Flavourful Saskatoon, June 25, 2012

A little local flavour to get your week off to a good start – melons and pomegranates, bouncy castles and alligator filets 

New Restaurants 
Saskatoon has at least two new restaurants. I have not yet been to either of them, so do let me know what you think after you’ve tried them out.

Curry Garden Restaurant, 2107 – 22nd Street West

Mardi Gras Grill, 239 Idylwyld Drive South (including alligator filets from Louisiana)

I enjoyed my quesadillas at Las Palapas on Saturday. It was strictly research - finding out more about Mexican beer before I go to Baja in September!

Toonie Tuesdays 
Keith Jorgensen of Fruition Orchards has initiated Toonie Tuesdays at the Saskatoon Food Bank. He hopes to make it easier for people on social assistance to access healthy food by connecting them with farmers who have an abundance of produce.

Saskatoon Farmers’ Market 
The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will be open as usual from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday, July 1. Weather permitting, there will be a bouncy castle for the children and Canada Day activities from 11 am to 2 pm.

The Children’s Discovery Museum will be set up at the Market on Wednesday, July 4, from 10 am to 3 pm.

See Also: Sundays at the Market

Local Micro Distilleries
Last Mountain Distillery has started selling their vodka and whisky at the Saskatoon and Regina Farmers’ Markets.

Saskatoon-based LB Distillers had also hoped to sell their wares at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, and I was surprised and disappointed to hear that they had been turned down. Head on over to their distillery for a tour instead.

Floating Gardens 
I bought a delicious ripe, perfumed melon from Floating Gardens at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday. Check out this video where Rachel and Chris discuss using recyclable materials, biological controls and food safety measures. “We’re confident our food is clean,” Rachel says.

Prince Albert
Two by Dahlsjo’s cooking classes will be starting up again. Contact Kevin Dahlsjo to register (922-2992, kevin@twbyd.ca).

Lumsden 
If you’re ever in Lumsden, do take the opportunity to visit Over the Hill Orchards. They are open from 10 am to 5 pm on weekends with tours every day at 1 pm.

Maman’s Homesick Pie
Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen by Donia Bijan is a delightful culinary mix of Iranian, American and French culture. Bijan was born and lived in Iran until she was 15, and she loved to watch her mother cook with cardamom, pomegranate and fava beans.

The family was forced to leave Iran and moved to the United States, where her mother proudly learned how to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings. Much to her parent’s dismay, Bijan abandoned her university studies and headed to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, later working in several Michelin-starred restaurants. The work combines personal memories and recipes and is truly a delight to read.

“Paris, San Francisco, Tehran, all claim a part of me. As I looked out the window on the plane home from Paris, I thought about how the kitchens where I was shaped belong to all these places, and yet none claim to be the centre. I’ll always negotiate that in-between culture. And I’ll always rely on the longing for these places, and I’ll always be learning to move between them without falling through the gaps.” 

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

Follow me on Twitter, like the Wanderlust Facebook page, or subscribe to Wanderlust and Words by email (top right-hand corner) to stay on top of Saskatoon’s evolving food culture.

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