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 local, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Foodie Crafts – Homemade Dyes

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. It’s time for a mid-week meal as part of the 30-Day Food Challenge. I think I may try to talk the hubby into sneaking off to Bisque with me this afternoon. Locals and Anderton Bistro-Pub are open today too.
I’ve been cooking up a storm at home these last few weeks [...]

Go Old Skool (and delicious) at DeeKayTee Ranch

Ah, how I live for Saturday mornings. It’s become a necessary ritual to indulge in some “me-time,” and my favorite way to cap off yet another busy week is to set out to explore what’s fun on the farm market scene in our beautiful little corner of the Earth.
My latest discovery is DeeKayTee Ranch, [...]

SPROUTS – Early Spring Kid Gardening Fun

Brrr, it’s chilly.
On those afternoons when the bright sun makes it tolerable, I stroll aimlessly around my garden with hopeful ideas of planting.
My daughter and I sample a bite from a patch of oregano as it pokes its head out of one of my veggie gardens.  In the front yard we marvel over little yellow [...]

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 [...]

Winter Nutrition From The Grocery “Garden”

Another new year! But with the remnants of snow it is hardly a time to be gardening. So I thought we’d take a look at a few common foods available at the grocery “garden!”
Typically the new year ushers in new year’s resolutions, and eating healthier is a common goals after the onslaught of Christmas [...]

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, [...]

Hidden Secrets at Finlay Creek Farm

Editor’s Note: Today our intrepid local food writer Robyn Butler is revealing a true diamond in the rough when it comes to local charm and absolutely amazing products.
I had the chance to meet the women who run Finlay Creek Farm on Halloween and, I have to tell you, they are two of the most charming [...]

Putting The Garden to Sleep

So, here we are with the cooler nights and still the hot sun during the day. Ah, Fall.
Time to harvest the rewards after a long season of gardening. Seems a shame to put the garden to bed with the weather we’ve been having, but alas it must be done before we are caught off guard [...]

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 [...]

Book Review – Reverse Psychology to Eat & Sleep

Ken and I, we were quite skeptical at first.
These books, they seemed too easy to actually work.
Could it be possible that all we had to do was read an engaging story, with adorable, lovable characters who didn’t want to eat or sleep to make our grumpy 3-year-old think that eating and sleeping was cool?
No…way, we [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The Weather & Garden Synch Up

It’s true.
Our Sprouts preschool garden experiment, well, died.
Being entirely new at making anything grow, I had no plan for dealing with the record-cold April and the reality that frost always wins over veggies when push comes to shove.
I’m a little embarrassed, mildly comforted by the fact that a whole whack of people I know [...]

When Preschool Gardening Gives Way to Absentmindedness

Bad news first: I have no brain.
It has been missing since about six months into pregnancy…and it is now becoming painfully apparent that its continued decline is starting to effect our day-to-day well being.
…at least when it comes to gardening.
After our unfortunate leaving-outside-overnight incident last week, I lovingly put the sprouts back on the front [...]

Our First Preschool Garden Casualty

The whole gardening-for-the-first time is bound to have some seedling drama.
Today, we had to officially say goodbye to our lettuce, which struggled long and hard after the transplant (note to self: plant lettuce directly into the ground)

It was a sad, solemn day as we had hoped that somehow by magic everything we planted would live [...]

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 [...]

Sprouts – Mid-Week Update

As part of the gardening journal, we’ll be doing short, periodic updates about what’s growing (lots of photos) in addition to the bi-montly write-up.

We have Sprouts!
Here are some from Day 3:
Lettuce and radishes just popping up.
Zucchini nearly sprouting.
Here’s from last night:
The zucchini and marigolds have sprouted and the radishes are just about in need of [...]

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 [...]

Sprouts – A Preschool Gardening Journal

There’s nothing like digging in the dirt.
For weeks around our house the gardening hats and wooden bugs have been planted and re-planted on the living room floor. Her afternoon “gardening” sessions haven’t resulted in anything edible or sprouting, but one thing was clear – our daughter’s itch to get some soil between her toes had [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]