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Worth His Salt: Vancouver Island Salt Company

Voltaire said that business is the salt of life, but what if salt is life’s business? Here I talk to Andrew Shepherd, head of the Vancouver Island Salt Company, a company located in Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island that handcrafts over 20 different salts and distributes them to the tables of people like me and thee. Here I learn about the simple infusion process, how to cook with this incredible salt and how the blue cheese infusion can change my life, which I don’t doubt at all!

Artisan Salts?

Good question!  I’m actually thinking about dropping the “Artisan Salts” phrase. Recently I saw a bottled water truck boasting of it’s “Artisan Water”, so I’m thinking the term “Artisan” is being a touch over used.  For me “Artisan Salts” are hand crafted/harvested salts that are produced as a form of culinary art.

All different flavours?

It’s probably a little over the top, but I think we have over 20 different salts on offer. I guess this is where the salt becomes a true medium for culinary art. Salt is a remarkable thing in that it can  absorb flavour and color from pretty much anything it comes into contact with. I get bored easily so the infusions help keep me motivated. Also keeps my market tables fresh and interesting for market regulars.

So what would I choose?

Do you like blue cheese? If you do, the blue cheese infusion will change your life.  If you don’t  like blue cheese, our jerk infusion (flavoured with Vancouver Chef, Bounty’s authentic Jerk Sauce) is awesome.  If you don’t like jerk either, you’re boring and need to change the way you eat! Just kidding!  We have salts for all tastes, but these are my most unique infusions.

Can we know the infusion process, or is it a secret?

Super simple, we take wet, un-finished salt early in the harvesting process blend in the  flavouring agents (blue cheese, jerk sauce, garlic, paprika, etc) and then slowly dry it allowing the bond to take place.

I like your cooking suggestions. If this was my first artisan salt experience, what would you suggest I purchase and what should I go on to cook?

I always suggest that people have a crack at cooking with my straight up local Canadian Sea Salt first, it’s actually quite different cooking with it compared to the table salt so many of us were brought up with. A great application to test out the difference is in  bread making, my salt will eliminate that salt first taste that a lot of home bakers end up with.  But fair warning you will need to change up your recipes a bit because my salt is pretty strong.

What`s your personal favourite and what do you do with it?

Blue Cheese Infused.  I like to stick my fingers in it and then lick them, I also like to sprinkle it on popcorn.

How did you end up in the salt business?

I made some salt to show that it could be done, gave some away, people freaked out, four months later I’m self-employed.  Opportunity knocked, and I was home.

Having said that, I am a chef by trade, and I had spent the previous two years working for a small company developing and wholesaling gourmet foods, so the salt game was right up my alley.

Where can we go to buy some of this deliciousness?

**Attention valued clients, I can’t actually list you all in this interview**

All the Country Grocer and Fairway Markets on the Island, Cook Culture, Niagara Grocery, all the Red Barns, Ingredients, Community Farm Store, Edible Island, Edible Canada, Marche St George Capilano Trading Post.  So basically all over BC, and now we are branching into Alberta, and Ontario.

What’s next?

We are just finishing up a much needed expansion which should allow us to continue to spread our salty goodness throughout the rest of Canada. Whats really exciting is that our new production line is being converted to run on waste veg oil, so not only are we growing the biz, but we are greening up the salt co to pretty much unheard of ‘greenliness’.***

Basically I’m really proud of what myself and my little company have created in terms of having started the Canadain Sea Salt industry. So now I need to make sure that as copy cats jump into the salt game (which is already happening) we maintain a leadership role in the industry and that we keep the Canadian Sea Salt industry focused on high quality standards and sustainability both fiscally and environmentally.

*** I was thrilled to get a recent update to say that the conversion went well and the VISC is now producing salt with the assistance of reusable energy!!

Anything else we should know about VISC?

It’s not lost on VISC, that our success is and has been directly dependent on local support. While we are focusing on spreading out over our great country, the back bone of our biz is to supply local people with their local salt. And we are very thankful for every word of encouragement and every bit of support we have received here in BC and specifically on this great rock we call Vancouver island.

 

How to Organize your Plan to Organize

My dream list…will it every come true??

 

Huh?  You’re reading this thinking I’ve made a typo.  I mean, who organizes to organize?  Well, me as it turns out.  You see I’ve always been the type of person who feels they need to make a list of the 30 projects they MUST complete within the next few months, no matter how small. I do this to stay focused and plus I truly love the feeling of grabbing a pen and crossing an item off my list as if it confirms I haven’t wasted my time just sitting around watching Criminal Minds reruns and flipping through flyers…my two favorite ways to procrastinate!

Well, I’ve recently had a change of heart and suddenly this list that I love so much has become my arch nemesis. This change of heart stems from a recent freak accident where I managed to slice my pinky finger, requiring seven stitches and a bottle full of pain killers.  I won’t go into the gory details but long story short, it involved a runaway dog and poop bags attached to a carabiner attached to a leash….not your typical accident.

The deadly weapon! Scary looking, isn’t it?

I should preface this by saying I always have the strangest accidents happen to me.  I’ve determined that this means I will probably live to a 105 while simply maiming myself along the way! Not a bad deal I think.

Within a span of one week, my wonderful list grew longer and longer as I was unable to do the simplest tasks like put away food in the pantry or even type emails as they would take me forever one-handed. Plus, with the pain meds, I was frightened as to what I would write to people. It’s like some really good advice someone recently told me, “don’t drink a bottle of wine and then log on to Facebook. Only bad things can come from this!”

Meet my dreaded arch nemesis!

 

With tonnes of time to watch the list grow and grow, I realized that one of the biggest stresses was actually stressing over this list which was supposed to help me organize and ultimately help de-stress my life.  So I decided to stake stock (since I had lots of time to do nothing but think!) and figure out ways of eliminating this giant list without actually losing focus of all the tasks I needed to do.

This reminded me of a time management course I took a few years ago through work which was supposed to help me manage my work tasks better and determine the things you NEED to do versus the things you WANT to do. I went onto Mr. Google to see if I could find this information again in detail.

When I typed in “Time Management and Organization,” this daunting passage was the first thing that popped up: “The specific actions that you choose to take each hour, each day, each week, throughout each year, define your life.” Oh great!  Then my last week defined me as a chip eating, serial killer crime fighter watching couch potato who couldn’t even wash her own hair!

Quickly turning off the computer, I returned to my giant ”To Do” list and realized that my biggest problem is assuming that EVERYTHING that is on my list is actually something I “NEED” to do when really 75% of the tasks are things that I want to do but won’t affect my daily life if they stay incomplete.

So I refocused and sat down to  create two new lists: one of them is where I put the tasks I NEED to do.  This includes things like grocery shopping, cleaning the house and organizing my son’s toys because if I didn’t complete these tasks soon we would starve, live in a pig sty and soon be buried in toy trucks and stuffed animals although I guess we could always auditions for Hoarders. The second list is the tasks I WANT to do such as finish the oak table downstairs and reorganize my couponing binder…things that are important to me but won’t really effect me if they don’t get done right now.

A much more manageable “Need to Do” List!

Although this reorganization of lists didn’t help me complete any tasks, it did help me reevaluate what was really crucial and took some stress off of losing a week in life. Not to mention, it cut my list down drastically.  I know I’ll never completely give up creating lists but at least I can create ones that look manageable and won’t cause me to have anxiety attacks when I look at them.  So next time you feel overwhelmed with your own “To Do” lists, take a moment to re-evaluate the NEEDS versus WANTS and I promise you that list will look a lot less daunting and eventually you’ll become friends with it again. And watch out for those carabiners…

 

Coupon Tip of the Week:  This is something I was taught about couponing a long time ago but I thought I would mention it again as it’s great advice.  Don’t buy something just because it’s a great deal.  What I mean is, don’t buy $20 worth air freshener just because you can only pay $5 if you don’t actually use this product.  I know how addicting it can be to score great deals but it’s not a deal if it’s a product you’ll never use.  Even if it’s only $5, you still are paying money out of your own pocket on something you won’t use.  Instead, focus your attention on looking for great deals on items you actually use and trust me, your money will go a lot further and you’ll end up with a stockpile full of useful items.

Pack it up, pack it in: Back-to-school Backpack Round-up

The kids go back to school next week! Yay! I mean—man, I’m going to miss my kids so much… Anyhoo, back-to-school time tends to make hearts heavy (ahem) and wallets light. So why not do yourself and mama Earth a favour and buy used?

Left to right: Brand-new Roots backpack ($15), colourful kids backpacks ($10 ea), HP laptop/notebook backpack ($50), Tracker messenger bag + matching lunch bag ($15), Targus multi-compartment backpack ($18),New Dakine backpack ($40)

Top 10 Back to School Budget Tips

It’s that time of year again!

This is an expensive time of year for many families with kids in school. Here are a few of my best ways to save a few bucks:

1) Start scoping out the sales as early as possible, but don’t feel like you need to buy everything all at once. The kids bring home school supply lists that often include dozens of items. On top of that there are the backpacks, lunchbags, and indoor running shoes … and it adds up very quickly. Buy only the things you think the kids will need right away, and buy the rest as you can afford it. Many schools ask for extras such as bottles of hand-sanitizer and cases of tissues. These are pricey items, and you definitely shouldn’t feel pressured to send your kid to school with everything on the first day.

2) Don’t cheap out at the Dollar Store. I realize this is contrary to many other people’s back-to-school tips but in my experience the majority of the school supplies we’ve bought here weren’t even worth the dollar we paid for them. Crayons that break, pencil leads that snap, markers that dried out too quickly … ugh. I hate paying for things twice, and I also hate having to spend the time and effort to buy things twice. So I seek out the sales and try to buy brand name items that I’m familiar with or that were recommended to me. If you spend a bit more now you will save money in the long run.

3) Avoid the impulse buys and learn to say no. Last year my daughter spotted a calculator that was shaped like a piano keyboard and I caved and bought it for her. Why not? It was cute and only cost five bucks. Well, it stopped working within a month. That boring old grey calculator from the year before would have been perfectly fine. One of the best ways to put the breaks on impulse shopping is to zero in on the products you need and stop browsing the aisles aimlessly without a plan.

4) Get on the email lists for the stores you frequent most often. Many major chains offer great deals, promo codes and notifications of upcoming sales in their e-newslettters. Gap and Old Navy are great for this.

5) Technology is your friend. There are shopping and coupon apps you can download that will help you find the sales. And did you know Michael’s will accept smart-phone coupons as well as printouts from their website? (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself in line at the cash, surfing for an online coupon or promo code! Bookmark them beforehand.)

6)  Label your children’s belongings. If something leaves the house, it might get lost. And don’t assume your wee one will recognize his or her own belongings, because if it’s a hoodie that’s only been worn once odds are they’ll forget about it. I used to pooh-pooh the idea of buying packs of labels for this purpose but it paid for itself after the first pair of labelled footwear was returned to us. We like Mabel’s Labels and we use them religiously to label the kids clothing, footwear, and school supplies. They are very durable and long-lasting. Let your child pick the style of the label so they feel good about “decorating” that  boring grey calculator (see#3). (Check out their back-to-school combo!)

7) Get your kids used to the idea that hand-me-downs are ok. That being said, avoid buying gender-specific items where possible, otherwise your little girl will steadfastly refuse to use big brother’s extra spiderman pencil case. There’s this mentality that we need to buy All New, Every Year. And I think we need to break that habit. Newsflash: we do not need a whole new wardrobe every September.

8) If someone wants to buy that extra special double-rainbows-prancing-unicorn backpack and it’s above and beyond what you are willing to spend on one, make your kid earn the cash for the difference. It’s a huge life lesson. That being said…

9) … show your kids how much things cost. I think we shield our kids too much from the financial realities of everyday life. Draw up a budget before you go shopping and stick to it. Include your child in the process too and do the math as you go.

10) Buy used when you can, especially for big-ticket items like dorm furniture, desks and chairs. Check your local Used site! You never know what you’re going to find. For example, when our daughter started taking music in grade seven we found a great secondhand trumpet. I never thought to look for a used one.

What are your tips for back-to-school shopping? I’d love to hear them!

 

Green wedding: something old, something borrowed, something used

On August 18, our very own “green bride” Lisa Higgs married Rolf Campbell in their beautiful Kanata backyard.

This gorgeous wedding gave a whole new meaning to the “something old…something borrowed” tradition – thanks in large part to Lisa’s efforts to make their special day as environmentally-friendly as possible.

And we have the photos to prove it. Check it out!

The happy couple. Congrats, guys! And thanks for letting us be part of your special day

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The dinner table

 
We first heard about Lisa when she reached out to folks in the Free category of UsedOttawa.com, asking for donations of dinner plates. Lisa and Rolf combined a bunch of mismatched dishes together for a lovely vintage-eclectic look!

They also tried a whole new spin on centrepieces. They made a pile of old books, stacked mason jars (with  candles) on top, added an oil lamp, and surrounded it all with fun origami shapes made out of 100% recyclable paper —yes, that is a bunny! And why buy or rent boring cloth napkins when you can make your own out of old bedsheets with fun prints? Add some paper fortune cookies (also made from 100% recyclable paper) as wedding favours and have one memorable table setting.

Information for guests

 

Flowers

There were no fresh flowers at this wedding! Unless by fresh, you mean fresh pages taken from used encyclopedias. And while you might think paper flowers would look strange as wedding decor, the end result was quite beautiful. For the bridesmaids’ bouquets, Lisa added a bit of blue paper (also recyclable). Hey, is this the “something blue”? Meanwhile, the groom and groomsmen looked rather dapper wearing their unique boutonnieres.

And just for fun…

To the stars, young lovers!

 

You never know what you can find online! Lisa scored this free moon – yes, moon! – originally made and used for a school play. This photo backdrop was huge at a whopping 10-by-10 feet.

Thanks to Lisa and Rolf for allowing us to be part of their special day. All the best in your new life together!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for a DIY article over the next couple of weeks, when I’ll show you how to create your own wedding flowers and wedding favours.

How to find that perfect new home

House shopping.

It’s like the ultimate do-over, isn’t it?

All your real estate sins of the past are washed away.  Shopping for a new house feels like an opportunity to change or fix what has bothered you in a current home – and it usually comes at a time when you welcome the change.  Finally, you can get exactly the right house, and everything will be perfect.  Right?

Maybe.

But more likely, the answer is “maybe not.”  After all, every house offers a different floor plan, a different division of space and storage and flow.  And as you discover new features you love, you realize you must let go of the house you own in order to accept the one you are buying.  You may gain space, and lose certain rooms you loved.  You may buy a brand new home, and give up your finished basement.  You may choose an older home in an area with tree-lined streets, only to curse the number of bathrooms.  You may wander in and out of new homes and wonder where on earth the kids will play, or how you will fit everything in your new kitchen.

It is never an easy task.

You will realize the things you are trying to fit into your new home are just that – things.  Some may need to find new homes in the house you have chosen, and some may need to find new owners to love them.  If so, it was time to let go of them anyway, and there are easy ways to do so.  You may have a few spots in your home that call for just the right piece of furniture, and start browsing for something to suit.  You may need new storage solutions, or a new shed.  All of these things will come together over time.

You realize each house offers its own unique features, and a happy home will be made in each one, whether by your family or another.

You’ll realize that this could be your home.

Or this.

Or this one.

Or this.

You’ll realize it’s more about you than the house.  And you have the ability to make yourself happy in any number of homes.

And grace will come.  You will figure out the features or qualities that are most important to you.  You will stand in a house where you can breathe and if you pay attention, you will imagine living in it.  You can summon up a picture of your kids playing on the front lawn, or scampering up and down steps.  You can envision drinking coffee in the kitchen, and you like the view out the window.

Suddenly, you will know which house to choose.  It will last through each discussion, each debate and offer more of what matters to you than any other.

You will say farewell to your old home, pack up every last box, load the truck and drive off to your new house.

You will gaze up and down your new street and know you have found your way home, again.

 

 

 

To the moon, Arvo! Man in Moon Birthday Party

In June we celebrated my son Arvo’s second birthday and I lost my mind. After years of throwing very challenging birthday parties for my daughter (Madhatter tea party, fairyland party, etc & so on) I promised myself I would keep things simple for Arvo. I should mention that the parties I’ve thrown in the past weren’t extravagant in a consumerist way—no bouncy castles, limos or hired entertainers—but they were definitely extravagant in a craft/decor/cake baking/planning kind of way.

I have a powerful love-hate relationship with party planning. I love to come up with ideas and decorate. I genuinely enjoy making giant cakes and hanging twinkle lights. But I hate the fact that I never seem to have enough time to make it all happen. I hate that I’m a sweaty, grouchy nightmare the day of the party and that I never manage make into the shower before the guests arrive.

Let it be known there’s no shortage of people offering to help, but I have a bit of a delegation problem. To be fair, I know for a FACT that no one cares as much as I do. How can I trust my husband to put streamers up with the same love, affection and attention to detail that I would? I can’t, because sane people don’t care that much about streamers. And so I don’t delegate much. And I drive myself crazy. So, this year I planned a simple outdoor hotdogs and cake party. Just like in the olden days. No structured games. No fuss. Maybe, just a theme. A simple theme… Arvo loves the moon. I would make him a moon cake and hang some moon decorations. No big deal, right?  A moon party! How simple. How understated. How easy! How silly of me…

I’d Google “moon birthday party”,  steal a cake idea and call it a day. Feeling overconfident and a little smug over how easy it was all going to be, I decided I’d have more than enough time to build a paper moon photo booth. Riiiight. It would have all gone off without a hitch if it wasn’t for the fact that apparently NO ONE in the whole wide world has thrown the kind of moon party I wanted. When I started to research party and cake ideas (only a few days before the party – I SAID I was overconfident)— I found nothing. I came across a million space cakes (round mounds of cake with a toy astronaut on top), but Arvo’s knowledge of the moon extends to what he sees in the night sky and the Man in the Moon from picture books. I was going to have to, God forbid, come up with ideas myself. And since I’d been counting on someone else to do all the legwork, I was in the same familiar boat—too much to do and too little time. PLUS, I’d already started on the photo booth. In the spirit of full disclosure, I might have cried a little bit. Like, a lot. Then I got mad and then I got to work. Here’s what I did, step by step, so that no one else in search of a “Man in the Moon” party has to suffer the way that I did.

Paper Moon Photobooth

 

This is a bit of work, but really not that big of a deal if you get working on it a couple of weeks before the party. Basically do as I say, not as I did.

What you need:

• Man in the Moon image
• 3 black disposable table cloths (or black fabric or big sheets of black paper)
• glue
• scissors
• staple gun or small nails & a hammer
• wooden chair you don’t mind punching a few staples or small nails in to
• large foil stars (cut them yourself or buy readymade)

I found a classic  Man in the Moon image online and sent it to my local printer asking them to print a 48″x48″ image on card stock. It cost $40, but if you shop around or have a friend in the biz you may be able to score a better deal. Cut the moon out with scissors and glue it on to cardboard cut to fit to reinforce it. Drape one of the plastic tablecloths over the chair and place the moon around the seat of the chair so when someone sits down it looks like they’re sitting on the moon. Staple gun or nail the moon into the wooden chair through the tablecloth. Make sure none of the chair is visible.

Figure out where you’re going to set up your paper moon and cover that wall with the remaining black tablecloths/fabric/paper.  This is going to be your backdrop. If you have time (I didn’t) you can add some clouds to make it look a little nicer. But, really it doesn’t matter because you’re going to focus your photographs pretty tight around the moon. Decorate the backdrop with cut out metallic stars or sparkly ones you bought at the very last minute for far too much money from the craft store. Take a few test shots. I didn’t do this, either. But, hey, you’re not me and you’re starting this way in advance. You’re the best.

The Decorations

This is pretty much up to you. The sky’s the limit (sorry), really. I set up a table for the food and covered it with a bright coloured table cloth. I bought contrasting napkins and paper plates and scattered silver and gold star-shaped confetti everywhere. I then put up white lights and hung stars and moons here and there and tied up a few red helium balloons. Had the party been indoors, I might have done a little more. But the logistics of our back yard kept me in check.

The Loot Bags

What you need:

• black paper bags (available at craft stores)
• moon/space stickers
• bouncy balls
• Rocket candies
• glow sticks
• glow in the dark moons & stars

 

The Cake

Oh, the cake. I planned to bake a simple round cake. I would frost it with white buttercream and then stencil on a face to create a proper man in the moon. Sounds easy, right? Well it could have been. But I got it into my head that my paltry 10″ cake pan just wasn’t impressively moony enough. So, I decided I’d bake a single layer 16″ round cake. I reasoned that this would actually save me a lot of time as I wouldn’t have to fuss with torting and layers. And in theory I was absolutely correct. Until I realized that the 16″ pan didn’t fit properly in my lame old oven. I was able to close the oven door, but not without lifting the pan a little. This meant the cake cooked really, really unevenly. Like one inch thick on one side and several inches thick on the other.

This was a bad moment. There were more tears and maybe some colouful language and then there was acceptance. I would bake another cake and double it up – matching the super thin side of the first cake with the thick side of the second cake, hopefully creating one even double layer lake. And I’ll have you know, it worked. I had to do a little creative leveling/cutting but it wasn’t THAT big of deal. Mind you, uneven 16″ sponge cakes can be a little delicate to handle, but I took my time and all was well. My advice? Go ahead and make a 16″ cake if you have a big enough oven. It really will save you time. Otherwise, use the biggest cake pan your oven can handle. If that’s only 10″, then so be it , but you may want to double up the recipe and make a layer cake, if you’re having a lot of people. Anyhoo, here’s the recipes & instructions:

Make a stencil:

I did a Google search for large-sized Man in the Moon images. Once I found the right face I was looking for I made the image full screen, taped some waxed paper over the monitor and traced the face features with a pencil. Then I cut out the features with an exacto knife. Really, quite simple. You’ll note that there is no image of this. At this point was starting to feel the pressure and documentation fell at the wayside.

Oma’s Sponge Cake (makes one 8″ single layer cake *Note, I quadrupled the recipe for a single layer 16″ cake)

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp (1/8 cup) butter
dash vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grease and line a springform pan with parchment paper
3. Cream eggs and sugar well, add vanilla.
4. Add half of the flour and all of the baking powder and fold in gently until mixed.
5. Fold in the rest of the flour mixture.
6. Heat milk just enough to melt butter (about 60 sec. in a microwave).
7. Fold the warm milk and melted butter mixture into the dough a little at a time, until all ingredients are combined.
8. Pour into pan. Bake 30 minutes ( or until toothpick comes out clean) at 350.

 

Decorating the Cake

Omnivore Acres: Eat All, Eat Well, Eat Local

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing tastes as good as food grown locally, carefully and with genuine passion and interest. Is it me or can you taste a happy vegetable? The more I write for this blog, and the more people I get to chat with, the more I realise just how easy it is to adapt to a sustainable and local eating habit. Here I interview Catherine Gowans from Omnivore Acres, a farm in Central Saanich (Victoria, BC) intent on providing healthy, happy and well raised chickens (for eggs and meat), pigs and veggies to its local community.

Farm life. Tell us about it.

Jim and I bought the farm in August 2008 after a tour of New Zealand. We made a commitment to buy a farm and grow food, raising meat for local market and exploring the local food community. We had enjoyed full careers and were ready to begin our “bucket list” of projects. Jim’s a livestock nutritionist by profession and I’m a Registered Nurse.

We named our farm “Omnivore Acres” having been inspired by Michale Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Our vision is “Growing Food and Creating Hospitality through Sustainable Agricultural Practices”

Shortly after moving into the farm house we realized that the major renovation we planned needed to be a rebuild. We planted our first garden in 2009 and began remediating the soil from dormant hay land. One of our first purchases was a manure spreader!

In 2010 we got our first flock of layers and began selling eggs from our farm gate. Our customers tell us our Omega 3, free range, veggie fed eggs are exceptional and it’s Jim’s knowledge and experience in the feed industry that has guided the diets we provide to all our animals.

In 2010 we began exploring ways to market our vegetables and started a small box program. Our program today has grown to 20 customers and runs for 18 weeks.

This year we have also raised 350 chickens on pasture for meat birds. These birds are veggie fed, range on grass and produce beautiful meat. In 2011 we added pigs to our brood.

The pigs! Yes! How is that going?

These pigs are enjoying life, free ranging on pasture, eating a vegetable diet and providing manure for the land. Right now, our pigs are all pre-sold. The pigs arrive in June 2011 as weaners from a nursery barn in Alberta. The pigs grow here with us until mid/end of September and are custom ordered and finished on a vegetable diet.

So what else do you have growing on your farm?

3/4 acre of vegetables, 350 meat birds, 399 laying hens, two Border Collies and sixteen pigs!  I handcraft custom pies for customers as well. Frozen and fresh.

And all these lovely nutritious homegrown goodies, how do we get our hands on them!

In 2011/2012 we’re vendors at the Downtown Victoria Farmer’s Market. You can also check on our Facebook page which I update regularly or call the farm 778-426-4477

And what about Thelma and Louise? Are you harbouring fugitives?!

Yes, they’re aptly named. When not given enough to do, they tend to look for mischief. Both dogs have their talents and jobs to do like good farm workers!

What been your favourite experience so far of life on the farm?

It’s hard to identify any one experience or event. Jim and I celebrated our wedding in 2010 on the farm with a pig roast and 130 friends and family. That stands out for sure.

The best part of living here is the lifestyle and the connection with the soil and all things growing. It is especially wonderful to share our bounty with likeminded folks who enjoy and respect seasonal eating, cooking and going a bit out of their way to establish a relationship with a farm.

Local support and the folks we have met through our venture to date has been very gratifying.

We are living a lifelong dream we both shared before meeting in 2005. I would say “never let go of your dreams.”

Lest it sound all romantic, farming is hard work, labour intensive and a business that has to make it on its own. We had a barn flood on Christmas Day, we have had pigs break out and need to be wrestled back and had neighbour cows visit our back yard. You have to laugh somedays.

But we have so much encouragement from our customers and have found notes and dog biscuits left in our egg box out front and veggie left overs delivered from a neighbor for our laying hens. We’ve had everything from firewood to trailers loaned to us to help keep our costs down as we develop our business.

What’s next for the farm?

Nothing at the moment, but stay tuned to our Facebook page.

If you were to prepare a dinner solely from the fruits of your labour, what would be on the table?

We enjoy this type of meal every night in the summer and frequently throughout the year. This past weekend as an example, we enjoyed a lovely roast chicken from our field, patty pan summer squash, red potatoes, green beans, roasted beets and greens and a blackberry pie!

And because we love used, what`s been your best used find?

Well, we sell more on UsedVictoria than we buy but of items I’ve purchased I would say dog kennels which we use to transport baby pigs have been our best purchase!

Omnivore Acres is located at 2888 Dooley Road, Victoria, 

UsedEverywhere & National Costume Swap Day Canada

I’m just going to say it… Summer’s winding down. If you’re a parent you probably started the mental countdown a couple of weeks ago. There’s back to school shopping to consider, cramming in a last minute trip to the lake and managing all that family togetherness in the heat. September’s coming and once you accept that fall is practically here, it’s only a small mental leap to start getting excited for Halloween!

My kids are already talking about costumes and I’m already starting worry about how I’m supposed to create the perfect Rosie the Riveter/zombie costume for a teenager and  make my toddler look like the man in the moon. That’s a tall order considering I work full time and can’t even sew a button on to a shirt. AND Halloween is only 70 days away!

Normally, I would start to panic right about this time, but not this year. Nope. Not me. Why? Because this year UsedEverywhere is partnering with Our Big Earth Media Co. to present National Costume Swap Day Canada on October 13th.

What’s National Costume Swap Day Canada?
The movement is based on a simple premise – trading costumes at Halloween instead of buying new ones. It doesn’t take anything away from the nostalgia and warmth of Halloween traditions. It creates a new one built into a holiday that children love. National Costume Swap Day Canada provides a central meeting point where communities from across Canada can begin greening their Halloween by setting up, publicizing and hosting costume swaps at their local community centres, halls, churches, schools and other public places. Swap hosts are given all of the tools.

Why it’s such an awesome idea:
Kids: It’s about the experience. Rather than picking out a costume at a big box store, kids have the chance to find something unique and use their imaginations.

Moms and Dads: This empties out those boxes of old costumes in storage, saves money, connects them to the community and be a bit more socially conscious too.

Communities: An opportunity to establish progressive holiday traditions that key in on fostering the creativity and imagination of our kids, teaches social responsibility and supports the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle.

How can I get involved?
Visit  www.costumeswapdaycanada.com to get the scoop and find swaps in your location. Can’t find one in your neck of the woods? Then read this handy-dandy how-toand host your own! You can also follow National Costume Swap Day Canada on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Instagram for updates, contests and loads of fun!

Why is UsedEverywhere sponsoring National Costume Swap Day Canada?
We’re sponsoring National Costume Swap Day Canada because it’s an awesome idea or as our Marketing Coordinator, Erin Richards, more eloquently puts it:

“This project embodies our foundational values of recycling, repurposing and redistributing items that may otherwise end up in the landfill. This initiative allows us to continue helping moms make economically and environmentally responsible decisions for their families while also bringing women together in communities across Canada. We think this is a terrific cause and are honored to be a part of it!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now, if anyone has a moon costume they want to swap for a magenta prom dress, get in touch!

Art in the Open: a Sneak Preview

Late last summer, for a single evening, downtown Charlottetown was transformed.

There were sounds you don’t normally hear and sights you don’t normally see: poems in the street and a human crow parade and magical TV towers. Charlottetown’s first-ever festival of public art showcased not only the creativity and theatrical flair of this little city, but also its green spaces and the charm and possibility of its varied urban landscapes.

It was Art in the Open: a hands-on discovery extravaganza.

And this coming Saturday, August 25th, from 4pm to midnight, all over historic downtown Charlottetown, it’s happening again. All over Victoria Park, Rochford Square, Connaught Square, Victoria Row, and the Confederation Centre, Art in the Open will be back for an entirely new collection of magic. There will be installations, performance art, theatre, dance, portable sculpture: a whole array of new transformations waiting to make Charlottetown come alive for another evening of experiential art.

And in the middle of it – ready for you to walk right in – will be the Wonderland Labyrinth, collaborative partnership of visual artists Lori Joy Smith and Catherine Miller.

Catherine and Lori both make beautiful, whimsical things. Long-time friends, they’ve joined creative forces for the first time with the creation of Wonderland Labyrinth: a world of soft marvelous creatures and wind-blown walls. And very stylish animals.

Scaled to big and small alike, Wonderland Labyrinth is a children’s fantasy made real: an exploratory space of touchable toadstools and magic rabbits, where tiny slugs smile up at you from fabric logs and even the rocks are adorably cute.

Large and small, EVERYthing is cute.

I got to visit the inhabitants of Wonderland Labyrinth and their creators and talk a little about Art in the Open and their inspiration for this year’s installation. Lori was busy wrapping a barbamama with genuine Island wool blanket ends from MacAusland’s Woolen Mills, while Catherine fixed a fluffy tail to a nattily dressed bunny.

1. Lori, how did you get involved in Art in the Open?

Catherine approached me with her idea of a labyrinth back in the spring. She wanted to build a large 60′ by 60′ fabric labyrinth filled with creatures and animals. I loved her idea and was really excited about the thought of a collaboration with her. Catherine’s work tends to be big and bold, where I like to work small and intimate. It’s been a great experience trying to blend the two. I feel we’ve done a great job.

2. You have indeed…all the critters are full of personality. What’s your most vivid memory of last year’s Art in the Open?

I think the bonfires in Victoria Park are my most vivid memory from last year. It’s hard to say tho, because it was such a magical night. It felt like everywhere you looked there was art and people. There were people riding story telling bikes, the crow parade, DIY t-shirt in the park… the cannons wrapped in blankets. It was great to see Charlottetown so alive.

3. What inspired you and Catherine to create your particular installation for this year’s show?

Catherine came up with the main idea, but it has grown and developed as we’ve worked on it together these past couple of months. We wanted to make it a Wonderland for kids. We’ve drawn inspiration from the books we loved as kids to create some of the characters, Beatrix Potter books, Wind in the Willows, Moomin books by Jove Hansen and the barbapapas, to name a few. It’s been fun working together on this and truly a collaboration. We worked on each piece together. Catherine did most of the sewing and I knit most of my pieces. We took turns sewing the almost 100 fabric panels though… that’s seriously a lot of fabric!

And it’s seriously a grand collaboration.

Even the garlic is cute.

Come on out, Charlottetown, on Saturday August 25th, and enjoy the magic of Wonderland Labyrinth and all of Art in the Open. Help the city – and this fabulous installation – come alive.