At the beginning of winter, many of us start getting a bit depressed. The lack of sun and the typical Christmas blues add to the pressures of day to day life. At times, even meeting with family over the holidays can seem like it’s more stress than it’s worth. What happened to the ‘joy of […]
Author Archives: Sean OConnell
Island Thyme
The most important thing I have learned about food, in the modest number of years I’ve been involved, lays in the old cliché, "the proof is in the pudding.” Put plainly, anyone can talk the talk, throw a few French culinary terms around, drop an appropriate wine pairing, or spout culinary trends; but when it […]
Island Thyme
In the past few articles, I’ve talked about why we need to be more aware of how and where to buy our food, and why it’s so important that we consume more local foods. There is another thing we need to do if we are to be self-sustainable here on Vancouver Island – we need […]
Island Thyme: 100 Mile Diet
Last September, I was approached by Jen of the Nanaimo Chapter of the 100 Mile Diet to participate in their yearly challenge – that being, to create a dish with nothing but local ingredients. Being an advocate of using local ingredients, I had no problem stepping up to the plate for this challenge. I was […]
Island Thyme
Fifty years ago Vancouver Island produced enough food to feed 85% of its population. Did you also know that today Vancouver Island produces only enough food to feed about 10% of it’s population, and imports more than 70% of it’s fresh produce? Where have all the farms gone? A brief history lesson: In the mid […]