Flavourful Saskatoon, August 18, 2014


Doughnuts and Doukhobor Bread 
Many of you know Carmen Dyck from Old Trail Farm and Three Sisters/Nestor's Bakery, but did you know she's selling doughnuts and Doukhobor bread on Saturdays at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market?

The doughnut flavours are intriguing, ranging from Earl Grey tea and chocolate with fresh mint to peanut buster parfait and maple pecan. Make sure you get to the Market early as Carmen keeps making more doughnuts, but they keep selling out!

Nokomis Craft Ales 
Speaking of the Farmers’ Market – Nokomis Craft Ales is now selling their beer at the Market on Saturdays and Sundays. I read a positive review of their product.

Bogart’s Bay Coffee
Bogart’s Bay has a new coffee. It’s an organic, fair trade bean from Peru that has been grown at a high altitude. Bogart’s Bay uses a hand-operated, charcoal-fired coffee roaster, which is pretty cool.

You can purchase their beans at Dad’s Organic Market in Saskatoon and at the North Battleford Farmers’ Market. It’s also available online. They’ve developed a special blend for the Kitchen Zone deli and coffee shop in North Battleford. (Thanks for the tip, Austen!)


Eggplants 
Eggplants are one of my favorite vegetables, perhaps because they are so different from the more pedestrian carrots and potatoes. I’m looking forward to being back in Saskatoon and picking up some of the many different eggplants from around the world at Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens. And I’ve found some eggplant recipes from around the world to go along with them. There’s an Eggplant and Cucumber Sandwich based on a traditional Shabbat breakfast for Iraqi Jews as well as a Kashmiri Eggplant Curry in Tomato Sauce and Pan-Fried Eggplant with Balsamic, Basil and Capers from Marseille.

Local Food Movement 
If you’re curious about the evolution of the local food movement, here’s a list of seven books ranging from Stalking the Wild Asparagus published in 1962 to Reclaiming Our Food: How the Grassroots Food Movement is Changing the Way We Eat published in 2011.

Time for Tiffin
I’m fascinated by tiffin boxes and tiffin wallahs so I was interested to learn the origin of the word ‘tiffin.’ In the hot Indian climate, the British wanted a light lunch, but what should they call it?

“Somehow, the word that seemed to stick was "tiffin", taken from the slang words "tiff", a tot of diluted liquor, and "tiffing", to take a sip of this liquor (perhaps a hint that a sahib's lunch might quite often be of the liquid variety!). Tiffin took off and "a spot of tiffin" soon became a peg on which almost any culinary indulgence between breakfast and dinner could be hung.”

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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