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What’s On Your Plate – The Final Edition

Retirement Reflections

Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, commented upon, and participated in the What’s On Your Plate linkups. Your enthusiasm and support have meant the world to us.

My blogging-turned-in-person-buddy, Deb V, and I launched this linkup series on April 7, 2021. Since then, at least one of us has posted monthly, culminating in 46 linkups. Below, I’ve listed all the topics I’ve contributed. If you’re searching for a specific title, the search bar in the upper right-hand corner of my blog should help you locate it quickly and easily (she says with confidence).

My Contributions to What’s On Your Plate

  1. A Garden Gift
  2. Battle Cranberry-Sausage Spaghetti
  3. Blume Hot Drinks
  4. Bowl of Hope to Go
  5. Cantonese Noodles – 4 Ways
  6. Chatelaine’s 30 Days of Delicious, Dinner-in-a-Bowl Salads
  7. Cheater, Cheater Turkey Eater
  8. Chicken Taco Soup
  9. Farmers’ Market Greek Salad
  10. Favourite Holiday Recipe
  11. Five-Ingredient Immune-Boosting Soup
  12. Food Photography – A Divisive Issue
  13. Friday Night Pizza
  14. Friendship, Travel, and High Tea
  15. Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun
  16. Greek Baked Vegetables (Briam)
  17. Mediterranean Smashed Chickpea Salad with Tzatziki Aioli
  18. Mediterranean Sole
  19. Meatless March
  20. Mini Cheesecakes
  21. Mirepoix
  22. Portuguese Coastal Camino Edition
  23. Salmon and Asparagus Sheet Pan Dinner
  24. Signature Meals and Old Standbys
  25. Thai Yellow Curry
  26. The Blue Zone & Cookbook Edition
  27. The Go Bananas Edition
  28. The Google Breakfast Edition
  29. The Outdoors Edition
  30. The Truth About Tofu
  31. Three Sisters Casserole with a Side of Bannock
  32. Two-Ingredient Biscuits
  33. Undercover Roasted Veggie Tomato Pasta
  34. Universal Yums Snack Box
  35. Win-Win Eating
  36. Winner, Winner, Steak Dinner
  37. What’s in Your Slow Cooker?
  38. WOYP Banff
  39. WOYP ChatGPT
  40. WOYP Cookbook Confidential
  41. WOYP Friendship Edition
  42. WOYP Hong Kong
  43. WOYP Mazatlán
  44. Zesty Lime and Cayenne Roasted Chickpea with Sweet Potato Salad

The most popular of the above posts were: The Outdoor Edition (May 2021), Friday Night Pizza (February 2022) and Will the Last Canadians Heading Out this Way Please Turn Off the Lights? (January 2024). Thank you again! These posts have sparked 3,220 comments on my site alone and inspired countless awesome linkups from others.

While this marks the final chapter for What’s On Your Plate, there are plenty of other fantastic food linkups to explore. One relatively new (or newly revised) kid on the block is Jo Tracey’s BKD Cookbook Club. If you’re part of (or lead) a monthly food/recipe/cookbook linkup, please feel free to share your details in the comments.

Deb and I aren’t going anywhere. She will continue with Sunday Schnauzer, and I’ll carry on with What’s On Your Bookshelf and What’s Been On Your Calendar. The blogging journey continues, as does my deep friendship with Deb, and my sincere appreciation for all of you who gather in this little corner of the blogging world. Thank you for being part of this journey—I look forward to continued connection with each of you.

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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.

63 thoughts on “What’s On Your Plate – The Final Edition”

  5. Hi Donna – that’s a lot of hosting that you and Deb managed between you, and I understand why you’re happy to wind things up – giving you time to focus on your other link-ups and whatever the new year has in store for you both. Cheers to 2025 🙂

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  10. Thank you for inspiring us! I’ve made more than one of your recipes. Somehow recipes are better when someone you know (or kind of know) has made it and recommends it. Right now Deb has me in a trifle kind of mood! Who knows where that will take me.

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  12. There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other’s cooking & say it was good. – Real Reason by Brian Andreas.

    I don’t go into the kitchen alone. The generations who came before me circle the island & preside over the stove. This Christmas I made my paternal grandma’s coconut macaroons, meringue deliciousness. One of my mom’s many specialties was sweet & sour chicken wings. Today, I’ll make cinnamon buns. I’ve yet to make them as good as mom’s.

    Happy New Year to you & Richard.

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  17. Donna, you are so organized. The list is helpful. It’s interesting how we redefine our priorities as we continue to blog. Thanks for all of the different ones you’ve participated in. Sorry I haven’t been a better participant. Our interests are so similar, my timing just isn’t good. 🙂 Good to see your picture on Janis’s recent post. Have a wonderful 2025, my friend. 🙂 xxx

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    1. Hi, Janis – Meatless meals are so much easier to prepare these days, as regular grocery stores are now filled with great alternatives, and meatless recipes abound. My focus for 2025 will be to eliminate UPF’s from our plates. Truly a daunting task in today’s world – but I am ready for the challenge!

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  20. This was definitely one of my fav link ups, and I appreciate the time and effort you and Deb put into it. Wow! That’s a lot of work to pull all your posts into this for easy reference, so thanks. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you were pulling the pin on blogging, so I am glad you still intend to post occasionally.

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    1. Thanks, Bernie – I love that new stages of life continue to bring new areas of focus and priority. When I began blogging 9 years ago (Jan 1, 2016), I posted approximately every six days. A few years ago, I brought that down to three times per month with my three linkups. Now two times a month which I think will be perfect for me. I’ll let you know how that goes! 😀

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  21. wow that’s a big creative output! Thank you for sharing the link up. I shall miss reading your foody posts but completely understand the need to condense ‘blogging’ time.

    Happy New Year

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  23. It is so difficult to end a series–I feel for you. I have a few like that I’m pondering. I love your continuing options, especially “What’s on your bookshelf”. Looking forward to reading with you!

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    1. Hi, Jacqui – Thank you for your kind words. Although you and I usually read completely different genres, I always look forward to your reviews and I have learned a great deal from them. Looking forward to reading with you too!

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  26. Hi Donna – I’ve so enjoyed these … but understand life moves on … it’s great you’ve listed them all here – thank you. All the best for 2025 – Hilary

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  27. Donna,

    You are to be congratulated for your effort to make your blog informative in so many ways, and I admire your creativity. Glad to know you’re not going anywhere–Helen and I would miss you. Have a lovely week! Joe

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