Nelson’s Lakeside Park is lovely, even under smoke-filled skies. It’s a much better place to while away a couple of hours than by heading to the mall next door.
My parents were British, and I have spent many happy months in England visiting family friends and relatives. I used to enjoy shopping at the Canadian outlets of Marks & Spencer and was very sorry when they closed, so I was delighted to learn that Saskatoon now has its very own British food store. Brit Foods is located in Cumberland Square, in the covered alleyway just down from Safeway. It’s a treasure trove of British food. The owner, Tony Badger, says they try to stock the national brands, so you’ll find soups by Marks & Spencer and Baxter’s, Yorkshire and Typhoo tea, Heinz beans, Rose’s preserves, Thornton’s chocolates, and Walker’s chips. In addition to the food products (primarily packaged although there are pork pies and a few other items in the freezer), there is an entire wall devoted to loose candies. You can also pick up a linen tea towel or an English magazine. There is a second Brit Foods in Parksville on Vancouver Island, but Mr. Badger says that the demog...
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...
Heading north out of Lyon, you pass through a long tunnel and exit into a lush green countryside leaving the city far behind. You then turn and head up the hill onto winding roads between a patchwork of vineyards. Many of the vines are really old with short, thick, twisted trunks and a thin stem of green leaves and buds. These are the Gamay vines of Beaujolais, interspersed with a few fields of greener, leafier Chardonnay vines. South Beaujolais, just 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, encompasses 25 medieval villages of orangey-gold stone (limestone and iron) that is surprisingly vibrant (I had been expecting something lighter, similar to the Cotswolds in England). Some of the villages still have the remains of 14th century castles. Oingt is classed as one of the most beautiful villages of France and it really is lovely. You can take a walk around the town on the former ramparts and the church is austere and beautiful. I was on a half-day tour , which combined stopping to...
Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon There are so many interesting foodie events around Saskatoon, so I’m going to try and compile them and share them with you on a weekly basis. I’m planning to post Flavourful Saskatoon news on Mondays, but there are a couple of exciting upcoming events that I didn’t want you to miss so I’m posting early this week. Please email me to share foodie news and events. I’ll be happy to pass along the information. Collective Coffee A new coffee shop is opening at 220 20th Street West on Saturday, February 19 at 10 am . The owner is Jackson Wiebe, and the coffee shop is part of The Two Twenty, a community of social entrepreneurs and artists and has been designed and built by Curtis Olson. I’ll share more information in a future blog post. For now, Jackson and Curtis just want you to know that “It’s good in the ‘Hood.” So be sure to drop by and say hi to the folks at Collective Coffee. Slide show – culinary tour of South V...
“I love the new Asian Market,” says Sheri Imbach. “It reminds me of being back home in Vancouver, BC!” The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Super Fresh Asian Market on the corner of Clarence Avenue and 12th Street E. was the bilingual signage – and a very small section dedicated to “Canadian” food. The rest of the store holds Chinese specialties and standbys. It’s not just canned goods and packages either. There’s an in-store bakery, butcher, and Chinese pharmacy, as well as fresh produce. I met Sheri Imbach, who works for Three Farmers , at the Rinnovo Dinner at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market . She’s a keen cook who obviously loves to try her hand at a wide range of different dishes. She was so enthusiastic about the Asian Market. She says, “I love all the amazing items such as the Honey Buns, Coconut Buns, Red Bean Paste Buns (my favorite). Party in my mouth! They have a butcher on site who cuts the thickest pieces of Pork Belly #spoiled. I love to p...
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