Flavourful Saskatoon, January 9, 2012

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – take your pick of a Market dinner, a Chinese New Year celebration, a Robbie Burns supper, and a new Prairie restaurant

Prairie Harvest Café, January 13-14
Prairie Harvest Café will officially open its doors at 2917 Early Drive this coming weekend.

I attended the soft opening this past weekend and was very impressed with the quality of the food and the setting. I’ll be posting a full review later this week.

Executive Chef Dinner, Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, January 19
The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will be hosting Executive Chef Dinners on the third Thursday of each month from January to May, pairing local chefs with fresh Market ingredients.

Chef Anthony McCarthy, recipient of the Gold medal at the 2011 Saskatchewan Gold Medal Plates competition, will host a 5-course meal with wine pairings on Thursday, January 19. You’ll have a chance to talk with Chef Anthony before dinner. Tickets are $85 and are available online or at the Market office (Tuesday to Friday).

Future dinners will be hosted by Chef Brent Lloyd (February 16) and Chef Mike McKeown (May 17).

Explore Mediterranean Spain, January 20
Join me on Friday, January 20 at 2 pm in the Frances Morrison Library Auditorium (main downtown branch) for a trip to sunny Spain.

My slideshow presentation moves beyond the beaches of Mediterranean Spain to visit a cheese store tucked away in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, wineries in Jumilla, palm tree gardens in Elche, and chocolate factories in Vilajoyosa – not to mention lots and lots of markets. I hope to see you there.

CFCR Chinese New Year Feast, January 20
CFCR Community Radio is holding its annual Chinese New Year celebration feast on Friday, January 20 at the Mandarin Restaurant. Tickets are $25 and are available from CFCR.

Robbie Burns Supper, January 21
The 96th Highlanders Pipes and Drums and the North Saskatchewan Regiment Pipes and Drums are presenting a Robbie Burns Supper on Saturday, January 21 at St. Patrick Parish, 3339 Centennial Drive. Dinner at 6:30 will be followed by Celtic dancing, pipe bands, and a silent auction.

Wine Fundamentals 1
Cameron Rizos, Managing Partner of Cava Wines & Spirits and an ISG-certified sommelier instructor, will be offering Wine Fundamentals I, the International Sommelier Guild’s (ISG) introductory course. The course offers a basic understanding of the major grapes used for making wine around the world as well as an introduction to fortified and sparkling wines. Register on the ISG website and then contact Cava for further information.

Three Farmers Camelina Oil – New Flavours
Three Farmers has launched two infused camelina oils – Roasted Garlic and Chili and Roasted Onion and Basil. Three Farmers products are available online as well as at various Saskatchewan retailers. I know that SaskMade Marketplace is carrying the new oils.

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post regular articles about new restaurants, food products, and culinary entrepreneurs.

Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to Wanderlust and Words by email (top right-hand corner).

See also:
Cooking up a Storm: Expanding Saskatoon’s Food Culture
Random Acts of Urban Playfulness

Comments

Joanne and Pat Halter said…
plardHappy New Year Penny.
We are disappointed that we will not be able to view the slideshow presentation of Spain. Hope there will be another opportunity in the future. Would love to see it.
Joanne Halter
January 10, 2012 at 6:33 AM
Penny McKinlay said…
Have a great time at the sunny wedding, Joanne! See you at the Farmers' Market.
January 10, 2012 at 1:01 PM
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

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

Saskatoon's Persian Store

Image
Mulberries, Pomegranate Sauce, Dried Lemons, Kashk and Doogh From the outside, it looks like an old-fashioned corner convenience store. But step inside, and you quickly realize that you’ve discovered a Middle Eastern treasure trove. The Persian Store at 223 – 25th Street West is operated by Mahyar Behnami, who has been in Saskatoon for two years. The store serves an Iranian/Persian community of approximately 500 people, but it’s an opportunity for all of us to try new things. Mrs. Behnami kindly gave me a tour of the store and explained how the different dishes and ingredients would be served in Iran. Canned Goods There is a large assortment of ready-made, canned dishes. (The stews are always served over rice that is dry, not sticky.) Ghormeh sabzi is often considered the Iranian national dish. It contains herbs, dried lemon, onion and red beans – you can add your own meat. The herbs usually include parsley, leeks/green onions, cilantro, spinach and fenugreek, and the...
Read more

Artisan Cheese-Making in Saskatchewan

Image
Travel in Europe and you are immediately struck by the number and variety of local cheeses, but then you come home to Saskatchewan and there are next to no local artisan cheeses, but that situation is about to change. ( Salayview Farm south of Regina has just started making an excellent fresh goat cheese.) The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. (Food Centre) held a two-day cheese-making workshop this past week, and it was filled to capacity with people who were eager to start making cheese as a hobby or to sell commercially. The course was led by Margaret Morris of Glengarry Cheesemaking and Erin Hiebert, the Food Centre’s Manager of Skills Development and Food Safety Programs, while Brev Chesky, the Centre’s Processing Director, assisted with the hands-on portion of the workshop. I was fortunate to join the class at the end of the workshop and to get a first-hand glimpse at the cheese-making process as well as to meet some of the participants. The Course Margar...
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