Flavourful Saskatoon, May 15, 2017

Devour every Hour spring rolls

Steve and Dan’s Fresh BC Fruit
What a treat to find BC fruit available in May at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. And what a great selection. There are 3 varieties of apples, pears, organic walnuts, sparkling fruit juice, dried cherries, and dried apple slices.

80% of the produce sold by Steve and Dan’s Fresh BC Fruit comes from their own farm in Oliver, BC. They only spray when they have to, favour organic sprays if possible, and sell organic or transitional (in the process of being certified organic) fruit from other Okanagan farmers. They’re on a waiting list so that they can start feeding their trees with manure rather than nitrogen fertilizer.

Steve and Dan’s BC Fruit is at the Market on a 5-week trial basis so be sure to stop buy, welcome them to Saskatoon, and encourage them to return by buying lots of their lovely products.

Chile Peppers
I recently responded to a Facebook inquiry about where one could purchase dried chile peppers and powder. If you want fresh, locally-grown peppers, and a chance to support local farmers, the only place to go is Grandora Gardens, Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. They sell a huge range of peppers and powders – from mild Chipotle to very spicy Scorpion and Naga.

Markets Help Local Food Take Root
Farmers need to be salespeople. And that can be really tough if you’re operating a small, local farm. “A lot of people get into farming as a passion project, but … there’s a lot of staffing, merchandising, pricing, and marketing that goes into it,” White said. “People that get into farming don’t necessarily know how to do those things, and don’t necessarily think to learn them.”

Farmers’ markets can help support local farmers: “Part of DA-LE Ranch’s success is that Heafner and Pesic use markets as networking events more than as a pop-up storefront. Pesic said markets grew their business because they ‘allow us to make a connection with the customer, to explain ourselves and how we raise and why.’ They’re not shy about using those connections to further expand. Dave said he’d like to sell to more restaurants, ‘so I ask my customers to ask their restaurants if the chef buys their meat from me."

Shopping locally means I’m supporting my neighbours and friends. And shopping at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market means I can meet the farmers and find out how they grow my food. That’s really important, especially when I read an article explaining why organic food from China probably isn’t organic.

Devour every Hour & The Local Kitchen 
The Local Kitchen is set up at the Ideas Inc. market around the corner from the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. They were selling some of their kitchen users’ products, including tea, salsa, and honey.

Devour every Hour uses The Local Kitchen to prepare veggie and pork spring rolls. I had a sample and found it very tasty.

The Collective Kitchen

Vegan Options
I’ve been experimenting with vegan alternatives to dairy products and am not really satisfied. They may taste good, but they don’t have the same nutritional content. Of particular concern is the low protein content – you can get plenty of protein on a vegan diet, but not if you’re relying on dairy substitutes.

Here’s a comparison for Daiya Medium Cheddar Style Farmhouse Block and L’Ancêtre Extra Sharp Organic Cheddar Cheese.
Daiya (28 g – 1 in cube)
Protein – 1 g
Calcium – 10% daily value
Vitamin A – 0%
L’Ancêtre (30 g – 3 cm cube)
Protein – 7 g
Calcium – 15% daily value
Vitamin A – 8%

Here’s another comparison for Yoso Chocolate Cultured Coconut and Olympic Organic French Vanilla Yogurt.
Yoso (125 g)
Protein – 1 g (0.8/100 g)
Calcium – 17%
Vitamin A – 0%
Iron – 0%
Olympic (175 g)
Protein – 6 g (3.43 g/100 g)
Calcium – 20%
Vitamin A – 6%
Iron – 8%

Taste of Nature 
From Green Drinks and wild foraging to festival beer and a moveable feast, don’t miss the food and drinks at Saskatoon’s fourth NatureCity Festival, May 23-28.

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy EcoFriendly Sask profiling Saskatchewan environmental initiatives and events.

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