Food

1.1.25Seasonal Local Food You Can Eat All Winter
How to Eat Seasonally from November to March
A Guide to Local Foods in Season — November to March It’s called the shoulder season — the cold months after the fall harvest and before the new planting season in spring. When you don’t see much growing outside, you […]

11.27.24Chayote Chips

RECIPE These scrumptious chayote chips are the perfect way to use chayote squash. A healthy snack food from an abundant fall vegetable.

12.7.23Seasonal Eating to Beat High Food Prices
Save on Groceries, Eat Healthy Foods, and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Seasonal eating can cut your food bills and your carbon footprint at the same time. When energy was cheap and the climate was more predictable, you might have given no thought to eating fresh tomatoes or cucumbers in mid-winter. But […]

9.12.23A Handful of Walnuts Can Help Your Heart
A Rich Plant-Based Source of Omega-3s
A handful of walnuts a day could make a great difference to the health of your heart, research shows. In a study in the journal Metabolism in 2013, German physicians confirmed that walnuts can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. […]

7.2.23Tests Reveal Benefits of Eating Organic
Surprising Pesticide Levels From Eating Conventional Foods
Is eating organic worth it? A study in the journal Environmental Research says yes. The research, conducted on four families across the United States, offers a snapshot of how pesticides in our food accumulate in our bodies. Video: Organic for […]

9.20.22How to Make Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
Great for Tomato Sauce or Freezing
Oven-roasted tomatoes have a special sweet flavour that surpasses simple sauce.

1.4.22Know Your Flour: Traditional and Gluten-Free
A Guide to How to Use Different Kinds of Flour
Whether you use traditional or gluten-free flour, you’ve probably noticed that all flours are not the same. Made from grains, nuts, legumes, roots and seeds, they vary in texture, flavour, density and nutritional make-up. Knowing the qualities of different flours […]

8.24.21Eating Buckwheat May Help Us Live Longer
Research Shows Buckwheat’s Potential for Increasing Longevity
Eating buckwheat can help improve SIRT1 protein production, which can increase your life span. Researchers, writing in the Journal of Cereal Science, showed that buckwheat in the diet stimulates the production of SIRT1 which reduces chronic inflammation and protects body […]

7.24.21Salad Greens You Can Grow in Winter
A Guide to Planting and Harvesting Winter Salad Greens
Want to eat fresh lettuce and salad greens this winter? Late summer to early fall is the time to plant your winter garden. If you like fresh garden salads, you’ll be glad to know you can grow a full range […]

5.23.21How to Have Ripe Local Tomatoes All Year
Enjoy Fresh Tomatoes Year-Round without Processing or Freezing
It’s becoming possible to eat ripe local tomatoes year-round in South Coast, BC. Through the use of season extension in the garden, careful choice of tomato varieties, and planned buying and storage, you can access a supply of fresh tomatoes […]

4.23.21Is Organic Food Better for You?
Study Outlines Benefits of Eating Organic Foods
Is eating organic food worth the price? Does it have more nutrition than conventional food? A landmark study from Newcastle University helps inform consumers. No surprise, but good news. A comprehensive study from Newcastle University in Great Britain confirms […]

12.19.20Seasonal Vegetables to Eat this Winter
Recipes for Seasonal Local Vegetables
Want to eat more seasonal winter vegetables? Here are nine of our favourite recipes for local in-season veggies in fall and winter. Seasonal vegetables are the unsung heroes of winter eating. It may surprise you just how many winter veggies […]

11.14.20Kale Chips

RECIPES Parmesan Garlic Kale Chips • Ginger Basil Kale Chips • Tahini Lemon Kale Chips Is the Kale Trend Over? A few years ago when kale was all the rage, kale chips became an instant classic—a healthy snack food […]

10.10.20Cooking with Chayote Squash
Sautéed Chayote Squash
You may have noticed chayote squash appearing at local markets. This unusual bright green, pear-shaped squash has long been cultivated in Mexico and Latin America, and is now making its way to northern grocery stores.

5.3.20Basic Foods You Can Make at Home
Homemade Recipes for Dressings, Sauce, Baked Beans, Soup, Pastry, Crackers, and Bread
We’ve put together nine of our favourite basic staple food recipes—from condiments and sauce, to bean pots, soup, bread, crackers, and pastry. If being in lockdown is doing anything, it’s teaching us to cook at home. We now have time […]

11.22.19Best Ways to Cook Potatoes
A Spud Lovers Guide to Potato Varieties
Ever wondered what is the best way to cook different kinds of potatoes? Russets, fingerlings, white potatoes, red potatoes, yellow potatoes, and blue potatoes. Here’s a guide to potato varieties and how to use them best. Slideshow: A Guide to […]

2.21.19Did Cooking Make Us Smarter?
The Recipe for Improved Intelligence
What did the advent of cooking bring to human development? Scientific evidence suggests cooking our food may have made us more intelligent.

1.17.19Bringing Back Ancient Grains and Seeds
Growing Old World Grains in Gardens and on Small Farms
Ancient grains are making a comeback, as farmers, millers, artisan bakers and diners seek them out for their exceptional flavour, nutrition, and low-gluten content. The heritage wheat, barley, rye, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa and flax at Dan Jason’s farm come in […]

1.6.19Oh No, Not the Beer!
Barley, Hops, and the Future of Beer
Beer lovers take note: barley a key ingredient in beer is in trouble around the world. A recent article in Nature Plants warns that increasing episodes of extreme drought and heat due to climate warming will cause a decrease in […]

1.28.18Making Crusty Artisan Baguettes
Shaping and Baking Baguettes from Crumb to Crust
In this video, Mitchell Morse, professional baker and owner of The Fickle Fig Farm Market & Bistro on Vancouver Island, takes you through the process of making crusty, artisan baguettes. “I’m always going for a crispy, crusty bread,” Mitchell says, […]

12.21.17Mushrooms May Slow Down Aging
Studies Show Anti-Aging and Anti-inflammatory Potential in Mushrooms
Mushrooms, the topping we love to eat on pizzas, contain antioxidants that may help counter aging. In a 2017 study from Pennsylvania State University published in Food Chemistry, scientists found that mushrooms contain high levels of two important antioxidants with […]

11.23.17Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Honey
A Worldwide Survey
A new study in the journal Science found neonicotinoid pesticides in 75 percent of honey samples from around the world. The honey samples contained neonicotinoids (neonics) at levels known harm to bees and other insect pollinators. Although numerous studies have […]

3.28.17What Exactly is Bone Broth?
Stocks, Broths and Super-Nutritious Bone Broth
Something unusual happened to stocks along the way as a base for soups, sauces, and stews. They evolved into a highly-prized health food and healthy-eating trend called bone broth. What is the difference between stocks and broths? (Article continues below […]

1.20.17Harvesting Sea Salt — The Canadian Way
Vancouver Island Artisan Sea Salt
In waters off the coast of British Columbia, a small number of culinary-minded farmers are doing what people dwelling near the sea have done for thousands of years—harvesting sea salt.

1.20.17Sultans of Salt
Harvesting Sea Salt on Vancouver Island
Jeff Abel takes us on a tour of Saltwest Naturals Sea Salt Harvestry on Vancouver Island, where he and his partner, Jessica Abel, use steam evaporation to harvest flaked fleur de sel and fine grain sea salt. The tour includes […]

10.8.16Herb Roasted Cipollini Onions
Caramelized sweet autumn onions
Topping my list of favourite fall foods are sweet, saucer-shaped cipollini onions. Cipollinis, whose name means “little onions,” come in white and red varieties. Cipollinis’ sweet, mellow flavour and diminutive flattened shape make them an excellent choice for roasting.

9.13.16Baking up Gluten-Free Flavour
Taste Innovations at Origin Bakery
At Origin Bakery, the only dedicated gluten-free bakery in Victoria BC, Marion Scott and Tara Black are transforming the way we taste alternative grains. They’re also doing what comes naturally to pastry chefs, but is so rare in the world […]

5.30.16Online Farm Map for Vancouver Island’s 100-Mile Diet
A Guide to Farms and Local Food in Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island
The 100-mile diet on Vancouver Island has just become more accessible. The online Vancouver Island Farms & Food Map offers a way to find hundreds of farms and fresh local foods in Victoria, Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island and Gabriola […]

4.19.16The Power of Pulses
Saving the World with Peas, Beans, Chickpeas, Favas & Lentils
It’s the International Year of Pulses, and a new book, The Power of Pulses: Saving the World with Peas, Beans, Chickpeas, Favas & Lentils, is here to guide the way. If saving the world sounds like hyperbole, it’s because pulses […]

11.11.15Sausage!
Artisan Sausage Makers are Preserving a Tradition
Traditional sausage making is an art that dates back thousands of years. About 500 BC, the Greek playwright Epicharmus wrote a comedy entitled, The Sausage. It is one of the earliest references to the ground spiced meat in casings we […]

7.2.15Cooking Up Ways to End Food Waste
Book Review: The Waste Not, Want Not Cook Book
Cinda Chavich opens her new cookbook, Waste Not, Want Not, with an astounding fact: nearly 40 percent of the food produced in North America is wasted. The problem begins on the farm where a good percentage of harvested fruits and […]

6.2.15Crisp Kohlrabi
A Cool Vegetable for Dips and Slaws
With its tentacle-shaped leaves and green or purple bulbs, you might think it’s an alien life form. It is, in fact, kohlrabi, a cool-weather brassica that grows abundantly in South Coast British Columbia and provides a crisp, nutritious addition to […]

5.8.15Growing a Local Mediterranean Diet
Citrus Fruits, Olives and Pomegranates on Vancouver Island
Scientific studies have long hailed a Mediterranean diet of oranges, olives and subtropical fruits, along with vegetables, nuts, legumes and grains, as one of the healthiest in the world. Until now, however, British Columbia food distributors have had to import […]

2.25.15Teafarm Brews up a New Crop for Canada
Cultivating Tea on Vancouver Island
On a sunny slope in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, a rare Camellia is growing; rare for Canada but widely sought worldwide for its stimulant qualities. It is Camellia sinensis, better known as tea. Far from the tropical and […]

10.7.14In Search of the Local Bean
Reviving Heritage Bean Varieties on Small Farms in British Columbia
Think of this— a bubbling pot of maple baked beans on a cold, rainy day. It’s Canadian comfort food. After all, Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of pulses: dry beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. A trip to […]

10.7.1423 Heritage Beans
Unique, Colourful, Flavourful Foods
Heritage bean growers like Rebecca Jehn preserve a wealth of traditions, diversity and flavours not found in today’s mechanized food chain. At her farm at Rebecca’s Garden in Victoria, BC, she grows over 30 unique varieties of beans, chickpeas and […]

3.26.14Pesticide Free?
A Low-Cost Way to Detect Pesticides in the Food We Eat
It’s no secret that Canada’s food growing system is heavily invested in pesticides. These chemicals are dangerous environmental pollutants because of their long-term effects on living organisms, including humans. Many Canadians try to avoid eating foods grown with pesticides by […]

1.26.14Victoria’s Village Butcher
Putting a Cutting Edge on Artisan Meats
On Vancouver Island, small food businesses and eateries are taking part in a culinary awakening. Fresh meats and produce, humane treatment of the land and animals, fewer food miles, direct connections with growers, and superior flavour are all part of […]

12.29.13An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor (and Statins) Away
Apples Match Statins for Cardiovascular Health
Just in time for 2014’s batch of new year’s resolutions comes an intriguing report from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that an apple or more a day—especially for those over age 50— may be as effective at preventing cardiovascular deaths […]

10.14.13Blueberries: The News Gets Better and Better
Blueberries Cut Type 2 Diabetes Risk
The news about blueberries keeps getting better and better. In 2004, USDA researchers revealed that compounds in blueberries lowered cholesterol by stimulating proteins in liver cells that reduce blood fat. Three years later, a Rutgers University study showed that pterostilbene, […]