Flavourful Saskatoon, July 2, 2012

A flavourful start to your week – Saskatoon berry chutney, spiced cocoa tea, Terra Madre, and a Cheesepalooza 

Chutney & Cocoa
There are always new products to discover at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Orchard del Sol, whose owners divide their time between Saskatoon and Costa Rica, are now selling cocoa, spiced cocoa tea and hot chocolate mix (with chili peppers).

Chatty’s Indian Spices has a saskatoon berry chutney, as well as curry seasoning mixes, curried spinach sauce, cilantro hot sauce, and more.

And don’t miss the wonderful succulents from Solar Gardens (Succulents from the Farmers’ Market).

Creekside Orchard, July 18/19
Creekside Orchard, a u-pick apple and cherry orchard in Melfort, is hosting a variety of food and music events this summer starting with a dinner prepared by Chef Jennie of Birch Hills on July 18 and 19.

Terra Madre 
Slow Food Saskatoon continues to move ahead. We held our first leadership team meeting this past week and selected Bryn Rawlyk to represent us at Terra Madre.

Bryn Rawlyk says, "Growing up on a farm south of Saskatoon, my childhood was full of fresh garden produce, eggs and meat from farm chickens, fresh honey from my father’s bees and many of the other treats that I realize now children growing up in our cities may never experience. Moving back to Saskatoon as an adult, I discovered that many of our neighbourhoods are like food deserts with no close-by grocery stores or markets. In trying to find locally produced food for our own young family, I’ve found that in spite of our region’s abundant raw food production, it can be a struggle for individuals in our city to have easy access to that food.

“As a member of Slow Food Saskatoon, I hope to help create a more food-friendly Saskatoon and to connect urban dwellers with local food producers in a meaningful way. I see the experience of going to Terra Madre as an amazing opportunity to learn from others in the global slow food community about unique ways to bring the slow food paradigm back to our local community.”

You can follow Slow Food Saskatoon on Twitter @SlowFoodYXE and on Facebook.

CheesePalooza 
Are you interested in making cheese at home? Edmonton-based Valerie Lugonja, aka A Canadian Foodie, is inviting others to join her in a CheesePalooza, a 9-10 month artisan cheese-making adventure using Mary Karlin’s book, Artisan Cheese Making at Home, as a guide.

Saskatchewan Organic Directorate 
The Saskatchewan Organic Directorate is a non-profit, membership-based umbrella organization for everyone who is involved in growing or selling organic food. You can now follow them on Facebook.

See also: Selbach-Oster Riesling
Johannes Selbach: “There has been almost 2000 years of viticulture in the region and, in our family, several generations have worked out the best sites,” Johannes says. “If you go to the best land and farm carefully, you will have fantastic fruit. We practise hands-off winemaking: you want to taste the flavour of the fruit and the land.”

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

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