Category: Recipes
The Canadian Dinner Table – Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls
The crew here are bakers. That may be a mild term for how much all of us love to whip up and chow down on delicious baked goods. But, cinnamon rolls have always seemed just out of reach in the everyday foods department. Some recipes call for a double rise. Some…well…they just always looked way [...]
Food & Your Family – 6 Ways to Serve Up Hard-Boiled Eggs
Let’s face it. There’s a pile of hard-boiled eggs in our refrigerators destined for the garbage unless something really inventive comes along. Really, how many of those things can you eat before they go bad and you learn to hate them? Then divide it by nine and that’s how many the kids will eat. Unless… [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Black Bean & Artichoke Heart Chili
These early spring days make for challenging cooking in any house. Mostly, we suspect it has a lot to do with the reality that most Canadians have had their fill of root veggies and other seasonal goodies. Craving the fresh, bright flavors of the garden, we are starting to think lighter meals that have a [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Down East Oatmeal Bread
No matter where you sit down to dinner North of 49, there are classic Canadian foods that make us all feel at home. That cozy, warm feeling of freshly baked bread takes all of us back to snowy days of childhood. A house full of the scent of baked goods just coming out of the [...]
Quick, Healthy Eats – Cheesy Roasted Broccoli Patties
We are always on the hunt for tasty, fast, healthy recipes that result in lunches that are gobbled up by our kiddos around here. Cheese and broccoli are a super delish combination. So, when we recently whipped up this vegetarian recipe for our picky kiddos and watched them eat it up and ask for more, [...]
5 Easy Kid Lunches in 15 Minutes
In the land of the pre-schooler, lunch time can be akin to pulling teeth. Getting our kiddos to sit down at the table and chow down on healthy meals that they love and don’t take us ages to make is a modern parental priority. It’s also a monumental modern parenting accomplishment. Picky kids are par [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 6, Beautiful Borscht
As we wrap up our six-week celebration of Canadian soups, it seems fitting to finish with one that – from Victoria to Halifax – can truly be considered a Canadian winter staple. The root veggies and tasty meat-based stock that are at the heart of a tasty borscht has warmed the bellies of folks on [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 5, Chinese Dumpling Soup
Taking part in Chinese New Year celebrations this past weekend, the crew here at OBE wondered how to replicate the amazing spread of traditional foods that brought people throughout Canada together. The delicate combination of ingredients that make a good Chinese soup come together are a bit of tasty magic. Dumplings are a fan favorite [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 4, Sweet Potato Soup
At the daily farmer’s market here in Halifax the other day there was a big discussion about what can actually be found when it comes to Canadian produce this time of year. February is the dregs of sorts. Not a whole lotta greens, last of the apples. But, there is definitely no shortage in the [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 3, Braised Pork Stew with Garlic Mash
A winter in the Canadian Rockies, where temperatures cheerfully dip down past -20 and Jack Frost is a familiar site, finding the perfect meal that wraps you up in a cozy warmth, satisfies and hard-working appetite and tastes amazing is often bundled up in the art of cooking up the perfect stew. Although soup purists [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 2: Butternut Squash Soup
When it comes to winter soups, as Canadians we all think about a lovely Alberta beef stew or a delicious Saskatoon borscht. But, no soup finds itself on dinner tables from Quebec to Kelowna more than a tasty roasted squash soup. Wherever you are, the winter farmer’s market, the local grocer, squash is a seasonal [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 1, Maritime Seafood Chowder
It’s cold. When the chill starts inching its way down your spine, ski pants are a non-optional clothing and you spot kids skating on the local pond down the road it is time to start thinking about warming, tasty, hearty dinner options. This time of year as adults we are all trying to think about [...]
Family Holiday Baking for The Non-Baker
We here at OBE – with Sue in her cozy home near the shores of Qualicum Beach, B.C. or Robin’s crew looking out at the Halifax skyline – love baking. Especially holiday baking. Now, that doesn’t actually mean that either of us are baking genius. We simply love, in our minds, the IDEA of baking [...]
Pumpkin Pie That Isn’t Just for Thanksgiving
I whisper it very quietly because most people would wonder if I was born on another planet – I’ve never really liked pumpkin pie. (gasp) It’s not that I have a hate-on for pumpkin. In fact, I totally crave pumpkin squares, pumpkin soup, freshly roasted pumpkin seeds. But, me and pumpkin pie just don’t have [...]
Summer Eats – Hearty Middle Eastern Supper Salad
The blazing heat of August, all we can think about when it comes to making dinner is what will be healthy and something the kids will eat that we don’t have to turn the stove on to make. While the grill is a decent option, even that seems to hot to handle when it’s 40 [...]
Summer Treats – Coconut Carob Pops
Editor’s Note: My pal Tree Haverner has been hanging out with me on the Internets for one heck of a long time and she has also been sharing her foodie goodness for that long too. In fact, that’s how we first met – FLICKR and food that lead me to her blog, Tiny Morsels. We first [...]
Summer Cocktail Season: Finding the Perfect Blend, Our Top 5
The few summery-like days that graced the Island recently saw everyone at my house clamouring for sunglasses, beach buckets, shorts and flip-flops. That first day on the beach with the kids was magic; crabs, shells, warm tidepools filled with slippery seaweed and frisky little fish, the sun shining warm on my shoulders. With the wee ones searching happily among the rocks [...]
Cupcakes: You Know You Want One!
I arrived at kindergarten a few minutes earlier than usual so I sat in my car leafing through the newest Avon book dropped off the day before. I’ve found the odd nifty gift through Avon though not to mention their catalog fits in my bag. Perfect for when I get that sacred minute for myself. Avon’s [...]
Family Recipes to LOVE – Cheddar Zucchini Bread
We keep meaning to post this delicious recipe for pretty much the best zucchini bread EVER. But, about the time one of us has made a batch, it has disappeared before being properly photographed. This weekend, a tiny slab made it to the 24-hour mark. So, we are able to share how pretty it looks [...]
Family Breakfasts – Cranberry & Coconut Scones
Breakfast is one of those meals that, during the week, pretty much gets forgotten about. In between lunches and getting dressed, last-minute homework and the inevitable butt-dragging that constitutes the life of any school-aged kid, the prospect of spending the time to whip up a hot breakfast comes in dead last. But, the morning meal [...]
Healthy Bites – Caprese Salad Sandwiches
If there’s one food that most families can agree on, it’s sandwiches. There’s nothing like those two slabs of fresh bread, bagels or even a tortilla filled with deliciousness to win the heart of even the pickiest of eaters. Now salad, that’s a different story. Kids are legendarily tough sells in the veggie department. But, [...]
Cozy Family Recipes – Honey Buns
Lots of moms go through phases with cooking for their family. Sometimes you are wowed by the wonder and can’t stop yourself from spending every extra second in the kitchen. Others, well, it’s a good thing there’s takeout sushi. But, there’s something about getting the basics down and delivering them fairly regularly that is pretty [...]
Last-Minute, Easy Cookie Recipes
It’s the day before Christmas. Friends who you see once a year are on the island and in the mood for some social time. They phone. They text. They Facebook saying they’ve got a few hours headed your way. You’re looking around the house wondering why you didn’t start cooking holiday dinner a little early…and [...]
20-minute Soup for the Sick Family
Our family has been battling this evil, satanic virus that is ripping through the Valley right now for almost two weeks. We’ve been in and out of school, lost voices, watched our noses run away, coughed up a lung, you get it. Being sick is one of the worst things I could ever come up [...]
Homemade Staples – Granola Bars
When it comes to the basics that go in lunch kits, are tasty, healthy snacks and keep everyone happy in the house one of the things that always seems to go with us anywhere is granola bars. Throw them in a purse, a backpack, even a diaper bag and you’ve always got something ready when [...]
Healthy, Fun Kids Snacks – Homemade Fruit Roll-ups
While our house isn’t swimming in berries right now, we are all really craving some of that late summer goodness that is ripe blackberry or blueberry around here. I have piles and piles of berries frozen from this year’s picking and really wanted to make something for the kids that could go easily into lunch [...]
Healthy Comfort Foods – Spinach Burgers
At first blush, spinach burgers may not be something that you’d consider a dinner staple for your whole family. The mere thought of a mouthful of greens may be repellent for the fussy food crowd. But, this recipe recently whipped up in the OBE test kitchen proved greens could get the green light for dinner. [...]
Fall Family Recipes – Chicken Sweet Potato Pot Pie
As we move into the chilliest time of year I begin to hunker down in the kitchen to create some cozy, satisfying comfort foods that are also healthy. That seems to be the trick, really, as comfort food always seems to be code for heavy and full of calories. Homemade pot pie is a tasty [...]
Easy Kids Lunchbox Eats – Mini Calzones
Getting our oldest daughter to eat all of her lunch these days is a serious challenge. I swear they give those kids about 2 minutes to eat their lunch and she is about the slowest eater on the planet. So, that combination means that most of the time almost the entire lunch comes home with [...]
Warm Cumin Lentil Chickpea Salad with Turmeric-Scented Shrimp
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today we are joined by the lovely food blogger and chef France Morisette from Beyond The Peel. France has just released a new digital cookbook. Do you ever wonder if there’s such a thing as delicious health food? Would you like meals to be stress free, nourishing, fast and amazing? Would [...]
Easy Kids Lunchbox Eats – Cheese, Apple & Ham Quesidilla
It’s the day after Thanksgiving in Canada and all of us are in turkey overload. My husband made a bet that at least one-third of the kids in our daughter’s class would have some sort of turkey dish in their lunchbox today. While it’s an excellent use of leftovers, moms are still on the hunt [...]
Modern Thanksgiving – Quinoa & Winter Veggies
With that traditional Thanksgiving dinner less than a week away now, making plans for what goes on the dinner table and the inevitably long, familiar shopping list that goes with it are just about underway. For us, the holiday will be a quiet, cozy time this year filled with giving thanks for our happy, healthy [...]
Easy Family Dinners – Meatloaf Muffins
Let’s face it. Time is a commodity when the kids are starving after a day of school, you are exhausted from the general chaos of raising a family, working, being human, and there is still so much to do at the end of every day. Cooking big dinners is rarely on the to-do list. Dinner [...]
Fall Food – Refrigerator Beets & Beet Salad
Fall food is all about rich, comfortable noshing. I find myself baking more and moving toward thicker, more hardy dishes as the temperatures cool. But, my extra large baby weight size has really made me determined to keep working off the pounds while still making yummy, cozy dishes that are super satisfying. Adios potatoes. One [...]
Fall Family Food – Drying Apples
Whenever I hear the words “food preservation” they always seem like code for “lots of work.” While I love the warmth and back-to-basics feeling I get when considering taking on a project, it always seems like when I get right down to it I lose the will to preserve. This year, though, I’ve been really [...]
Fall Food – Zucchini Times Two
Editor’s Note: Every year during the summer I head back into the Our Big Earth archives and check out some of the oldies but goodies that get filed away and dust them off because it doesn’t matter if it’s 1967 or 2011, they are truly timeless. Every September my counter is packed full of one [...]
Summer Soups That Make You Sing
Summer eating rarely involves the stove or oven in my universe. The thought of heating up the house even more than it already is sends me in the direction of salads, Ploughmans platters and barbecue. But, with this year’s relatively cool temperatures and my parents in town for the season I have rediscovered a love [...]
Campout Food – Owl Smores
If you couldn’t tell, I have camping on the brain. We may never get to the actual act of setting up a tent and sleeping in it overnight this year. But, wiener roasts, ghost stories and some night star gazing are going to happen – even if it’s just in the backyard or at the [...]
Retro Recipe – Coconut Cocoa Date Balls
Editor’s Note: Lately, I’ve been going back through the OBE archives in an attempt to remember some of my favorite recipes of years gone by to remake them as I’m perpetually in a food rut. That’s when I came across this delicious treat for Coconut Cocoa Date Balls – originally published on June 11, 2008. [...]
Wayback Kid-Friendly Eats – Salad People
Editor’s Note: Is Spring Break getting you down? Are you in serious need of some food fun around your house? We’ve jumped on the OBE wayback machine all the way back to March 2008 when Christa Herrling shared her fun version of salad people with us, making everyone smile and giving us a fun project [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Pork Medallions
This one is for the Flatlanders. I’m writing this post as I bask in the sun of my vacation destination. Most people would think I’ve taken a cruise or headed down to Mexico for some fun in the hot sun. Think again. My vacation time is spent in the sunny and spectacular flat land of [...]
Family Treats – Yogurt Poppy Seed Cake
Editor’s Note: Comox Valley mom and entrepreneur Ewa Nowicka is here this morning to share one of her favorite family recipes that makes these last few days of Winter a bit more bearable. It looks so delicious, I may just have to go make it this afternoon. Cake is heaven. This thin, moist cake is [...]
Old Skool Holidays – Valentines Sugar Cookies
Editor’s Note: This fantastic recipe was first posted on Ourbigearth.com in February, 2008 by local mom and baker Christa Herrling. As Valentines Day 2011 catches up with us, I thought it was time to revisit it and get our baking groove on with delicious, sweet and gorgeous sugar cookies. Enjoy. For this Valentines edition of [...]
Lunchbox Ideas – Go For The Thermos
Editor’s note: Good Morning, I’m always looking for lunch ideas to keep us interested instead of eating the same thing day after day. Thank goodness Christy Aune from Kids Konserve is here today with some great ideas on how to trade the lunch box for the thermos during the winter to jazz up those noon-time [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Oyster Bacon Burgers & Kale Chips
The holidays have come and gone and the resolutions have been made. I’ve resolved in the past not to make resolutions. I find that it’s too much pressure and since most of my resolutions have to do with exercise and a restrictive diet, I couldn’t do it anyways. You see I’m a food lover. I [...]
Dairy-Free Betty – Salmon Chowder
The holidays have come and gone and everyone has already been back to school and work for a week. It’s also this time of year that people are in the final stages of the “turkey hangover,” also know as; hot turkey sandwich, turkey soup and stew and any other turkey flavoured meal overload, and they [...]
Holidays 2010 – Last-Minute Holiday Meals
Editor’s Note: Good Morning, OBE Mom Posse mamas Leah Douglas and Robin Blackburn have joined forces today to help us all get through those last-minute holiday meal emergencies with style and some yummy eats. Don’t spend too much time in the kitchen (unless there is wine involved). Enjoy! Okay, it is nearly Christmas. You have [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Baked Candied Apples
Have you ever been completely caught off guard by your own plans? The plans that you, and only you have made? That was my dilemma this past week. I was so excited when, a few months ago, I learned that a couple of close friends would be staying with my family and I for a [...]
Dairy-Free Betty – Allergy-friendly Holiday Treats
Happy Holidays to all the Our Big Earth readers, it’s amazing that the store shelves have been stocked with Christmas decorations for a month now, and that Christmas is just around the bend, which means it’s a perfect time to start Christmas baking! I have a confession; last Christmas was my very first Christmas ever [...]
Family Recipes – The OBE Holiday Cookie & Candy Exchange
Well, I figure since I am not going to be magically discovering the space in real life to bake this year, I ought to do the annual cookie exchange electronically. Over the years, we have amassed some seriously tasty recipes for sweets of all kinds that go perfectly in the cookie exchange pile. So, here [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Wild Game Stew
I’m starting to get ready. It’s the time of year when it gets a bit dull, a bit rainy, and a bit gloomy. For me it’s the perfect time to start stocking up on some yummy stick-it-to-your-tummy winter foods like chili and stew. For my husband the rain marks the start of his favorite holiday [...]
Dairy-Free Betty – Pulled Pork with Tangy Crisp Coleslaw
Today I am bringing a little down South cooking your way, of course with a few delicious twists! This is the perfect meal to throw into your crock pot when you know you are going to have hungry people taking over your home, a delicious change from all the turkey meals we are about to [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Pumpkin Sour Cream Loaf
Thanksgiving has come and gone. I think I’m still recovering from the feast. My husband and I were grateful this year to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with relatives from a few provinces away. Our son enjoyed getting to know family and his dinner of turkey and cabbage rolls and potatoes and brussell sprouts (yes, [...]
Dairy-Free Betty – Comfort Food Pumpkin Soup
It is officially fall, there is no denying it now! The air is crisp, the leaves are turning colors, Christmas commercials are beginning to flooding the airwaves and Starbucks has re-launched their infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte. You can’t get much more fall than that! Fall for me is time for the summer clothes to be [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – 5 Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers
Editor’s Note: You may be thinking “What are they talking about, Thanksgiving?” But, believe it or not, the big day for Canadians is less than two weeks away and if there is one thing we all suffer from as parents, it’s whattodowithleftovers-itis. So, The Kid-Friendly Gourmet’s Christine Buchholz is here today to share some great [...]
Dairy-Free Betty – Warming Moroccan Stew
Editor’s Note: Fall may be another week away, but this cooler weather is sure calling for some warm, wonderful eating for the whole family. Dairy-Free Betty’s Jessica McRoberts is here this morning with a twist on stew that is sure to make you cozy. Enjoy. Can you believe it’s already halfway through September? This was [...]
Back-to-School 2010 – More Easy Lunchbox Eats
Getting back into the habit of packing a house full of lunches every day is, well, possibly the least fun part of the whole back to school gig. It’s a routine which can make your kids groan at the thought of “What could possibly be in there today?” Or, it can be an exercise in [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Salmon Pasta Salad
Editor’s Note: The weather may be a bit cooler. But, that means the backyard will be the perfect temperature for that family BBQ you’ve been putting off all summer. It also means that refreshing, hearty, yummy fare like a gourmet take on pasta salad are in order. Kid-Friendly Gourmet Christine Buchholz is here this morning [...]
Banana Soft Serve with Dairy-Free Chocolate & Caramel Sauce
Editor’s Note: It may be finally starting to cool down. But, there is nothing like the frozen goodness of homemade ice cream to take the edge off of summertime heat. Today, Jessica McRoberts of Dairy-Free Betty gives even those of us who have to say no to dairy the delicious coolness of a sweet treat [...]
Summer Treats – Get Fruitastic with Two Jelly & Fruit Gems
I am all over the easy summer treats that will wow the kid crew around here these days. Gelatin goodness packed with fruit are always the hit of the season. We’ve had some of my most loved (and most returned to) recipes here on OBE. Check out Rosina Huber’s Veggie Jelly Melons (with half the [...]
Summer Foodie Redeux – Homemade Frozen Treats
If there is one thing that makes summertime sweet, it’s popsicle in hand, bathing suit on, kiddie pool in play. As a kid, I would have skipped all things sweet and sugary for a fudgesicle or a freezie pop. Since then, though, I’ve had a few years to feel badly for my parents who got [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Beef Lettuce Wraps
Editor’s Note: Happy Wednesday! Christine Buchholz is here with another delicious kid-friendly recipe that was inspired by local farms and is sure to please. Enjoy. Here she is: So often I think about my son and how he will learn about food. I wonder if he’ll know that vegetables come from a planted seed and [...]
Dairy Free Betty – Green Smoothie And Raw Garden Soup
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Jessica McRoberts is back this morning with some wonderful, fresh recipes that highlight the amazing foods of summer, keeping things light and flavorful. Enjoy. In June, I was lucky enough to do a 10 day Raw Foods course with the famous “Raw Rose.” It was the perfect opportunity to inspire me [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Blueberry Lemon Stacks
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Christine Buchholz is on site with a tasty kid-friendly dessert recipe that is sure to have you running for the kitchen to whip it up. Enjoy. What comes to mind when you think of the word fresh? I think of clean, pure and, well, delicious. When I think of the word [...]
Dairy Free Betty – Sweet & Spicy Lamb Burgers with Tabbouleh
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Jessica McRoberts is back today with two tasty, exotic recipes for summer that will have your mouth watering. Enjoy. Do you have days when you want to spice up your life a little? I have these moments all the time, especially when it comes to food. I like food experiences that [...]
The Kid-Friendly Gourmet – Easy Root Vegetable Gratin
Editor’s Note: Good morning readers! Today we are lucky to introduce you to another new OBE foodie addition. Food photographer and at-home gourmet Christine Buchholz’s column focused on savory – dare we even say gourmet – kid-friendly recipes launches today. Her first recipe is sure to please those tiny people in your life and give [...]
Dairy Free Betty – Turkey Veggie Chili & Cornbread
Editor’s Note: Good morning. It is our pleasure to introduce one of two new foodie columnists here at OBE. Today we have Jessica McRoberts, from Dairy Free Betty, on site dishing out a tasty, versatile and simple recipe for turkey veggie chili and cornbread. All of Jessica’s dishes focus on allergy-friendly alternatives. My mouth is already watering! Enjoy. [...]
Develop A Kids Cultural Palette-Learn to Make Sushi
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Sarah Stromquist is on site this morning sharing her recent adventure in making sushi with her lovely girls. She definitely inspired me to give it a whirl. Here’s Sarah: Straying from my usual barrage of recipes, I decided to focus on one idea in hopes of convincing people to undertake their [...]
Roll with Local Veg and Cabbage Rolls this January
Good morning. While I was wandering the aisles at the grocery store the other day I had a very uncomfortable moment of consciousness when I looked down into my grocery basket and saw very little fresh food. It’s that time of year – the dead of Winter – when it seems like the possibilities for [...]
Year In Review – Hottest Family Food Fun of 2009
It has been an excellent year for eating (especially eating local) here at Our Big Earth. We’ve loved learning lots of new and delicious recipes that are perfect for that family meal and really enjoyed learning how to create new and different dishes from a multitude of yummy ingredients. Our recipe book is getting better [...]
Family Eats – Simply Sinful Holiday Treats
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today we have local foodie Sarah Stromquist dishing out her love for the holiday season and some wonderfully delicious season-themed treats. Yum. Here she is: I‘m not sure if anyone knows just how much I love Christmas, but there are the definite tell tale signs – my house is decorated on [...]
Preserving Holiday Traditions with Sausage & Kraut
Tucked away in a kitchen cupboard is an old paper-bound cookbook. It’s nothing fancy, no spectacular photography, not even a professional print job. But, this book – The Wigilia – is one of my dearest possessions. When I was nine, my grandmother and I traded letters and tapes once a week for a month as [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Olive Oil Wars
Editor’s Note: If you missed this morning’s post, we reviewed the yumminess that is Kinaree Thai Cuisine in downtown Courtenay. Check out the goodness HERE. Meanwhile, Nadia G and the Bitchin’ Kitchen crew are back today with Olive Oil Wars. Enjoy:
OBE's Good, Bad and Ugly Homemade Halloween Treats
Good Morning. I have never aspired to be a genius in the kitchen, which by all accounts of my hearty Polish upbringing is so very wrong. There are a few things where I claim master title status – baked meat is right up there. I am a cole slaw champ. Potatoes 12 ways is my [...]
Get Spooked (and Win Gear) with Nadia G
Take a deep breath and steady your nerves, it’s time for Bitchin’ Kitchen’s official Halloween Treasure Hunt and Giveaway. You can win a copy of the Bitchin’ Kitchen cookbook, cursed by Nadia G herself, a DVD of the original Saw film that kicked-off the franchise, and Our Big Earth will throw in a surprise gift [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Single-Life Salmon
Ah, crazy rainy day…we are busy concocting some spooky decorations and reading spooky stories while Ken plots some time in Vancouver to finish up a project he’s been working on for a while. I had a freakishly early morning…which led me to Sarah’s yummy post on happy family pumpkin recipes…which led me to a batch [...]
Family Eats – Healthy Pumpkin Treats
Editor’s Note: This morning we have Sarah Stromquist on site getting all pumpkin-licious with some of her favorite tasty seasonal treats. I’m ready to get busy in the kitchen! Here’s Sarah: We have a pumpkin theme going on in the house and I thought it would be fun to share my ideas and recipes for [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Deflate Your Mate
Happy downpour. If you missed our morning post, check out all the details on the new location for the Comox Valley Farmer’s Market Winter Market HERE. In honor of the OBE HQ weight loss extravaganza, the chilly weather and my uncontrollable urge to make a giant pan of baklava that no one else will be [...]
Bitchin' Kitchen – Coffee Wars
The Bitchin’ Kitchen crew is back this afternoon with Coffee Wars. Time for some LMAO action. Check out Nadia G. and her crew’s latest video HERE.
Homemade Crackers, Muffins & Bars Fit for A Lunchbox
Editor’s Note: The lovely local foodie Sarah Stromquist is with us today. She’s serving up some ideas that are sure to rock the lunch box. Check them out: It’s that time of year again, when the weather starts to cool down, the days get shorter and, as school starts, parents everywhere are making lunches for [...]
Family Eats – Summer Soups
Editor’s Note: Ah, Wednesday. Yummy day. Family chef Sarah Stromquist is here today offering up some tasty insight into Summer soups. delish. Anytime of year soups are a wonderful way to enjoy a healthy and generally quick meal. Paired with a wrap, sandwich or some such delight they become a full meal. But I usually [...]
Quick Kids Recipes – Zucchini Fries & Onion Rings
Good Morning. The first Wednesday of every month is usually reserved for restaurant reviews. But, we are clocking some chill time this month in preparation for proper introductions to some new foodie folks here on Our Big Earth. In the meantime family gardens around the Comox Valley are bursting with lots of onions and zucchini [...]
Family Eats – A Day of Local Food Meals
Editor’s Note: Good morning. There are some seriously exciting events going on today as a part of the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge. Join us out at Simms Park near the Kiwanis BBQ for NeighbourWood Eats where families gather for a potluck lunch and are learning how to Winter garden with the Comox [...]
Family Eats – Hot Summer-Time Treats to Keep Cool
It has been hectic around here with the winding down of school, sports and all this incredible weather. In the chaos and heat my ladies, like most kids I suspect, have been having trouble wanting to eat. I don’t blame them really. But I know that when my kids play outside all day, melting away [...]
Get Bitchin' in Your Kitchen
Good Morning! So, Toronto was INSANE (in the best of ways). We ate until the cows refused to come home for fear that they would be course #6 at dinner, talked shop about food. But, best of all, I met some of the coolest Canadian food bloggers out there. Everyone was amazing (seriously), and I’m [...]
Best Family Food of 2008
I love to eat great food. My mother, brother and father all duked it out over time in the kitchen when I was a kid. So, I enjoyed being out of the mix, eating rather than creating. (there’s a pattern surfacing here. My parents suspected I came out of the womb a career girl) But, [...]
Homemade Holiday Treats – Baklava
It was my childhood Winter wonderland – this magical place where all things flour and powdered sugar, pecan tart and almond brittle converged and I knew I had caught a glimpse of perfection. To the average person, that place looked like my grandmother’s basement. But, to me, with it packed – literally – from floor [...]
Veggie Puff Pillows
Good morning. As we wind down here on Comox Valley Kids and gear up for the launch of Our Big Earth-Comox Valley (next Wednesday, Wow!) it is my honour that our final Food & Your Family entry comes from one of my favourite food bloggers, Mohini from Mango Power Girl. Her wonderful, delicious treats make [...]
Bacon & Egg Cups
Editor’s Note: Since the chilly weather set in the last couple of days I have been in serious comfort-food craving mode. Whipping out the homemade pastas, soups and snagging warm loaves of fresh bread from the bakery keeps us all feeling cozy and centered as we move away from the sunshine and into Fall. Bacon [...]
Local Eating – My Favorite Recipe for Summer Borscht
After a great Summer of wonderful guest foodies, sharing dishes that have now become household staples around here, I thought I should maybe, kind of, sort of, pitch in one of my own. It is no secret to anyone who has ever dropped by our house on occasion that I have a thing for cabbage. [...]
Mac 'n' Beans
Editor’s Note: Tree Haverner from Tiny Morsels is back today to share a yummy kid-friendly version of an Italian treat that is absolutely delish. We made this a few weeks ago, and holy cacamaymee was it ever tasty. I loved how it was packed with so much amazing nutritious food, but the tiny person would [...]
Sweet Kohlrabi Salad
Editor’s Note: Today we are joined by one of my absolute favourite Pacific Coast food bloggers, Mohini from Mango Power Girl. A fan of all things local and fresh, Mohini comes to us via Seattle and brings with her a passion for melding the traditional food skills from her Indian upbringing with an uncanny knack [...]
The Dreaded Lunch Box Goes Bento
There is nothing I hate doing more than packing lunches. When I was a kid, my job was to pack everyone’s and, frankly, I would have much rather packed the $1.25 (oh…my…god… I am old) it cost for hot lunch back in the 1970s into everyone’s pocket. But, nooooo. My mother had this theory that [...]
Growing Sprouts
Editor’s Note: Krista Johnston of Big & Little Green fame is back with us today to talk shop about sprouts. I love sprouts on salads, in salads, as salads – and growing our own is a fun, healthy way to peek into the science of plants as well as have some yummy, fresh goodness. Krista’s [...]
Homemade Butter/Buttermilk
Today we have with us, all the way from Wisconsin, the delicious family-focused food adventures of Mom In Madison’s Denise Cusack who also writes up her foodie ways over at Cook.Eat.Think I really dig Denise for so many reasons and absolutely L-O-V-E her take on getting her little people involved in every aspect of food, [...]
Veggie Jelly Melons
Editor’s Note: As our Summer of Guest Foodies continues, I am beyond excited to bring you local mama Rosina Huber whose Nature Mama blog is packed full of nature learning, great crafting, homeschooling goodness and homestead cooking that looks and sounds so savory it’ll make you think comfort food for days afterward. Rosina and her [...]
Time to Cool Off with Peppermint Tea
Editor’s Note: I know, I know. Wednesday is food day. But, in honour of the birth of Sprouts writer Kendra Quince’s baby boy, and the fact that some cool minty tea sounds perfect during this very steamy week, we bring you Sprouts, the foodie version. Congratulations Kendra and family. Time for some leisurely back porch [...]
Family Dinner – Spanikopita
Editor’s Note: Today we continue with our second installment of Summertime guest foodies with Nanaimo mom of four, master organic gardener and local food chef supreme Krista Johnston. I first discovered Krista’s warm, wonderful, community-filled spirit years ago and have been a huge fan of her sensibility from that moment on. Her perspective on food [...]
Coconut Carob Ice Pops
Editor’s note: Today kicks off an entire Summer of Guest Foodie bloggers that range from the kid-friendly, uber healthy Tree Haverner to the wonderful local goodness of Denise Cusack and Krista Johnston. This wonderful treat means that you guys get something a little different each week from foodie bloggers all over North America, with recipes [...]
It's (Sort of) Berry Season
Mother Nature has not been kind in the U-Pick universe this year. The whole June-uary weather event means that berry ripening and picking is well behind schedule. But, the good news is that berry farms are starting to open and local fruity yumminess will be available for early risers for the next few months in [...]
