Flavourful Saskatoon, October 7, 2013

Hey, folks! I’m back at my computer but still not out in the coffee shops and restaurants, so be sure to send me news of any events or great places to eat so that I can share the information.

Citizen Café and Bakery
A new coffee shop is emerging at the former site of Caffe Sola. Citizen Café and Bakery, at 16 – 23 Street East, will open in November and plans to serve quality espresso and from scratch baking that is vegan and gluten-free friendly.

Food Truck Boom and Bust
Food trucks are all the rage, right across North America, but it’s not a sure-fire winner. The Modern Drive Through Food Trucks explores some of the challenges faced by food truck owners in Vancouver, including municipal regulations and location.

Why Did Cavemen Die Young?
I don’t understand the current craze for the Paleo Diet. Does it mean you should cook your meat outside over an open fire? And cavemen certainly weren’t eating cake and chocolate or drinking wine, so I’m not interested.

As a result, I was interested to read this article expressing concern about the Paleo Diet. Experts fault the lack of dairy and grains and the potential risks to heart health due to high meat intake and point out that there has not been enough research to know if it actually promotes weight loss.


Bananas Don’t Come Cheap
Bananas are one of the cheapest fruit options in North American supermarkets. But that’s because there’s a hidden cost that will someday slap us in the face.

Large monoculture plantations in South and Central America all grow Cavendish bananas, a variety that was initially resistant to the blight that wiped out the Mont Michel bananas between 1906 and 1960. But there are new strains of blight, and the Cavendish bananas are now dying off as well.

There are hundreds of varieties of bananas, many of which are much tastier, but the multinational corporations grow just one variety to keep the price down. Didn’t we learn the value of varying our crops from the Irish Potato Famine?

Costa Rica has done a great job of setting up parks and preserving natural areas, but they also grow a lot of bananas – 25% of the United Kingdom’s banana imports in 2007 and top exporter to the United States. Unfortunately, the monoculture crop is susceptible to pests, so the banana plantations are heavily sprayed, with the pesticide runoff steadily making its way into Costa Rica’s conserved waters, harming the caimans and indicating that other aquatic species are also at risk.

Photos: Cordoba, Spain

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

You can follow Wanderlust and Words on Facebook, Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Comments

Sarah said…
Interesting story about the bananas. I know when I am in India I can try so many varieties of bananas but have only seen the one kind here, mostly.
October 7, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Anonymous said…
Just wanted to let you know that Citizen cafe and bakery is not in the old Cafe Sola spot. They are a block west, in the old Dance Street location. Just a head's up!
December 9, 2013 at 5:13 PM
Penny McKinlay said…
That's good to know. Thank you!
December 9, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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

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

Beer: History, Trivia and War

Image
Brew North by Ian Coutts is a fascinating look at the history of beer in Canada. I particularly enjoyed the archival photos and beer labels. Here are some tidbits from Canada’s brewing history:           In 2007, Canadians drank 71.67 litres per capita with the Yukon leading the way at 139.75 litres per person, followed by Alberta at 98.54      The first criminal trial and hanging in Upper Canada was held at Finkle’s Tavern, which opened near Bath, Ontario, in 1793.      Two skeletons at the bar were props for Charles McKiernan’s tall tales (told in rhyme) at Joe Beef’s Canteen in Montreal. Customers shared the bar with a variety of animals, including a succession of beer-drinking bears.      Empty beer bottles were originally stored in crates filled with straw, a favourite spot for mice to nest. And the bottles were dark green, so it was hard to tell if the bottle was already occupied when it was filled with beer.      During Prohibition, many breweries switched to making soft dr
Read more