Restaurant Review – Mad Chef Cafe

Since before Mad Chef Cafe even opened its doors in the old Orbits space in downtown Courtenay, there was a serious buzz about their food.
I figure anyone with the guts to call himself the Mad Chef has to be making some mad tasty food – and the Comox Valley sure seems to agree. Mad Chef [...]

Enjoy Home Cooked Meals, Don’t Fret About Calories

Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! Esther Kane is here with ten great tips for healthy, happy eating and entertaining. Here she is:
I recently had the pleasure of visiting my grandmother Ruth in London, England, which I am lucky enough to do once a year. Although it’s quite the schlep to get there and the jet-lag is [...]

Spring Has Nearly Sprung- Time for Seedy Saturday

I am in love with the idea of the garden this year. Planning in my head for the last couple of months the serious yumminess that will be popping up from the raised beds and imagining a Summer full of fresh peas, tomatoes and other veggie goodness is making me wish it was April already.
But, [...]

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 own [...]

LUSH Valley

LUSH Valley Food Action Society is a non-profit striving to create social change through food security initiatives.

The Green Wallet – Why Invest In Fair Trade Foods?

Editor’s Note: Happy Monday! This morning we have Investment Advisor Anthony Edwards discussing why we should invest in fair trade foods. Very interesting and insightful. Here he is:
In the ragged hills of Andalucia, by whitewashed villages and ancient trails that wind from Africa to Spain, old Tomás was known as the ‘cabrero’, which roughly translates [...]

A Raw Food Q & A with the Crew from Zen Zero

As my adventures in the necessary retooling of my diet evolves, I’ve been digging deeply into all kinds of eating options that have anecdotal evidence of helping overcome disease, fatigue and general malaise.
The one that keeps resurfacing for me is raw foods. But, honestly, the only thing I’ve seen in the past when I think [...]

Tips for Making Hearty Food Fit For Your Family

Editor’s Note: Happy middle of the week! This morning we have food lover Sarah Stromquist dishing up tips on a year of positive eating. Here she is:
I no longer make unrealistic resolutions for the New Year, only to later feel the guilt of not sticking it through. That sense of failure does nothing for me [...]

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 and [...]

Year In Review – Your Favorite Comox Valley Farm of 2009

Happy Wednesday. This year has been packed full of Comox Valley food here on Our Big Earth as we hosted the first Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge and connected families to some of the incredible farmers, ranchers and food producers that make this region such a special and unique place to live.
The stories [...]

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 December [...]

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 she [...]

Eat Local – Learn What’s Available This Winter

Whoa weather, what have you done with the garden? My mother in-law’s magic green thumb meant we were still getting tomatoes, strawberries, even swiss chard and other loveliness out of the garden as late as last week.
I though we might just have veggies all Winter this year. Alas, Mother Nature took a dump in our [...]

Family Eats – Winter Comfort Foods

Editor’s Note: This morning we have Sarah Stromquist on site dishing about some of her favorite comfort foods that help get her through the Winter doldrums. Here she is:
Idon’t know about you but I can’t resist the temptation of comfort foods, especially during the winter months. You know, those foods that bring back pleasant childhood memories, those [...]

How and When to Introduce Babes to Solid Food

Editor’s Note: Happy Friday the 13th! This morning we have Dr. Amy Wells on the subject of solid food introduction – a big step in the life of our tiny people. Here she is:
As my newest little man is watching my every mouthful of food, I’m wondering how he’s going to hold out for solids for another [...]

Restaurant Review – Kinaree Thai Cuisine

I think I’ve had some sort of mental block. When anyone says to me “Hey, want to go for Thai food?” I think back to this tiny hole in the wall in Fairfax, California where Ken and I would sneak off to once a week to get our fix. Or the restaurant we would wander [...]

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 [...]

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 such [...]

Taking The Farmers Market Indoors for Winter

I was only half joking yesterday when I updated my Facebook status to “It’s now officially toque season.” It’s COLD outside and it will take me a bit to adjust from the luxurious amount of gorgeous Fall sun that marked the end of September.
When the toques, gloves and scarves come out, I tend to start [...]

Restaurant Review – Tria Culinary Studio

Okay, I admit, I like dinner out to be an experience. Ninety percent of the time, the evening meal is just about getting some food pulled together that is healthy, easy to cook and not too complicated to clean up. But, when Ken and I head off on our own for an evening among adults, [...]

Mindful Eating Roadblocks (Part 3)

Editor’s Note: The lovely and knowledgeable Esther Kane is with us today sharing tips from her latest book on practicing Mindful Eating. This is the third part of her Mindful Eating Roadblocks series. You can find the first two parts here – Part One & Part Two. Here’s Esther:

For this article, I will share with [...]

Lunch Box Recipes Kids Will Love

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 their [...]

Farm to Family – Nature’s Way Farm

It’s a tale that’s become the stuff of childhood legend in the Comox Valley. That moment when George Ehrler slips a slick glass pebble into a kid’s hand and something magical begins for them as they’ve just acquired their first dragon tear.
The story of fairies and guardians, dragons and blueberries may live for tiny people [...]

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 think of [...]

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 [...]

30 Days of Local Food – How Was It?

Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to turn in your 30-Day Food Challenge passports at Brambles by midnight tonight to be eligible for the great prizes to be drawn for this week. If you’ve got 12 stamps, you’re eligible for the grand prize. But, don’t let numbers deter you. Anyone who participated and turns in a passport [...]

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 [...]

Dr. Amy Wells – Pesticides Effect on Kids

Editor’s Note: Good Morning! Today is the last day to get yourself registered for the 30-Day Challenge. Whether you make it to one or all of the events, registering means you get cool bonus material AND get a chance at all kinds of prizes. We are registering people live at Brambles from Noon to 6 [...]

Food Through the Generations

Editor’s Note: Bite-Sized Specialty Foods is going to be at Brambles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. There is some serious yumminess going on, so I would head in the direction of downtown Courtenay and check it out.
I would also like to encourage you to take some time out at Noon today and attend [...]

Foodie Crafts – Homemade Stickers

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today is kind of chill in the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge universe. So, if you are thinking local, make some plans for a leisurely lunch or dinner at Anderton Bistro-Pub, The Great Escape, Bisque (I think we are headed that direction) or Locals.
A lovely meal is the [...]

A Great Day In Union Bay & a Foodie Film Today

Good morning. Another hot, sticky Summer day means that it’s the perfect time to sneak away this afternoon to catch the first in our Chew On This Film Series – Nick Versteeg’s Island On The Edge. Check out the trailer for this fantastic Vancouver Island film on food security HERE.
The showing, in partnership with World [...]

SPROUTS – Family Greenhouse

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Thinking local food today is all about date night. Get on the horn to grandma or the babysitter and plan for a great evening of local food at Bisque, Anderton Bistro-Pub, The Great Escape (I am so in the mood for Indian food) or Locals-Food From the Heart of the Island [...]

Foodie Crafts – Macaroni Necklaces & Musical Beans

It’s no shock that I am knee deep in the foodie universe right now. Between the garden, the food challenge and the general joy of eating when all of the goodness that is Vancouver Island food is in season, I can’t help myself.
The same seems to apply in the kid-style creative universe too. Seems like [...]

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 in this [...]

Getaways – Comox Valley Shellfish Festival

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time in my head thinking up places and spaces where we can escape to for a couple of weeks this Summer.
We are – very seriously – in dire need of some unplugged family time of the leaving-town kind. But, while it may be a bit before we can [...]

Farm to Family – ASHBerry Farm

Don and Louisa McClellan once saw themselves as the unlikeliest of farmers.
Globe hopping with the Canadian Armed Forces, they lived in corners of the Earth most North Americans rarely see. But, it was that time away, and the start of a family, that brought a military pilot and his self-professed “B.C. hippie” bride back to [...]

SPROUTS – Get the Low Down on Good Garden Bugs

Editor’s Note: I am loving all of this time in the garden this time of year. My mother-in-law might wonder “What time in the garden is she talking about? I never see her in the backyard.” It’s true. It seems that most of my time is spent out at the Comox Valley Regional District Compost [...]

Restaurant Review – April Point Resort

I have this general theory these days that, once a month, we need to get the heck off of the island.
With the ferry to Vancouver forcing us to take a personal loan out to go to the aquarium, we’ve decided that means island hopping of the more local kind.
The Discovery Islands are awesome, and I’m [...]

Esther Kane – Mindful Eating Roadblocks (Part 2)

Editor’s Note: Speaking of mindful eating, get yourselves on over to the Today Party from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Karen McKinnon’s studio, 4th Street and Cliffe Avenue (enter in the parking lot behind Brambles).
There will be cupcakes to decorate and take to someone special, not to mention a few to nosh on [...]

What to Do When Kids Cook – Chill Out

At the end of a rather exhausting day, my oldest asked “what’s for dinner?”
Feeling a little cheeky I retorted with “I don’t know. What are you making?”
It’s a little game my husband and I play when we should cook but want to eat out. K didn’t catch on.
An unmistakable glint of excitement and a flare [...]

SPROUTS – Creating a Kids Garden

Another sunny day. Everyone loves it when warm days blow in. With all this good weather I can finally tackle the weeds that have been meandering in my garden beds and deadhead a few of the plants that escaped me in the Fall.

It is so refreshing to be outside for hours these days – with [...]

Register Today for Family Community Garden Plots

I have a huge confession to make. My thumb, it’s brown. I’ve perfected the art of picking and eating veggies, am a big fan of the farmer’s market and all things farm stand related. But, please, don’t give me something and ask me to make it grow. The chance of seeds actually becoming veggies is [...]

Esther Kane – Mindful Eating Road Blocks (Part 1)

Editor’s Note: Good Morning! We are here today hanging out with Esther Kane.
But, if you are out and about, be sure to come on over to Simms Park and hang in the Our Big Earth Family & Kids Zone at the 2009 Earth Day Family Festival. It’ll be packed with projects like a community art [...]

Green-e-ology – Equitable Eating’s Many Forms

Genetic engineering. Antibiotics. Pesticides. Additives. Air pollution. Animal welfare. Economics. Irradiation. Hormones. rBGH. Water pollution.
Now that I’ve got your attention, do you think about any of the above before making food choices?
If so, then you’ve likely been far ahead of me for years. I’m a little slow with the food.

[give that head [...]

Earth Day – Top 10 Reasons to Eat Local

Happy Earth Day!
It’s Food & Your Family day here at Our Big Earth. With all the talk around food sustainability and the ever-increasing prices at the grocery store these days, there are a lot of questions about why local food is such a big deal.
There are a ton of scientifically significant reasons why food that [...]

Lower Grocery Bills with Smart Food Planning

Editor’s Note: Sarah Stromquist is here this morning with her supermom advice (she’s amazing) on how to shop, cook and plan smart while keeping to a strict grocery budget.
That leads me to our Earth Day thought for the day.
Think local.
I know, I know. It’s all the rage. But there’s a good reason for it.
When you [...]

Easter Crafts, Easter Egg Hunts, Easter Food

Well, here we are – the Thursday before Easter – and I’ve got nothing. Seriously, it’s ungood. Thank goodness for our pals Nicola and Mike who threw a big egg bash for the kids last weekend.
I’m hoping I’m not the only momma out there who is relatively unorganized in the Easter/Passover action department. Luckily, it [...]

Register – SPROUTS Children’s Gardening Series

Good morning. After such a gorgeous weekend filled with beach, trail, art, Easter events and all kinds of Spring-like fun, it seems like the perfect time this morning to open up registration for the first SPROUTS Children’s Gardening Series in partnership with the Comox Valley Regional District.
A while back, the CVRD’s  Education and Event Coordinator [...]

Restaurant Review – Benino Gelato

 
There we were, standing at the corner of Fourth and Cliffe a few days ago snacking down in gelato, chatting up Benino Gelato mother-daughter team Ruth and Aline about life in general when it occurred to me that I had yet to chat up our most favourite afternoon treat locale with OBE readers.
Maybe it was [...]

Fostering A Community Without Hunger – LUSH

Food security is a hot topic these days and one enterprising local non-profit is putting the Valley on the map when it comes to sustainable practices.
The folks at Lush Valley Food Action Society are seriously committed to the health and well-being of us Valley folk by offering a whole load of fun and encouragement when [...]

Mom Poll – Tips to Sneak In Food Kids Won’t Eat

It’s the ultimate parenting dilemma – how to get your kids to eat healthy foods.
There’s always the theory that if you never give things like candy and cookies, pizza and McDonalds to them that kids will never know what they are missing – until a friend of yours catches your kiddo in the corner [...]

Restaurant Review – Cumberland Village Bakery

When we discovered, much like the rest of us around here, that our daughter is wheat intolerant, I personally mourned the loss of the bakery.
Yes, it had been at least a couple of years before that when muffins, cookies and crusty bread went the way of the Dodo for me after I discovered that wheat [...]

Family Eats – Getting Your Kids In The Kitchen

Editor’s Note: Good Morning and welcome to our first installment of Family Eats – a journey in getting kids back into the kitchen – with lovely local mama Sarah Stromquist and her family.
Sarah lets us peek inside the food-friendly evolution of her family and the family-friendly evolution of her kitchen, offering insight, tips, recipes and [...]

Preserving the Comox Valley, One Bite at a Time

When Karen Pattison bottles up local crops using the age-old tradition of preserving fruits and vegetables, she’s also preserving fond memories of her childhood in Willow Point near Campbell River.
Now the owner of Bite Size Specialty Foods, she grew up eating tasty veggies from her grandparents’ garden in their neighbouring property. And after a lifetime [...]

Our Big Earth – Now with 35% More Content

Good morning! February has started off with its usual gray and rainy patina outside. But, it kicks off with a bright, lively celebration here at Our Big Earth.
Today, we unveil a new tab structure to make it easier to find the features you are looking for as well as some fantastic new features, columnists and [...]

Enjoy A Local Chinese New Year Feast

With the Lunar New Year starting Monday (January 26), what better time to gather the family and celebrate by creating a local feast to commemorate the Year of the Ox.
In Chinese culture, food prepared during this celebratory season is meant to bring luck as many dishes have symbolic meaning in relation to their appearance and [...]

Restaurant Review – Sushi Kobo, Takeout Goodness

Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, sushi wasn’t exactly on my list of favourite foods as a child. Actually, it wasn’t until I moved to the West Coast in 2001 that it even showed up on my radar.
For our tiny person, though, sushi and the yummy sides that go with it is one of those [...]

Local Fresh Bread – Wheat- & Gluten-Free

Eating wheat-free or gluten-free doesn’t mean you have to give up foods you love! It seems these days.
Many families have to eliminate wheat products from the household grocery list because of intolerance or allergy. Bread lovers (myself included) find it hard enough to curb this staple from our daily diet (who can resist carbs!), and [...]

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, as usual, [...]

Prontissima Pasta – A Taste of Italy in the Valley

Life is a combination of magic and pasta…
…these famous words of Italian film maker Fellini have come to life in our little slice of paradise. From their home-based commercial kitchen on Courtenay’s Fifth Street, Prontissima Pasta owners Sarah and Wally Walsh have seen their year-old business flourish so much that they’re in production four days [...]

A Sustainable Partnership

Last Wednesday, as our daughter and I were headed off to the NeighbourWood Walk out at Lazo Marsh, we drove along the dyke road in the gleaming sunshine and she made an announcement.
“Look at the magic, mommy?”
I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Look, out on the ocean, it’s like magic sunshine out [...]

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 this bitter [...]

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 ranks right [...]

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 NEVER [...]

Double Shot of Zucchini

Editor’s Note: Tree Haverner from Tiny Morsels is back with us today giving us the inside scoop on how to use up those overflowing mounds of zucchini that are either overcrowding our gardens or showing up on our doorsteps in the middle of the night.
Tree offers up an original recipe exclusive to CVK and the [...]

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 family [...]

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 sitting with a glass [...]

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 you [...]

The Path to Edible Plants

Editor’s Note:
The relationship between me and gardening is a little too green for me to think that sharing my experiences with you are something useful, although they may be mildly entertaining in a Ben Stiller embarrassing sort of way.
But, I am not without hope that gardening will grow on me, and the tiny person.
Thankfully, there [...]

Mom-P-Inc. – Kyla and Marussia Nesling

Motherhood, it changes you.
For four weeks now, we’ve been taking a look at moms across the Comox Valley who have taken the ingenuity thrust upon them by parenthood and turned it into businesses.
Today, we get to know two local mamas who took their passion for health, the environment and family and worked together to build [...]

Freezer Muffins that Rock

Moving to the North Island has turned my family in to a trio of frequent road trippers.
There are piles of friends and hot spots we’ve left behind in our former cities of Vancouver and Victoria, and we make a point of visiting often to soak up a bit of the good stuff we’ve left behind.
Our [...]

Spinach Pesto Fettuccine

On this, the week before Mother’s Day, I’d like to offer up a recipe that I have come to love for its simplicity- or in other words- I have come to love this recipe because it is easy enough for my husband to prepare, and is downright delicious.
I know there are many husbands and partners [...]

Apple “Cupcakes”

Banana Walnut French Toast

Good Morning
When you read on and check out Christa’s yummy breakfast recipe today, you’ll notice that her column has a gorgeous new banner. As a part of our ongoing redesign, all of our regular columnists now have customized banners designed by Ken Henderson Design with photos courtesy of Karen McKinnon.
This is one of the many [...]

Simple Lunch Box Salad Rolls

When I was in elementary school, I found myself endlessly envious of the other kids packed lunches. I would go out of my way to trade anything from my box for something that someone else’s parents had gone to the trouble of preparing.
Today, of course, as a parent of one (who is a couple of [...]

Be A Pollinator Observer

It’s National Wildlife Week here in Canada and the buzz is all about pollinators. Check out a full week’s of posts on our buzzing friends. Make a Nature Journal, Learn how to build a pollinator-friendly garden, learn about pollinators and food at the Bee-Free BBQ, get the Pollinator Primer and get into Backyard Bee [...]

Bee-Free Backyard BBQ

* Fact: Most flowering plants require pollination in order to reproduce.
* Fact: The relationship between plants and their pollinators dates back 140 million years. Dinosaurs, bees and butterflies once lived together.
* Fact: Pollinators bring the pollen from one plant to another and in return get food in the form of nectar that the plants [...]

Kid-Friendly Power Balls

In our house, forgetting to pack sufficient snacks for a day away from home constitutes a moderate role of the dice where our little person’s diet is concerned.
My son has a small-ish repertoire of healthy foods he deigns acceptable for consumption. It’s definitely enough to meet his basic dietary needs – the boy baffles me [...]

Cream Cheese Penguins

If spring break is seeming as endless at your house as it is in ours, you’re likely looking for some inspiration to keep the kiddos occupied.
The kitchen is always a great spot for enthusiastic little people, with lots of opportunities for mixing ingredients, getting a little messy, and watching their efforts materialize while sitting cross-legged [...]

The Babka Kitchen Adventure

Before I get started, here’s more farm fun from Day 2 at the Hands-On Farm. The place is hopping with tiny people (and tiny lambs, two that are just one-week old):

Christa and I have teamed up today to offer up a Spring Break Adventure in the form of a family day in the kitchen.
The [...]

Creamy Vegetable Spread

Every so often there comes along an easy, healthy, delicious recipe that becomes an instant household classic. A few weeks ago, I sampled a recipe for Creamy Vegetable Spread from the November 2007 issue of Everyday Food Magazine from Martha Stewart that I had that gut feeling about.
“We will make this forever!” I declared.
We’ve long [...]

The Preschool Garden Replant

Today’s comment challenge: What were your favourite childhood family projects? Do you build those into your family life today?
Reesh, you definitely score in the comment department. A Log’s Life is yours! Today, I’ve got a cool dinosaur puzzle for one random commenter. So, jump in and win!

There’s nothing like digging in the dirt.
Kiddos know that [...]

Homemade Pizza

In the realm of kid-friendly cuisine, homemade pizza is a traditional favourite.
It’s delicious, inexpensive, and easy for the kiddos to help prepare.
It is also the ultimate vegetable transportation device.
Moving away from the greasy deli meats and cheeses, our family has long experimented with veggie pizzas, topped with any assortment of produce, or whatever happens to [...]

Help! My Kiddo Hates Veggies (for now)

So, well…
…our daughter, who has always been a wonder in the eating good food department, is on strike.
Where I used to be able to set down bowl after bowl of carrots, broccoli, cabbage or swiss chard now lives empty space.
I was sharing with a pal last night that it’s like she’s put herself on a [...]

Nature’s Tasty Treats

When I was coming up with the excellent reads for this installment of The Rainy-Day Book Club, it seemed most fun and appropriate to honour the debut of our gardening journal Sprouts and the incredible yummy goodness that February brings us from Eastern Canada in the form of maple syrup.
While many parts of North America [...]

Salad People

The dining toddler is quite an enigma.
As the parent of one who will be 3 in April, I have shared in discussion after discussion with fellow parents of toddlers, and it seems there is quite the spectrum of eating habits from one child to the next.
My son in particular has a handful of staple foods [...]

The Great Escape Modern Indian Food

At last, our bad Valentines Day dinner karma dies.
It started out less than inspirational.
My husband and I, looking forward to an evening playing dress up, drinking something rather adult and eating well-spiced food at a leisurely, uninterrupted pace made reservations a week ago to finally hit The Great Escape in Cumberland for our annual Valentines [...]

Valentines Sugar Cookies

For this Valentines week edition of Food and Your Family, I thought I’d search the Martha Stewart website for a tasty holiday recipe.
Surely Martha would have the most adorable, impeccably perfect holiday treat ideas imaginable. She would have thought of something so great, so totally outstanding and unbelievable, that perhaps my head would explode.
Thinking of [...]

Chinese Lanterns & Other Traditions

All he did was turn his lantern on.
I had no idea why it could possibly be so cool, but the Chinese lettering and lovely art that glowed red through the paper hanging from the ceiling sucked me in and my pal Cliff, with his parents smiling modestly in the background, began to tell us all [...]

Spelt Pancakes

Mmmmmm, pancakes.
Years ago during a short stint in Seattle, my husband and I would wake up every Sunday morning and wander the few blocks down Capitol Hill streets to an amazing soul food restaurant where the most lip-smacking delicious buttermilk pancakes in the history of pancakes lived.
Just the thought takes me back to childhood, warm, [...]

Tahini Candy

I’m going to have to vote Christa most popular for this really amazing recipe. Besides being a smart candy alternative for your kiddos, it’s also a super healthy, energy-packed treat for pregnant moms or parents in need of a pick-me-up. This one is going to live around our house for a long, long time. [...]

Dining Out – Ethnic Food in a Small Town

Local Dad Derek Kwan asked a great question after our book review yesterday.

Where are some hot spots to actually get kiddos to test drive ethnic foods around here?

I honestly think that is a seriously tough question.
With no intention of dishing the restaurants that currently reside in the Valley, finding really tasty ethnic food here is [...]

Book Review – Kids Food & Youth Culture

Eating and art are two things that kiddos of any age cannot escape in today’s culture. Discovering the wonders of exotic foods and the beauty of art in all forms is such a great way to open families up to new ideas, cultures and adventures.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways – [...]

Penne with Squash and Black Beans

Over the years, my husband and I have had our ups and downs with the level of time and energy we have put into our meals at home. There was a summer years ago when, while saving every penny for a new van, we subsisted on bulk hot dogs & Alphaghetti. This was followed by [...]

Homemade Granola

My husband and I are off enjoying some well-earned beach combing and snuggling by the fire in Tofino this week. So, while you won’t be hearing much from me in the next few days, several special guests will be dropping by to keep me from having to spend even one second on the computer while [...]

Bean Burritos with Sweet Potatoes

One of the big changes we’ll start off with this year is offering more regular features – in particular family-friendly recipes.
I am not so creative in the kitchen. Relying on me to bring you tasty treats is like being forced to eat that one casserole from your Auntie Edna over and over again. So, CVK [...]

Holidays Around the World – Winter Solstice

A Winter chill is in the air. The days are short. Vacation planning to warm February destinations is at its peak.
And, by the end of next week, much of the world will be in the midst of mid-Winter celebrations that range from the simple placement of special gifts of food on Winter dinner tables to [...]

Sugar-Free Holidays

So, there we were – Christa and me – brainstorming at 11:30 p.m. when both of us knew we should be asleep.
What the heck was today’s post?
Then, just as she e-mailed me about her sugar-free baking experiments, I found myself recalling all of the conversations I’d had lately with moms trying to cut the sugar [...]

Dress Up That Salmon

I’m in a food rut.
Seriously, I have five dishes that work for me and we eat them every week.
It’s ugly and the family is starting to notice.
So, this morning I dusted off my e-mail folder that holds the billions of recipes from sites I subscribe to yet never, ever use. They all look so delicious, [...]

Dining Out – Dick’s Fish & Chips

I have an extreme weakness for fish and chips.
Maybe it was all those childhood Fridays during lent when we couldn’t eat meat and ended up at the local fish and chips dive. But, there is something completely homey about a dinner that involves battered fish, fries and coleslaw.
That is not to say that all fish [...]

“Green” Meat

OK, the first thing you think of when you see a post titled Green Meat is nothing edible, for sure.
But, while folks devote a whole lot of time to organic vegetables and fruit, switching over to free-range, drug-free and organically raised meat is – I was recently told by a friend and naturopath – actually [...]

Pattison Organic Farm Stand

I am always on the lookout for the least expensive way to eat organics.
Going the organic route with food has become more and more important to us – especially after the tiny person came along and I started reading up on the effects of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides on the immune systems, mental health and [...]

Birthday Cake the Wheat-Free(and easy) Way

So, I’m just going to enact the right of the blog master and wish my daughter a big, giant happy 2nd Birthday today.
She’s been talking about birthday cake for two weeks straight now – much to my dismay. Not because the sugar-induced insanity should not be part of a toddler celebration. She’s allergic to wheat [...]

Dinner Recipes – Easy Curries for Your Family

I‘m pretty sure we are among the lucky parents.
From the time our daughter started on solid food, she’s been a huge fan of all that is veggies, fruits and exotic flavours. She’ll chow down on curries, coconut milk, basil and ginger-filled Thai cuisine, spicy Latino and lime-infused Caribbean food.
There’s not much, really, she won’t at [...]

Find it! – Ice Cream in the Comox Valley

So, even in the land of dairy intolerance over here at our house, an occasional ice cream is a complete must.
Yeah, you can go buy a tin at the grocery store. But, the treat of frozen goodness on a cone is the best kind of treat when you can watch the smiling face behind the [...]

Food & Your Family – Make it Fresh

I heard the groans from the gallery as soon as you busy parents out there read the words “Make It Fresh” in the headline. Fresh definitely doesn’t give off the aura of fast and easy, which for working parents with a house full of kiddos can be almost untenable.
I think a lot of parents, including [...]