No matter the natural disaster I’ve covered, whether it’s a wildfire or flood, I always come back with a much greater perspective.
Ginger Zee
It feels so superficial to be posting this blog post while my province is in a state of emergency. Not just my province, but my community. As I sit here in the comfort of my bed, sipping my coffee and staring out into the grey morning, I feel SO many emotions. Relief, guilt, anxiety, appreciation, sadness, fear, anger, gratitude, pride and more guilt.
They are all legit feelings and I keep telling myself it’s ok to feel every single one of them.
This has been the worst fire season in BC history. It started up north in the early spring. No moisture in the air and the ground led to massive wildfires throughout Northern BC. Mid summer saw some of the biggest fires in history, plow through central BC and just keep on going. While many fires in the south were slow burning, it wasn’t until the winds picked up last Thursday that really sent our province into a state of emergency. The wind mixed with the HOT temperatures, no rain in months, an early winter melt, and a cold front (+29C 😳) making it’s way through, were all the ingredients for a fire storm the likes we haven’t seen in almost exactly 20 years to the day. I didn’t live here when the fire that ripped through Kelowna hit in 2003, but I’m here this time and honestly it has been a lot.
I am beyond GRATEFUL that my Sis and her family were on the border of the evacuation. My Sis’s work, UBC was evacuated and my BIL is the Vice Principal in town and many of his students were left without homes after the fire ripped through West Kelowna, sparked a new fire in Kelowna proper and spread north into Lake Country displacing more than 20 000 people in the glowing red of the night.
My heart is sick for the people that have lost their homes. I have watched so many front line videos that have made me breakdown in a fresh set of tears every time. I am blown away by the community and how quickly the city and surrounding areas pulled together and volunteered time, food, and supplies to the evacuees, the people who have lost everything and the amazing firefighters from all over, risking their lives to keep us all safe.
Penticton has been left off the hook… this time but after this week I have come to the sobering realization, it’s just a matter of time before it is us fleeing our homes and the community will once again have to come together. This time it was many things that led up to this devastation but the summers are just getting hotter, the winds are just getting stronger and the forests are full of fuel just waiting to go up in dry hot flames. Scary.
Thank you to everyone who has checked in on us. Penticton is being used as an evacuation centre for all the people fleeing their homes to the south of us right now from rural Oliver, rural Osoyoos, Keremeos, Twin Lakes, and Willowbrook. We have also taken in evacuees from West Kelowna, Kelowna, and Lake Country. Evacuation registration is out of HBear’s school, Princess Margret Secondary and SO many Okanagan businesses have stepped up to donate food, their time, their spaces and their services for fundraising. It has been a truly beautiful thing to see, the community coming together to support each other.
So, moving forward slowly but surely, the evacuated properties will be let back into their homes, some of that has already started! Hurricane Hillary that is hitting the West Coast right now (yes, you heard me correctly), has actually been a positive for the BC wildfires! Some of the hurricane’s reach has moved so far inland that today we are hoping for a little bit of rain! Unfortunately, with rain also comes the fear of lightning. Fingers crossed that the weather reports are wrong, and we get more precipitation than expected and less lightning than they are calling for! Hopefully, this brief rainshower will lift some of the smoke that we have been living under these past few days. I have never seen anything like this! I live 4 blocks from the hospital and I cannot even see the tower lights through the thick smoke hanging, everywhere. I hate that Ninja is out there working in this! He is wearing a mask, but there are so many layers to this climate emergency. Yep, I said it 😂.
Be safe everyone. Hold your loved ones close, take care of one another, thank your neighbour, give yourself a break and be compassionate to others. You have no idea what they’re going through right now. We are all going through something. Sending you each love and positivity during these scary times 💛.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #343: When Smoke Gets In Your Eye HERE! This week, we get together during the worst fire(s) the Okanagan Valley has seen in 20 years. Topics: hosting, fire, smoke, country on fire, Bill C-18, more fires, hurricanes, & fire songs.
Over the last week or 2 we have been trying to eat lighter. The heat really takes a toll on you and your appetite. In our quest to eat well but not have a typical meat, starch and veg dinner, we tried out these 2 delicious sandwiches! These are PERFECT weeknight dinners, especially for September when you are just getting into the swing of things and the heat is still all encompassing. We are BIG fans of grilled cheese sandwiches in this house and this Turkey Melt is basically a gourmet grilled cheese that tastes like a million bucks but is simple, cheap and fast to make! The Flatbread Wraps were also absolutely fanfreakingtastic! Making wraps with flatbreads is the way to go! No ripping, it has a great textured chew and the taste is out of this world! This would be a great back to school lunch too!
Turkey Melt
Adapted from Easy Healthy Recipes
8 slices sourdough bread
4 tablespoons honey mustard, divided
4 slices cheese, divided
8 slices deli turkey divided
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup baby spinach divided
8 slices bacon, cooked
4 tablespoons butter divided
Spread ¼ tablespoon butter on 4 pieces of bread and put onto griddle butter side down. Spread ¼ tablespoon honey mustard on each piece of bread.
Layer cheese, turkey, tomatoes, spinach, bacon and top with honey mustard.
Spread ½ tablespoon butter on outside of each piece of remixing bread and top sandwiches, butter side out. Toast bread for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then flip and toast bread another 3 to 4 minutes on other side, or until cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through.
Asian Chicken Flatbread Wraps
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
6 Flatbreads
6 lettuce leaves
2 1/2 cups chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1/2 bag shredded broccoli slaw
1 large carrot, cut into thin strips
1 cup snow peas ends trimmed and julienned
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2-3 tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2-2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Asian sweet chili sauce
Whisk together the seasoned rice vinegar, canola oil, 2-3 tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, salt, ginger, garlic powder, and pepper.
Add cooked chicken to a bowl and toss with half the dressing to coat. Add lime juice, broccoli slaw, carrots, peas, bell pepper, cilantro, green onions, the rest of the dressing and toss until evenly coated.
Whisk the Asian sweet chili sauce and the mayonnaise together. Spread the entire surface of each Flatbread with approximately 1 tablespoon of mayo mix. Lay a lettuce leaf in the middle of each flatbread.
Evenly divide salad filling between flatbreads in a row on top of lettuce/flatbread. Tightly roll up flatbreads and slice in half.
This week felt like 2 weeks wrapped into 1. At the beginning of the week, I went to work and Kitty missed the Kids visits very much. I ate my favourite snack, ate Teen Burgers at A&W for Fight MS Day, and watched the sky turn pink and then filled with smoke. I read by the pink hued light of the sky, SBean cleaned out her costume closet and it got even hotter outside. When the skies turned black, my Sis and her family came. We had Winnipeg cube dogs for dinner, played a family bracket game that HBear made up for us, hung out with the doggos, the Kids went to a movie, played VR, did their nails, make movies, and we had a nice family roast beef dinner. Thinking of EVERYONE affected by these fires and sending everyone love and positivity. BC Strong. Okanagan Strong 💛.
2 thoughts on “BC Wildfires, Turkey Melts & Asian Chicken Flatbread Wraps”
That has to be so hard with the fires. I haven't had to experience something like that yet, and I am so thankful. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts. The sandwich looks very good. Thank you for linking up at Tell It To Me Tuesday. I hope to see you again this week.
Those turkey melts and flatbreads are so awesome.
Thank you for sharing your links with us at #275 SSPS Linky. See you again next week