Flavourful Saskatoon July 18, 2011

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – food in jars, food in trucks, and food in the park, plus a couple of cups of tea

Taste of Saskatchewan
Taste of Saskatchewan runs from July 19 to 24 in Kiwanis Park. I am disappointed that there isn’t a greater emphasis on local food/restaurants or more vegetarian options. However, there are some good choices.

You can get a great coffee (cappuccino, iced latte, espresso gelato floats, etc.) from Caffe Sola.

Cava Caffe is serving Italian sausage on focaccia from Good Spirit Bakery, grilled herbed polenta with Tuscan ragu of fresh market vegetables, and corn on the cob.

E.E. Burrito’s has bean and cheese pupusas and chorizo on a bun.

There’s ice cream from Homestead Ice Cream and Jerry’s Food Emporium.

Rembrandt’s Fine Dining and Royal Thai will both be serving vegetarian options.

Food in Jars
The Lethbridge Veg recommended the Food in Jars blog as a great resource for small batch canning and preserving recipes. Food in Jars has an eclectic collection of recipes – from peach oolong jelly, to cherry bounce, to sour cherry jam and roasted tomatillo salsa.

Edmonton’s Food Truck Extravaganza
Food trucks are all the rage in cities like Vancouver, San Francisco and New York. They seem to offer innovative food and a chance for a small business to get off the ground without the huge expense of leasing restaurant space.

Sharon Yeo (Only Here for the Food) and her husband were inspired by a Food Truck Festival they had attended in San Francisco, so they organized one in Edmonton. What the Truck?! was billed as a celebration of Edmonton’s food trucks, combining street food with pedestrianism and downtown vibrancy.

I believe that all the food trucks were locally owned, many of the offerings were creative and unusual, and at least one was offering farm-fresh food. Unfortunately, there were limited vegetarian offerings.

Banff Tea Co.
If you’re in Banff, be sure to check out the Banff Tea Co. The company donates 25% of its profits to charity and has a fantastic line-up of 180 different teas.

I am a tea snob and very picky, but I’ve already identified several favourites. The organic Earl Grey is excellent, while the Banff Earl Grey Snowflake is a milder blend combining Earl Grey and organic jasmine green teas with a hint of rose. My sister in law enjoys their Spicy Chai.

The store carries the Kusmi line of teas, which originated in Russia in 1867. The Almond Kusmi is green tea with a delicious almond aroma. (with thanks to Andrew and Shelley)

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. Email me if you have products, events or places that you would like me to include.

See also:
     Flavourful Saskatoon July 11, 2011
     EcoSask News July 12, 2011
     Petrofka Bridge Orchard

Photographs
     National Ceramics Museum, Valencia, Spain

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 28, 2017

Image
The Next Great Food Business Public Tasting, Sept. 7 The Local Kitchen is hosting a public tasting with samples from each of the finalists in the Next Great Food Business competition. Finalists are: King’s Jerky, Kind Condiments , Smoke and Salt BBQ, Bannock Express , and Voodoo Van . Wine Tastings Guess the most expensive wine (Sept. 8), sample some Rhône wines (Sept. 22), or attend the 2017 Premier Showcase Wine Dinner (Sept. 28) sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Premier Showcase is also offering a Portugal with a Splash of California wine seminar (Sept. 29) and a Women & Whisky seminar (Sept. 30). Refresh and Renew I had a chat with Trent Loewen about his plans now that he has sold Earth Bound Bakery. He is heading east to visit chef friends in Ontario and then off to New Zealand to explore what's happening there. After 9 years with a single focus, it's time to explore new ideas. Interestingly enough, the bakery's new owner is a business
Read more

The Golden Towns of Beaujolais

Image
Heading north out of Lyon, you pass through a long tunnel and exit into a lush green countryside leaving the city far behind. You then turn and head up the hill onto winding roads between a patchwork of vineyards. Many of the vines are really old with short, thick, twisted trunks and a thin stem of green leaves and buds. These are the Gamay vines of Beaujolais, interspersed with a few fields of greener, leafier Chardonnay vines. South Beaujolais, just 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, encompasses 25 medieval villages of orangey-gold stone (limestone and iron) that is surprisingly vibrant (I had been expecting something lighter, similar to the Cotswolds in England). Some of the villages still have the remains of 14th century castles. Oingt is classed as one of the most beautiful villages of France and it really is lovely. You can take a walk around the town on the former ramparts and the church is austere and beautiful. I was on a half-day tour , which combined stopping to
Read more

Petra Market: A Mediterranean Grocery

Image
Tucked away in a strip mall on Primrose Drive (north of Lawson Heights Mall) is Petra Market, a treasure trove of food products from the Arabic countries in the Mediterranean. I’m fascinated by grocery stores full of unknown-to-me products but also a little nervous about trying things, so I was really happy when Nour Dabbour, the owner of Petra Market, showed me around and told me about the different items. Nour is trying to stock products from as many Middle Eastern countries as possible. He even stocks the same product from a number of different countries because he says that each country’s product tastes slightly different. Za’atar , a spice mix, is a prime example with packages from Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and each one is a slightly different colour with a slightly different taste. The most popular areas of the store are the nut and treats bars with an amazing assortment of Middle Eastern candies and mildly spiced nuts. Nour gave me a variety to try and I’m real
Read more

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 21, 2017

Image
Prairie Harvest Café I was sad to learn that Prairie Harvest Café has closed its doors. It’s been one of my favorite Saskatoon restaurants since day one, and I really appreciated the fact that the chefs focused on cooking with local ingredients, many supplied by the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. All the best of luck in your new adventures. We’ll miss you. Hug a Farmer This has been a tough summer for many farmers. Prairie Sun Orchard lost their entire cherry crop to insects. Drop by their stand at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, tell them you care, and have an ice cream. My favorite is the chocolate cherry fudge, but Clare Pearson, the principal ice cream maker, says her new favorite is the salted caramel. Peppers If you’re like me, you assume that all small, skinny peppers are super hot and avoid them like the plague. But that’s a big mistake. Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering two long, skinny peppers – one can be hot, but the other isn’t. Padron chile pepper
Read more

Spelt and Millet: Ancient Grains for Today's Healthy Diet

Image
When I was growing up, whole wheat flour and rice were exotic options. Now we have a whole range of intriguing choices – buckwheat, spelt, millet, kamut – the list goes on and on. My problem is that I don’t know very much about some of these grains, so I arranged a phone call with Nicole Davis, the Owner/Manager of Daybreak Mill near Estevan. Daybreak Mill grows and processes approximately 18 different kinds of flour, whole and de-hulled grains, flakes, cereals, and legumes. They are 100% organic. “We want people to have access to healthy, wholesome food,” Nicole explains. Two of Daybreak’s products – spelt and millet – have been nourishing people around the world for over 9,000 years. Spelt Spelt was cultivated by ancient civilizations in Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. It grows well in poor soil and doesn’t require fertilizer. It’s resistant to frost and the thick husk protects the grain from insects. However, spelt requires more processing than wheat as
Read more