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 [...]

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 [...]

SPROUTS – Getting The Most Out of Tomatoes

What’s growing in the garden? Some tasty treats to eat, bake, blend, and freeze!
Toe-may-toe. Toe-mah-toe. Yummy yum yum.
Now that Summer’s in full swing and my tomatoes are nearly 2 meters into the sky, each day brings me closer to harvesting these glorious red goodies! So far we have had about 15 grape tomatoes to snack [...]

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 [...]

Summer Crafts – DIY Canada Day Magnets

Ah, Canada Day.
I love this country and give it a solid go every year when it comes to busting out the patriotic gear. But, getting the tiny person plugged in to something more than the candy from the Canada parade is, well, challenging.
She’s at the age of dis-interest – too young for a bigger history [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

For the Love of it – Good Earth Farms

One day, not so long ago, there was a couple who would soon know that a life in the garden would be something they made together.
On that first date, the guy – Simon Toole – brought with him some home grown gems and seeds he’d saved and offered them to a gal named Heather.
That day, [...]

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 [...]

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 to [...]

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. I [...]

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 [...]

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 tutorial on growing [...]

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 [...]

Cherry Bread

While it may not have seemed like it here on site, I’ve been on staycation for the last 10 days or so.
No packing, traveling or expense involved – just a whole lot of sleeping in, napping and working less hard than usual.
With all of this “free” time, I have found myself wandering the veggie stalls [...]

Summer Kanten

Editor’s note: Christa and I work tandem on the food column these days. She writes the stories and I take the photos.
I love Christa’s yummy un-jello Jello recipe this week. But, my family is totally not down with melon – of any kind. So, you’ll see that the photo doesn’t really look like an apple [...]

Shaker Salad Dressing

I don’t have to tell you that I’m a big proponent of getting kids involved in the kitchen.
Kneading dough, scrambling eggs, flipping pancakes- some of my best childhood memories are of learning basic kitchen skills from my parents.
It’s with a love for nostalgia and good food that I find myself encouraging my little person along [...]

Raspberry Yogurt Ice Pops

Everyone keeps telling me it’s still only spring- that summer hasn’t truly arrived yet, and that we may see many more weeks of inconsistent weather yet.
The boots may come out of the closet again.
The SPF 45 might sit on the shelf for a week or more.
The barbeque cover might be put back on.
I’ve had no [...]

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 [...]

Recycling Project, Homemade Crayons

Crayons have long been a tough sell in our house.
While art is way up on the daily to-do list, crayons often linger at the bottom of the barrel in terms of preferred mediums.
Emerging motor skills and the quite possibly a bit of peer pressure from the crayon-loving crowd have made crayons at least usable for [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Pear with Honey & Pecans

Today’s comment challenge: What are your favourite snack foods to take on a day trip. Recipes welcome but not required:)

Daylight savings has really put a spring in my step this week. All of a sudden, summer feels within arm’s reach.
I bought Capri pants.
I rolled the car windows down once or twice.
I realized the Farmer’s [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Last-Minute Holiday Treats

I have this rule about always trying to post photos with food recipes.
If you can’t see it, why eat it?:) Unfortunately, the camera and the kitchen have yet to connect this week.
But, with a couple of fun holiday parties on the schedule this weekend and all of the baking I did in the last two [...]

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, [...]

101 Uses for Hemp Milk

A while back, after CVK mom Reesh recommended Hemp Milk, I started doing a bit of research into it all.
Cow milk is no friend to us, and the whole goat’s milk our daughter has been downing for a year or so is now – I’m told – a bit too fatty for her to drink [...]

What to do with all of that fruit

We eat a ton of fruit around here.
From bananas and apples to as many berries as can be consumed in one gulp, fruit is definitely the big snacky fave.
That means I’m always buying fruit, and people are always buying it for us. I swear my mother-in-law and I have the same brain because almost religiously, [...]

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 [...]

Homemade Playdough Recipe

I don’t know how anyone else is managing this week’s worth of rain-filled, unscheduled free time. But, when we stumbled into the kitchen, peeked out the window and found rain again this morning I seriously wondered how today could possibly not involve many, many hours of Bob The Builder and Little Bear.
Hesitant to log the [...]