Well, actually the shopping is all done and now its just time to enjoy yourself. Kick back, cozy up at home with friends and family and make a toast to the season.
Thanks to all of you for your participation and support and for choosing LOCAL. We wish you all a very merry festive season full of laughter and jolly fun.
From all of us at Get Fresh! Elisabeth, Noah, Lucas, Sherry, Matthew and Caprina.
Take a friend, loved one or co-worker out for a local meal.
Sorry we were absent for our Day 10 of local gift ideas. We were out enjoying a fabulous meal with friends at Bistro Cache in Brentwood Bay. We hadn’t seen our very dear friends in about a year, so it was time to catch up before another year passed us by. Sharing great food that is prepared with love and local ingredients has got to be one of the best ways to connect with friends and family. Real food with real friends!
There are really too many places to list that are committed to serving local meals in and around Victoria. We’ve chosen a few that may be a little out of the way and would make for a rather special outing. As there isn’t much more time before Christmas a gift certificate promising someone near and dear a nice meal out will always be appreciated.
Bistro Cache “Return to Real Food” Brentwood Bay, BC
Bistro Cache cooks from scratch every day using fresh local produce, humanely raised meats, and sustainable fish species. They believe in supporting small farms and businesses and working towards being responsible members of a sustainable community. Hurrah!! The food is lovingly prepared, the service relaxed and friendly (my son Finn made a new friend of our server Dillon) and it is a cozy place for an intimate feast.
What’s being featured right now? Fresh Salish mussels, Hilary’s cheese, Broken Briar Venison Rack, Quist Farm Flat Iron steak frites (SOoooo good!).
Dockside GrillSidney, BC
With their ideal location just a few kilometers away from local farms and wineries, Dockside Grill has a wonderful opportunity to serve the freshest and finest ingredients available. What’s on the fresh, local and seasonal menu this week? Zatar marinated squid and roasted carrot salad, house made potato-blue cheese ravioli, Crayfish Stuffed Pacific Sole. Where do their ingredients come from? Mitchells Farm, Silver Rill Farm, Sun Wing Tomatoes, True Grain Bread, FAS Seafood, Slaters Meats, Dans Country Market, Natural Pastures, Qualicum and Hilary’s Cheese, Hazelmere Farms and many more…
Zanzibar Brentwood Bay, BC
Global Flavours * Local Tastes. Situated on the edge of Brentwood Bay Village in a beautiful spot surrounded by gardens, Zanzibar is a great stop for a lunch en route to the wineries and farms of the Saanich Peninsula or an early dinner after a day of local foraging shopping. Check out their seasonal menus online (reservations recommended).
Paprika Bistro
Take a short but scenic drive from Victoria ending up at the very sweet Estevan Village. The menu features seasonal cuisine showcasing the best the island has to offer. A few of the locals who provide the ingredients for your meal: Finest at Sea, Saanich Organics, the Root Cellar as well as Island and BC Wineries. How do these tempt your tastebuds?: Smoked Port Alberni Pork Chop, Qualicum Beach Scallops, Salt Spring Island Mussels and their famous housemade sausages.
Amuse Bistro “Simple is Elegant” Shawnigan Lake, BC
This super cute country roadside bistro has always caught my eye on our way into Shawnigan Lake Village. Almost all the ingredients are from the island and surrounding islands. In addition to sourcing from local growers and producers, Chef Boisvert has put in raised beds around the restaurant to supply the bistro with its own produce. A few things you might find grown around-the-house: baby lettuce, fresh herbs, peas, swiss chard, heirloom tomatoes, russian blue potatoes, purple carrots and golden beets! Now that’s fresh!
Stone Soup Inn Cowichan, BC
A gourmet restaurant nested in the forest near Cowichan River featuring locally grown, raised, wild foraged and fished ingredients of the Cowichan Valley and surrounding ocean. They are open for dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. As guest rooms are available this would make a very special and fantastic gift – dinner and a night at the inn! (Breakfast is included so you’d be all set for a day of exploring all that the Cowichan Valley has to offer)
Bon Appetit and Glad Tidings to You!!
We all know that person who already has everything they could ever need or want. Rather than giving them another “thing” or “more stuff,” give the gift of an experience! There are plenty of arts and cultural happenings around town this time of year and sometimes the best gift you can give someone is a fun and memorable time.
Theatre tickets make a great gift or even Season Tickets to that ultra-special someone, which also supports theatre with a “regular subscriber” they can count on to continue producing quality independent theatre.
Intrepid Theatre (producers of the Uno and Fringe Festivals)
Jan 21-23: Nicola Gunn: At the Sans Hotel
Feb 10 & 11: Floating
Mar 4-13: Influence
Mar 18-20: The Last 15 Seconds
Mar 30 – Apr 2: Chairs
The Belfry (Fernwood)
Jan 25 – Feb 27: The Cryptogram
April 12 – May 15: 2 Pianos 4 Hands
March 7-20 For those interested in participating in theatre, The Spark Festival features free mini plays, free play readings, Belfry 101 Live, professional development workshops and these outstanding new plays.
Langham Court Theatre (Rockland)
Jan 12-29: The Larame Project
Mar 2-19: The Lady in the Van
April 20 – May 7: A Month in the Country
Blue Bridge Theatre (Downtown)
Darn, just missed, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which just finished showing on Dec 19th! Their new season doesn’t start until June 2011.
12 x 12 ART SHOW @ Island Furniture & Bazaar
3 Local Victoria Artists: Kate Carson, Maria Middleton + Tricia Hodgins
All pieces are 12 x 12 and $212.
Show runs until the end of December 2010
520 Herald Street (old Urban Barn)
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
A long standing fixture of cultural life in Victoria, the Art Gallery features a permanent collection of the original famous local artist, Emily Carr. A Drop In Tour is scheduled for January 16 @ 2 pm.
(Can you tell I’m a last minute shopper?!! My mom suggested this series might have been better timed at the beginning of the month… oh yeah!! I guess lots of people are much more organized than I and have all this planned out well in advance! So, these final few days are dedicated to all you last minute shoppers. We’ll have some lovely ideas over the next few days that are super easy and don’t involve the giving of “stuff” at all.)
Although we have our favourite local sips that we indulge in and share for special ocassions we asked Pamela at Cascadia Liquor Store for her recommendations on local wine, beer and spirits for the festive season.
Spirits
Victoria Spirits Oak Aged Gin $39.75 – Saanich
Shramm Potato Vodka, Organic $32.95 – Pemberton
Phrog Gin or Vodka $53.90 – Hornby Island
Victoria Gin $53.45 – Saanich
Wines
Venturi Schultz, Pinot Noir $51.95 – Cowichan Valley
Vignetta Zanatta, Damasco $16.95 – Glenora
Averill Creek $14.95 – Cowichan Valley
Starling Lane, Brut $32.95 – Saanich
Cider
Sea Cider, Rumrunner $15.95 – Saanich Peninsula
Sea Cider, Pommeau $23.95 – Saanich Peninsula
Merridale, Winter Apple $27.95 – Cowichan Valley
Merridale, Merry Berry $9.55 – Cowichan Valley
Beer
Lighthouse Navigator $6.95 – Victoria
Phillips Trainwreck (Barley Wine) $5.85 – Victoria
Anchor Steam Christmas Ale $16.95 (not local, but truly an artisan product. These guys have been brewing this special seasonal ale since 1975. It makes a great gift as stored in a cool, dark place this beer can remain drinkable for years!)
Swans, New Releases – Victoria
Driftwood, Blackstone Porter (great with a cheese plate) – Victoria
Mead
Middle Mountain Cranberry Lavender – Hornby Island $23.95
Tugwell, Solstice – Sooke $20.60
Other local yummies that are available at Cascadia:
Organic Fair Chocolate Bars, Mulling Spices and Hot Chocolate,
Cowichan Valley
Venturi Verjus, Balsamic Vinegar, Cowichan Valley
Sea Cider Salt and Honey, Saanich Peninsula
Tugwell Honey, Sooke
Victoria Spirits Bitters, Saanich
Fantastico Coffee, Victoria
Cascadia Liquor Stores are locally owned and feature local and regional products.
Quadra Village (next to Fairways Market) 250.590.1940 / Open 9am to 10pm every day except Christmas (closed)
Colwood @ Hatley Park Plaza 250.478.1303 / Open 9am to 11pm every day except Christmas (12pm – 5pm)
Please note: Cascadia will be moving towards not using plastic bags in their liquor stores. They will continue with some paper bags but are encouraging all customers to bring their re-usable cloth bags.
We decided on a day of no shopping. A Buy Nothing Day!
I woke up with a killer sore throat today and realized I really needed a day of rest at home with the family (and lots of honey and lemon tea). We devoted the day to quiet lounging snuggled up on the couch with books; alternating with frenzied baking of of shortbread and chocolate goodies. We had just enough time left in the day to whip up some soap and bath salts. It will be nice to have a few more homemade gifts to share with friends and family. One of my favourite feelings of holiday time is a warm house, filled with friends and family enjoying each others company while pursuing a fun and satisfying task.
I hope to be back soon with better health and able to share some of our soap recipes.
Give Local Handmade Clothing (stay tuned for accessories coming tomorrow). There are so many talented and creative folks up and down Vancouver Island but we have chosen just a couple of favourites.
If you are out and about in downtown Victoria this weekend you will find quite a few of designers listed below at the Pear Tree Market at Floating Gold Iceberg.
Friday, December 17 – Sunday, December 19
A seasonal gathering of thoughtful handmade gifts, including: Blackbird Studios, Chaii, Dress Me Up (handmade, independant toy company), Horse+Radish, Janamade, Lemons and Limes, Modern Fair, Trapper Jane and more… (the Winter Market is running today as well in Market Square so it’s a great opportunity to stock up on locally grown and crafted goodies as well!)
Morena Victoria Designer, Marcy Ross
Individually assembled, works of art. Each piece is a custom creation delicately detailed with hand-sewn ruffles, pom-poms, original silk screened motifs or Marcy’s unique stitch work. All original, with a light footprint; many of Morena’s pieces are made using sustainable knits and vintage fabrics. A perfect mesh of style and sustainability.
Note: We were in Cow Bay two weekends ago stocking up on bread and cheese (favourite weekend stop to True Grain and Hilary’s Cheese – yummy) when we spotted a super cute little boutique called Spinning Ninny. A great little hot spot for locally crafted clothing and accessories. She carries a selection of shirts and skirts made by Morena and wrist warmers from Floating Gold Iceberg.
Trapper Jane Clothing Victoria Designer and Seamstress, Meaghan Smith
You can find Trapper Jane at this weekend’s Pear tree Market. Look out for her ever popular high-waisted, and oh-so flattering high waisted jeans. Trapper Jane’s clothes are meticulously crafted with attention paid to perfectly tailored lines and beautiful fabrics. Elegant and stylish, her pieces make wardrobe essentials.
Smoking Lily Victoria designed, sewn and silk-screened clothing for men, women and children (housewares and accessories too!)
Smoking Lily started out with two friends making and selling funky tees and scarves at local Victoria craft markets. I remember my very first scarf printed with lime green bugs bought from a basket on Government Street. They have now evolved into a thriving local business with their tiny (closet sized) shop on Johnson Street, shop on Main Street (Vancouver). and now their third and biggest store called the Milkman’s Daughter on Government Street (next to Brassiere L’Ecole). Original designs, inspired prints and a varied selection of unique tees and flirty undies are some of the flagship items of this fabulous local business. Smoking Lily is true to its roots and tries to buy most of their supplies locally.
Salt’s Organic Clothing Sooke, BC
Salt’s designs comfortable and flattering street clothing for the West Coast lifestyle. Salt’s is designed and manufactured locally to minimize their environmental footprint and maintain fair labour practices. Manufacturing on the island also mean they know it’s a clean source of power from BC Hydro that runs their sewing machines. Visit their website for their full line of bamboo, organic cotton, hemp and soy cloth products.
Happy local shopping adventures!
BOOKS! Local authors on subjects near and dear to my heart… food, farming and living life the sustainable life.
EAT magazine in partnership with Habit Coffee and the Victoria Downtown Public Market Society have cooked up a creative fundraising opportunity for the Mustard Seed Food Bank over the month of December. They offered up some fabulous food related books by donation; with the top spender also getting a 2011 Farm Folk/City Folk calendar. (You also get a free coffee from Habit with your book!!) All books can be picked up at the Dec.18 Winter Market. Most of the titles have been spoken for but a few still remain. Check out the list for great gift giving inspiration and perhaps one of the remaining titles may peek your interest.
The Winter Market (Market Square, Victoria BC. Saturday, Dec. 18 11am to 3pm) will be a great place to find locally grown food for your festive meals this week ahead.
Other locally written books on our list:
The Zero Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food by Carolyn Herriott $34.60 (order a signed copy online or find at most local book shops) This month-by-month guide bring gardeners into the delicious world of edible landscaping and greater food security. What you’ll find inside: growing organic food year-round, small fruit orchard and backyard berries, simple seasonal recipes, preserving the harvest, seed saving, backyard poultry, A-Z guide to growing the best vegetables and herbs and more…
True Home: Life on a Heritage Farm by Anny Scoones (Glamorgan Farm, Saanich Peninsula, B.C.) “Living close to the land over the years has taught Anny Scoones how to see the magic details that make life what it is – the laughter, the recipes, the joy and vexatiojn of a cabbage growing competition, the majestic death of an old pig, how to use a ‘soft eye’ to look for the birds in the tress. She inhabits the presence of the natural world.” Brian Brett, Author of Trauma Farm
An Edible Journey: Exploring the Islands’ Fine Foods, Farms and Vineyards by Elizabeth Levinson
Tag along with forager and food writer on a personal tour of favourite food producers, specialty shops and local eating places. Find some of the most delicious edibles and learn what to do with them.
Eating up Vancouver Island: by Rosemary Neering
A fun and informative guide to visiting Vancouver Island farms, wineries, craft breweries, seafood markets and more. There are also farming techniques, gardening tips and favourite farm recipes.
Oh yes… almost forgot two great locally written cookbooks, Rebar Modern Food (indispensable in my kitchen especially for the soup section) and for the Vegan Gourmet in your life – Vegan A Go-Go!
Seeds, glorious seeds! How about a few packages of vegetable or native plant seeds for a gift that really keeps giving! (makes wicked stocking stuffers)
Salt Spring Seeds- Saltspring Island, BC. Dedicated to safe and sustainable agriculture. Dan Jason is a wonderful source of information and I have often emailed him with questions about seeds before I purchase. I highly recommend the Zero Mile Diet Kit. It comes packaged so nicely in a handy re-usable box. This kit is for gardeners that would like to become more self-reliant in food. It contains 13 seed packets plus a really comprehensive guide that includes some recipes. $46. It was a really fast delivery when I ordered our kit last year and let me tell you… I was pretty excited when I discovered the package in my mailbox!
Full Circle Seeds – Sooke, BC. Locally grown seed, open pollinated, and certified organic. Almost all of their seeds are grown on ALM Organic Farm which we visited on the Sooke Farm Tour in the summer.
Why locally grown? It means these seeds are from plants that have adapted themselves to the climate, soil conditions and ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. They are more resistant to pests in our region.
What does open pollinated mean? You can save the seed yourself and it will come true year after year. Truly the gift that keeps on giving!! No terminator seeds here!
StellarSeeds - Kootenay Lake, BC. Certified organic, grown in BC, Heritage Varieties. The founders have recently made a move to a new farm on the Kootenay Lake. Stay tuned as their new website is due to launch in time for the Winter Solstice.
Seeds of Victoria – Saanich, BC. Certified Organic, open pollinated seeds.
West Coast Seeds – Delta, BC. Non GMO, open pollinated, heirloom and organic heritage vegetable seeds. One of my favourite spring activities is browsing through the big catalogue and circling all the things I dream about growing. So much to choose from!
If you’d rather save your seed searching till the New Year mark your calendars with the dates of Seedy Saturdays. Great places to buy, sell and trade local seeds.
Feb 5, 2010 Qualicum Beach Community Centre
Feb 12, 2010 Salt Spring Island Farmers Institute
Feb 19, 2010 Victoria Conference Centre
Feb 26, 2010 Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, Vancouver
March 5, 2010 Florence Filberg Centre, Courtenay
March 12, 2010 Mill Bay Community Centre
more details here…
I would like to give myself (hehe!) one of these inspiring locally created calendars to hang on my office wall. In the cold, dark months of Jan/Feb, I might find myself peeking ahead to the spring and summer pages to get some inspiration for the growing season. Do you like to flip through a new calendar or wait to be surprised when you turn the page on a new month??
Providence Farm 2011 A Year of Growth
I just bought two of these to mail to family members. It makes a lovely gift with lots of inspiring pictures taken at Providence Farm and inspirational quotes scattered around. All proceeds go to the programs at Providence Farm, that help to restore the spirit and skills of those with physical, mental and emotional challenges. Calendars are $15 each and are available at the Farm Store and Office.
How to Grow Winter Harvest Vegetables by Carol McIntyre
This is a gorgeous teaching calendar that shows a gardener with easy-to-follow, month by month directions and doable steps exactly what to do to plan, create, grow and harvest wonderful “winter-harvest” vegetables. There is space provided in each month with to-do lists and places to jot notes and record gardening info. You can order online or check with local garden centres, book and gift stores.
Farm Folk City Folk Cultivating a Sustainable Food System 2011 Calendar
Another great fundraising/gift giving opportunity with the added bonus of 12 Seasonal Local Recipes. You can order online $17/calendar ($12 if you buy 5 or more) or look for them at: Muffet & Louisa (Sidney and Victoria stores), University of Victoria Booksotre, Planet Organic, Sorenson and Ivy’s Books.
We are talking tasty treats today and I’ve got chocolate on the brain. Although many of the basic ingredients may not be locally grown, there are some really delicious locally crafted chocolates to be enjoyed this season. It is really important to me that any chocolate I enjoy and share is crafted with love, fairly traded and organic.
Organic Fair. You can buy these tasty bars direct from the Farm (open Wed – Sat 10-4pm) (or order online). Try the Noel Dark Chocolate Bar for something unique and bit exotic; with gingerbread, cranberries and mandarin. The Nutcracker Dark Chocolate Bar is combined with spiced pecans, cashews, almonds and coconut. yummy!
They offer lots of gift baskets on their website that feature chocolate, herbs, spices and tea too.
Plenty Epicurean Pantry could just about be a one stop shop for everyone on my gift list. They have some great gift & pantry boxes, happy(fair trade/locally made) chocolates, fragrant spices, handcrafted ornaments, artisan and classic kitchenware, wonderful books and more…. These pantry boxes would make a fabulous gift for a friend or family you might be visiting over the season.
Festive Sweets $36
An assortment of exquisite holiday treats; a traditional hand cut candy cane, “starry night” bar by SOMA chocolatemaker, locally blended mulling spices and more…
Chocolate Six-Pack $24
It couldn’t have been easy, but Plenty chose their six favourite flavours of these organic 70% dark chocolate bars, made by Vancouver Island’s own Organic Fair. A treat for your dearest chocoholic(s)!
B.C. Bounty $42
Plenty has brought together some wonderfully crafted culinary treasures, all produced on a small-scale here in B.C. Each item has a loyal following and most are Island produced!
Denman Island Chocolate bars are made with certified organic chocolate with a high cocoa mass content. What does that mean? More intense, less sweet flavour that is rich and clean. The bars are made with some of the finest organic ingredients such as: freshly toasted hazelnuts, candied ginger, tangy dried raspberries, pure natural mint, orange and rosemary essence. You can find these tasty treats in many locations around the Victoria area: Seed of Life (Government Street), Share Organics (order through their delivery program), Red Barn Markets, Good Planet (Fort Street), Lifestyles Market, Barking Dog Vineyards (Old West Saanich Rd).
Saltspring Island Chocolates features many locally grown organic ingredients in their chocolates. As well as chocolates they also make vanilla caramels using salt from Vancouver Island Salt Company based in the Cowichan Valley.
Chocolate Arts (Vancouver, BC). In addition to using the finest raw chocolates they strive to add only locally grown produce, nurtured by organic growers. How about this to tickle your taste buds? Rhubarb Rhapsody – tangy local rhubarb and milk chocolate ganache coated in dark chocolate and lightly dusted in powdered sugar!!
Mink Chocolates (Vancouver, BC). I had to include the bonbons made at Mink for their sheer “cute” appeal. Fire – A bite sized s’more. It’s like camping without having to wake up in a tent. Made with marshmellow and Rice Krispy square topped with chocolate ganache. haha!
