Donna. Not only does the food sound delicious, but your photos are so bright and vibrant I feel as though the food is in front of me. You should be doing photography for restaurants. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi, Jill – You are so kind (as always)!! I don’t always drink coffee at home, but I’ve been craving it each morning ever since reading ‘Dream of Family.’ (Funny how that happens). What an awesome and inspiring read. Thank you!

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  5. I find it really interesting how ancient people figured out how to make things grow so efficiently. It looks like it would have been a great return to healthy eating after all that delicious sharing of food with friends and family. I’m so glad you’ve been able to embrace the social aspect of life again after such a long period of isolation. x

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    1. Thanks, Leanne. This was a wonderful meal to reset our healthy eating habits. It has been awesome having so much more freedom after all of our past lockdowns. However, the upcoming news is not good. Fourth wave of Delta Variant predicted to create more and more havoc, expecially with children. I hope that all is well where you are. Thinking of you.

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    1. Awesome modelling, Bernadette. Linkinig your contribution in the comments is a perfect way to participate! I have already added your link to the main body of my post. I LOVE Corn and Clam Chowder and can’t wait to read more! Thank you so much for contributing, we greatly appreciate it!

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  7. Yum. A combination of healthy, tastes good, and items found in your back garden (or the farmer’s garden down the street). We have a local farm that sells its goods year round, and I delight in stopping there at least once a week to get their “grown here” goodies. This week: asparagus, blueberries, squash. Corn should come soon. So, here’s my “recipe” I share shamefaced. This farm also sells their homemade quiche. Our dinner last night was a fresh and delicious mushroom/spinach quiche with fresh sliced tomatoes on the side. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Pam – I absolutely love buying produce from local farms and farmer’s markets. When said farmers sell homemade meals and baking — that’s sweet icing on the cake. Your mushroom-spinach quice, with fresh slices of tomatoes, has me drooling! Thanks so much for dropping by and for participating.

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  8. The casserole looks delicious! It reminds me of the southern succotash I recently made with corn, butter beans, onion, and grape tomatoes. And bacon. We ate it up before I could get a picture.

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  9. Donna, that looks delicious. I am going to fix that for my lunches next week. As for what’s on my plate currently. I fixed a low-fat version of tri-color fettuccine. The tri-color comes from spiralized butternut squash and zucchini, along with just enough pasta to make me feel like I’m eating fettucine. Yummy!

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    1. Hi, Dawn – Thanks so much for dropping by. There are so many meatless dishes out there that are delicious, substantial and filling. If your husband likes Chili, there are many versions where he may not even notice that the meat is missing. Good luck!

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  12. I just happen to have all the necessary ingredients … and these 2 recipes both look Joanne-easy. I’m picking up a psychic hint as to what will be on my plate in the very near future 😉

    Sadly, I don’t have pretty bunny plates to serve it on 🐰

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    1. Hi, Joanne – The bunny plates are a reminder of my days in Beijing, Shopping for plateware there was easy, fun and incredibly inexpensive. Although I brought home three full dinner sets (plus two bowl sets, a dessert plate set and several serving platters) I really should have brought more home as gifts. Hindsight is such a wonderful teacher.
      Glad you liked this post. I am still laughing about Deb’s!

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      1. omg – we’re kindred spirits in our love for dishes!!! My kids would make fun of me about it … “normal families don’t have 2 sets of Christmas dishes”.

        I was just going to make a comment that I’ve downsized traumatically over the past few years, until I did a mental count and realized I still have 5 sets of dishes … including the Christmas dishes I can’t seem to part with.

        … but if I saw some bunny plates, I’m pretty sure I would have to buy them 😏

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  15. This looks delightfully easy and nutritious, Donna! I had to look up bannock. I think many of us are feeling the pinch of clothes not fitting as well as they used to, so I’m there with you on eating healthier and more mindfully, oh and using my WW app to track!

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    1. Hi, Terri – I agree that mindfulness is the key to smarter eating. If we are thoughtful when we meal plan, and are mindful about what we are preparing and eating, that alone can make a huge difference to our health and to our waistlines. Thank you so much for reacing and commenting, and sharing this wise tip.

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  16. Oh this looks perfect and I love the way the vegetables grow and complement each other. Thank you for doing Whats on Your plate. Ill be putting the badge on my site once I get back from vacation.

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  18. Yeah I saw this post and yeah for that recipe. Looks like a great side dish to some farm raised fresh pork or chicken.
    I can’t seem to find the time to pull a post together but seems it’s an easy concept I will add a photo below.

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    2. Take your favourite pyrogies and wrap them (when frozen) in BACON! Put them on a foil tray and cook on the BBQ. So good! The green bean salad is worth making especially with them picked straight from the garden.

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  22. At first I thought this might be about 3 Sisters in Canmore, Alberta. Interesting about the tradition, Donna. It all looks scrumptious! I will head over to some of the other posts you mention here. I just finished reading Deb’s post for her birthday dinner. Hilarious!!❤️

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    1. Hi, Erica – Great minds think alike. At first I thought that the Three Sisters referred to Norma’s restaurant in Montreal. I love learning back stories like this.
      Glad you enjoyed this post and Deb’s. I’ve proofread and reread Deb’s post several times. It continues to crack me up on every read.
      Looking forward to seeing you again soon!

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  23. Donna,
    Your recipe looks so delicious and we will put it into our inventory. We should return to Tennessee next week when fresh vegetables are available at every Farmer’s Produce stand. Nevertheless, we are still having a wonderful camping journey, so my contribution is an easy campfire (or grill) meal that we love. Shrimp, fresh or frozen, plus a few vegetables, some garlic and butter is all it requires. Have a great week! Joe
    http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a47430/grilled-shrimp-foil-packets-recipe/

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    1. Thanks, Joe and Helen – I’m delighted to hear that your travels continue to go well. I look forward to reading more about them. Thank you for sharing the link above. Grilled foods are my summer favourites!

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  24. Donna, it is a lovely story behind the recipe and such a practical way of growing vegetables as I would imagine space in the garden was not wasted when there were many mouths toofeed. The plate of food looks very tempting.

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  25. Pingback: Lots of Recipes to Love Lemons – Something to Ponder About

  26. In the old days, combining food crops for reasons like this helped them manage their work tasks and also eat seasonally. I think we have lost some of that old knowledge in modern cuisines, so it is lovely to read about it here. I love the What’s on Your Plate badge and have pinged back a link to this post on my own post about lemon cake and the versatility of lemons, as per Janis’ lovely suggestion. https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/lots-of-recipes-to-love-lemons/

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    1. Thank you so much for linking up. I have also included your link in the body of this post. I agree that we have lost some of the food/health/practical knowledge of our ancestors. A good rule for simple eating is if our grandparents couldn’t pronounce it, do we truly need it added to what we eat? Good food for thougtht!

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      1. The Grandparents did eat well and simply. Although sometimes they didn’t make healthy choices. Dripping for instance. Many thanks for adding the link. It is fun to check out the other contributors and discover some new blogs.

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  27. Your table is so beautifully set, Donna!
    And your casserole so very enticing. I love the name and the background behind it. I love all three ingredients although they are not at all indigenous to Singapore. I think I will make me some anyway …

    I have never had or made bannock before – is it anything like Irish soda bread, except with baking powder? I am looking at some recipes and it looks like it might.

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    1. Hi, Ju-Lyn – Thank you for your kind words. Bannock is made around a campfire or on a cast iron skillet. It is the same things as Damper (Australia). There is an Irish Bannock (that is slightly different than Irish Soda Bread) but I haven’t tried it so unfortunately can”t compare them. Although I know that I shouldn’t, I absolutely LOVE bread of all kinds.

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  29. Oh, dear, I have such a underdeveloped palette!! Terrible that I didn’t know what bannock was. Actually first read it as Bangkok. Which is another thing all together!! Heaven help me. This meal sounds so delicious. I like the late summer/fall colors of the ingredients and the little Indigenous planting tip you shared. When I was a little girl, we lived very close to Plymouth, Massachusetts and went to Plymouth Plantation quite regularly for tours. I have never forgotten that the Native Americans showed the colonists how to plant using fish as fertilizer. They would have all starved to death if not for the graciousness of those good people. Wish I could get PC to eat more veggies. I sent him a meal yesterday for lunch that had diced sweet potato and he told me ‘never again.’ Ugh!!

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  31. Pingback: Tasty Meal and St. James Park – Natalie the Explorer

    1. Hi, Natalie – Thank you for linking up to WOYP. Your traybake looks amazing. I love the versatility of swapping out the penne for spaghetti and the asparagus for broccolini. I will definitely be trying this dish soon!

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  33. I think you would make a fantastic food photographer, Donna! This is a skill, believe me (I know a food photographer). Your recipe looks yummy, healthy, and attractive. I had to look up what bannock is and wonder now how it tastes compared to “western homemade bread.”

    Happy to read you gorged on friendship, social activities, and unhealthy food this past month. 🙂

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    1. Hi, Liesbet – Thank you so much for your kind comment. I love photographing food. It’s fun to stage, is usually colourful and hopefully does not move. Food photography also gets my anticipation and taste buds going so that I can’t wait for the first bite. On the other hand, trying to eat dinner with me can now be annoying. Oh well, you can’t have everything! 😀

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  35. Pingback: Beach Week Coffee Share – Stories Served Around The Table
  36. Pingback: What’s On My Plate: Eggs – The Sandy Chronicles

  37. Love the explanation for Three Sisters. Isn’t it funny how ‘three sisters’ appears all over? In mountains, beaches, mythology and food. I will try this dish, it looks good, tasty & healthy.

    btw I do love your logo designs. So much so, I’ve personalized one of them for my post. I hope you don’t mind. Imitation is the highest form of flattery 😉

    What’s On My Plate: Eggs

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    1. Hi, Sandy – I absolutely LOVE how you personalized the banner. You are VERY talented. Good point about the Three Sisters. I hadn’t thought about that before, but it is so true. I love your Eggs for Breakfast post. I learned a few tricks that I look forward to trying out!

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  38. That casserole looks so healthy! Whenever I think of casserole, I tend to think of green bean casserole for Thanksgiving and it’s quite heavy.

    I would love to join this #whatsonyourplate challenge. I started putting together a similar challenge called “Eat around the World” (juliedoesstuff.wordpress.com/category/eat/eat-around-the-world/) where each month I ask people to share a dish around a certain ingredient (tomatoes), theme (celebration), or technique (cast iron). It started as an excuse to continue practicing my cooking skills and it’s been a fun exercise for me.

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  39. The best bannock I ever ate was cooked over an open fire on a stick, then filled with home-made jam after pulling the stick out. I recently had dinner at a friend’s home – fried fish that T had caught, garden-fresh potatoes, beans, peas, carrots with saskatoon pie for dessert, saskatoons that G had picked herself from the bushes around her yard. I love this seasonal bounty. I commented once that we were the original “organic” farmers – if we didn’t grow it, pick it or kill it, we didn’t eat. I also marvel at how hard my mom worked to fill the cellars with preserved food. I scold my young self for ever complaining about foraging for berries or picking the garden produce.

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    1. Hi, Mona – It’s wonderful to hear from you. I always love reading your comments (they are very insightful). My Australian friends rave about ‘Damper’ made on a stick over a campfire. I’ve always wanted to try it and then realized that Damper is simply the Australian term for Bannock. But I haven’t yet had Bannock (or Damper) cooked on a stick. It’s on my Bucket List!
      I love your family’s traditional way of eating. And the fresh-picked saskatoons sound amazing!!

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    1. Hi, Bernie – It is never too early or too late to add a WOYP post. This one is terrific. I have had poutine before but probably not in the last 10 years. But gravy and fries = Yes! Cheese Sauce and Fries = Also Yes! Ketchup and Fries = You guessed it, Yes. Salt and Vinegar and Fries – not so much! 😀
      BTW – We are the same age. Very cool!

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  42. That is such a great recipe and a recipe that brings together quite a number of ingredients. Lovely to hear the casserole dish was easy to prepare as it looked, and you made it look stunning. I’ve never heard of bannock and looked it up – and looks like it’s a kind of bread. What a hearty, delicious meal. Take care 🙂

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  43. Donna this line “get-out-of-lockdown, visit-every-(vaccinated)-person-you-know, and throw-all-healthy-eating- habits-to-the-wind,” made me laugh out loud. As an extrovert I hear you!
    This looks like a delicious and healthy recipe to balance out those social visits.

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    1. That statements so true, right?! To be honest, August was beginning to slow down a tad for me, but it has ramped up again with our Californian friends in town. Crazy busy – but I wouldn’t have it any other way! 😀

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