tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45488766128834380642024-03-18T05:21:51.591-06:00Wanderlust and WordsPenny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.comBlogger1233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-86095755849589499332021-05-24T08:17:00.000-06:002021-05-24T08:17:27.933-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, May 24, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN42TQOBsihzYBNWTki6vI_vpPihfih8O_jFsq9k18c57rKhSdQ8KzaVPuiMjXlufP8_M_f7vqJRiWFE6Ry2vxSSqBbFenqalPBXsJVRfsUf8NXviEAH0e6nyYybwqufZqgv7SA8HHN0/s5261/2021-05-23+09.47.00+edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3435" data-original-width="5261" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN42TQOBsihzYBNWTki6vI_vpPihfih8O_jFsq9k18c57rKhSdQ8KzaVPuiMjXlufP8_M_f7vqJRiWFE6Ry2vxSSqBbFenqalPBXsJVRfsUf8NXviEAH0e6nyYybwqufZqgv7SA8HHN0/w400-h261/2021-05-23+09.47.00+edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local Food</span></b> <div>Lee Helman, formerly of Truffles Restaurant in Saskatoon, is now operating the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vanillapastrycompany" target="_blank">Vanilla Pastry Company</a> and offers desserts made from quality ingredients. They look gorgeous and my sister in law raves about the dacquoise with its decadent combination of crispy meringue, creamy icing, and crunchy nuts. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkp_ILhQvpFWvzi1vSTjq_VJCoyzM0xeUc9sZWy8hytKWo05dJPYS50rwmBqR-4REEb-QJBRg3yefScOvsMVCkJtJu6pjIH4bc6hiX96hxJx4Z9Iq42gZCVTZC4DYntxAimuySe0bh1c/s1296/IMG_6510.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1296" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkp_ILhQvpFWvzi1vSTjq_VJCoyzM0xeUc9sZWy8hytKWo05dJPYS50rwmBqR-4REEb-QJBRg3yefScOvsMVCkJtJu6pjIH4bc6hiX96hxJx4Z9Iq42gZCVTZC4DYntxAimuySe0bh1c/w320-h293/IMG_6510.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Inclusivity </span></b></div><div>Le Corbusier’s design system had a major impact on the post-war world, dictating the size and shape of everything from door knobs to city blocks. Unfortunately, he used a 6-foot male as his model citizen, completely overlooking the needs of women, children, and people with disabilities. In the 1980s, the Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative stepped in with a different approach. “They weren’t promoting a feminist aesthetic, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/may/19/why-are-our-cities-built-for-6ft-tall-men-the-female-architects-who-fought-back" target="_blank">a way of looking, listening and designing that takes account of people’s very different needs and desires</a>, one that embodies 'the richness of our multiple ways of being in the world'.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Leaving on a Jet Plane </span></b></div><div>If you’re like me and eagerly awaiting the time when we can once more travel freely, you’ll enjoy the sketches in <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1524862533/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1524862533&linkId=db10dabf5f287442728ae5ba4321fe44" target="_blank">Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceafRIHrOTAbklwy3oaowCMWwDcLTdY6evuchvMENUjB_r3KD57kd0zVQu4W4gsH8jIK0169gQl4ynhjI1Y-SVtjz__j45_-2-H5XMG08G5N-pfntadfVc16QUPWS-KulOGnNJLlptOo/s1799/dear+paris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1799" data-original-width="1399" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceafRIHrOTAbklwy3oaowCMWwDcLTdY6evuchvMENUjB_r3KD57kd0zVQu4W4gsH8jIK0169gQl4ynhjI1Y-SVtjz__j45_-2-H5XMG08G5N-pfntadfVc16QUPWS-KulOGnNJLlptOo/w311-h400/dear+paris.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Spring </span></b></div><div>One of the benefits of the long, cold Prairie winter is that we really appreciate spring when it arrives. Innovation Place was brimming with blossoms this weekend. I really appreciate the range of different trees in the park – horse chestnut, oak, maple, and more. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxx1IRkQniv0tKyUoYFoW2-tHhHl_OsutMYKMjt1Z-9Lx094a6AbrVV59cz4kTByh4Lj8djLM6wR7TBDvvTIoxxzwiA_cyoHP9nknGBjfRmrSkvjkTRF6CMPyuVk3jvotNeRPPySroiE/s3503/2021-05-23+09.53.30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2986" data-original-width="3503" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxx1IRkQniv0tKyUoYFoW2-tHhHl_OsutMYKMjt1Z-9Lx094a6AbrVV59cz4kTByh4Lj8djLM6wR7TBDvvTIoxxzwiA_cyoHP9nknGBjfRmrSkvjkTRF6CMPyuVk3jvotNeRPPySroiE/w400-h341/2021-05-23+09.53.30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>For birds, spring is baby season. I’m really enjoying the posts about crows from Vancouver’s <a href="ttps://urbannature.blog/2021/05/20/nervous-nesting-notes/" target="_blank">Urban Nature Enthusiast</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation </b>is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles about travel, books, language, and food.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. Check out <b>EcoFriendly Sask</b>’s <a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/" target="_blank">Nature Companion</a>, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces (downloadable directly from the website).</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).</i></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-73850784257819191032021-05-17T08:51:00.000-06:002021-05-17T08:51:51.082-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, May 17, 2021<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv2SMWVGtgy5Fmb319kL2YXlaPz2GL7gYQRscPRz9VzD_fMy-JHkVGoQnrv_aaeAc7CWJiv875QPtzxTeg4aBQ9yDLKnS8pSEiQgSbxGpyx9iEFxmL9vp33nbmasN6JAqn6lrNnYzsxc/s2048/IMG_1506+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="2048" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixv2SMWVGtgy5Fmb319kL2YXlaPz2GL7gYQRscPRz9VzD_fMy-JHkVGoQnrv_aaeAc7CWJiv875QPtzxTeg4aBQ9yDLKnS8pSEiQgSbxGpyx9iEFxmL9vp33nbmasN6JAqn6lrNnYzsxc/w400-h279/IMG_1506+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Aging </span></b></div><div>“Me first, I’m older” was an unexpected perk when they started rolling out the Covid vaccine. Age hopefully brings wisdom, but it also brings aches and pains, grey hair, and age spots so I particularly enjoyed this poem from <i>Home Body</i> by <a href="https://rupikaur.com/pages/home-body " target="_blank">Rupi Kaur</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>“give me laugh lines and wrinkles </div><div>i want proof of the jokes we shared </div><div>engrave the lines into my face like </div><div>the roots of a tree that grow deeper </div><div>with each passing year </div><div>i want sunspots as souvenirs </div><div>for the beaches we laid on </div><div>i want to look like i was </div><div>never afraid to let the world </div><div>take me by the hand </div><div>and show me what it’s made of </div><div>i want to leave this place knowing </div><div>i did something with my body </div><div>other than trying to </div><div>make it look perfect” </div><div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrb2W_-7Mp4YDNUpUfY1EsQkOcLjBUGa8wTTIDWjuMUQDZIx2zrncmPYd8Gi46UsmpUJjEdOvmfNiZtwgXjGdc8gYgmCTerkffYiYLtmsyVEumwt5ICIqYXDIkVcS0xHlhzFbFIuIkm4/s4942/IMG_5201+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4942" data-original-width="3327" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrb2W_-7Mp4YDNUpUfY1EsQkOcLjBUGa8wTTIDWjuMUQDZIx2zrncmPYd8Gi46UsmpUJjEdOvmfNiZtwgXjGdc8gYgmCTerkffYiYLtmsyVEumwt5ICIqYXDIkVcS0xHlhzFbFIuIkm4/w269-h400/IMG_5201+edit.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br />Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder</span></b></div><div>“Gardeners in Singapore are dazzled by the dandelion and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/16/the-dandelion-blows-away-collectors" target="_blank">desperate to get hold of its seed</a>s.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Monique Martin is exhibiting her hand-made dandelions in Saskatoon. She says, “The dandelion is a silent protest that is heard worldwide on sidewalks, in parks and gardens. It abhors monoculture, is open to differences and challenges stereotypes. It can be a symbol for healing from emotional pain, physical injury and surviving through all life’s difficulties as it shows us how to be strong in the face of adversity. The <a href="http://moniqueart.com/Context%20is%20Everything/installations/Saskatoon/ContextisEverything_Saskatoon.html" target="_blank">dandelion thrives in difficult conditions</a>, surviving the challenges imposed by humanity and emerging victorious on the other side.”
</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food </span></b></div><div>Variety is the spice of life. Here are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/may/05/orange-crush-17-delicious-ways-with-carrots-from-barbecued-hotdogs-to-tempting-tarts" target="_blank">20 ways to cook with carrots</a> – and I guarantee you’ve never contemplated making carrot hot dogs before! </div><div><br /></div><div>“At most Asian grocery stores, there’s a <a href="https://live-taste-cooking.pantheonsite.io/know-your-soy-sauce/ " target="_blank">whole aisle dedicated to soy sauce</a>—including everything from Chinese and Japanese brands that denote styles with names like “dark,” “light,” and “first extract,” to thicker, palm sugar–sweetened Indonesian kecap manis, to saltier Filipino toyo. Treating each of these bottles as if they’re interchangeable would be like keeping only one bottle of whiskey on hand at a cocktail bar.” </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5asG9mSlDV6bOAGxAmbYHUS5qC0HTF_vThNfhXjE7GitgvIRSTQi4h52Rkt5D74nx8_Zh3-bYSiUR7XjhG5VONPm8_14Wwnxo2FlMwuv5w5HP2nH9Ymxowuz5M5kYNkm0ELHeTpSrtBk/s2048/IMG_1507+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2046" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5asG9mSlDV6bOAGxAmbYHUS5qC0HTF_vThNfhXjE7GitgvIRSTQi4h52Rkt5D74nx8_Zh3-bYSiUR7XjhG5VONPm8_14Wwnxo2FlMwuv5w5HP2nH9Ymxowuz5M5kYNkm0ELHeTpSrtBk/w400-h400/IMG_1507+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Moving Beyond Covid </span></b></div><div>“The challenges of indoor dining provoke new thinking in urban design, and how public spaces can be repurposed to serve communities coming together to share food. With the complexities of in-person gatherings, <a href="https://thisismold.com/social-synergies/social-synergies-restaurants-without-walls#nl-2" target="_blank">we should look to our imaginations in how we can enhance sharing food together with technology and virtual experiences</a>.” What will this look like? Could it be more outdoor urban seating, communal fire pits, virtual reality-enhanced dinner parties? </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/birds/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1237" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSk2CEM_1l1Xi9zE-qJiiQiwEzFElh5Aqzq2L3s9EQ-twTjhD5Tl4wyPDn_UPncm3ZCL1GdeHSsAehWOPxp2TdE9fTKOmWbVh3mRuo_t4Zm4LQjeGiBFCLig-dbzZ5ax0uNSPf0puXboQ/w400-h295/birds.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />"What bird is that?" Find out on <a href="https://www.ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a>'s free (and ad-free) <a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/birds/" target="_blank">nature app for Canada's four western provinces</a></i></span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-21481009158505330922021-05-10T09:21:00.001-06:002021-05-11T08:18:42.450-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, May 10, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0HNTfGgbhpJcW63bSvH81EkkpDNfXTridhPns7EPPy5K3ORzLzt-z5CWaA_iUsADEnxbgDWFC5qQkSfegglnxdZrbvMHbenQrDLuTkwqBAhr9Wxu6UXxkCXG3eBVxi9ABQO6R3gr4P0/s2048/IMG_9240+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1898" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0HNTfGgbhpJcW63bSvH81EkkpDNfXTridhPns7EPPy5K3ORzLzt-z5CWaA_iUsADEnxbgDWFC5qQkSfegglnxdZrbvMHbenQrDLuTkwqBAhr9Wxu6UXxkCXG3eBVxi9ABQO6R3gr4P0/w371-h400/IMG_9240+edit.JPG" width="371" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>“We live with mystery, but we don’t like the feeling. I think we should get used to it. We feel we have to know what things mean, to be on top of this and that. I don’t think it’s human, you know, to be that competent at life. That attitude is far from poetry.” – Mark Strand</i></span><span style="color: #351c75;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News</span></b> </div><div>Join Fair Trade Saskatoon for a talk by Tamara Stein on <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fair-trade-quinoa-communities-and-markets-the-view-from-bolivia-tickets-153820953613" target="_blank">Fair Trade, Quinoa, Communities and Markets: The View from Bolivia</a> from 12-1 pm, May 12, on Zoom. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeXXdqXCUlSMF8cjnWHqIXU14sHLaXlpeeuY__AwAhc_809UplXQRc_IhyXISt_fdQerDS0Zyns2gZe8yi-iO4dShvlcPOvMMOECvwVK99DS_AeXIB8pPYLQhrvNkwvc1OImNR91iADk/s1341/Writing+Wild.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1341" data-original-width="1026" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeXXdqXCUlSMF8cjnWHqIXU14sHLaXlpeeuY__AwAhc_809UplXQRc_IhyXISt_fdQerDS0Zyns2gZe8yi-iO4dShvlcPOvMMOECvwVK99DS_AeXIB8pPYLQhrvNkwvc1OImNR91iADk/w306-h400/Writing+Wild.PNG" width="306" /></a></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Books </span></b></div><div>In my day-to-day life, I don’t give much thought to women’s equality. I live on my own, have my own income, and travel as I will (pre-pandemic!). And yet, women are discriminated against in so many subtle ways, from only testing new medicines on men to only recognizing male achievements. I am thoroughly enjoying reading <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1604699272/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1604699272&linkId=c82892435c00eb3e5d55586e216544e5" target="_blank">Writing Wild: Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World</a> by Kathryn Aalto and discovering some amazing women writers and their perspectives on the natural world. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsmWqUuqfE7j8h59PR5Tv3kwGHt5OHeMu9Ocg8d5XvpSf1oILszPE50q2FJD7B8M0iDmm8a-rZrGUohj4Udmu8da4usa2npyHEhiRc3d1LMAKNPbIE5Xzc6hrFOc2aitrwiIq6872wt8/s2048/on+chapel+sands.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1345" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsmWqUuqfE7j8h59PR5Tv3kwGHt5OHeMu9Ocg8d5XvpSf1oILszPE50q2FJD7B8M0iDmm8a-rZrGUohj4Udmu8da4usa2npyHEhiRc3d1LMAKNPbIE5Xzc6hrFOc2aitrwiIq6872wt8/w263-h400/on+chapel+sands.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1501198726/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1501198726&linkId=97ed52bdf115bc689670fa41a2a05295" target="_blank">On Chapel Sands: The Mystery of My Mother’s Disappearance as a Child</a> by Laura Cumming is an intriguing book. On one level, it’s a mystery story about a daughter unravelling her mother’s past as an adopted child. But on another level, it’s about parental love, family, loss, and betrayal. I was left pondering the mysteries we leave behind us when we die. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">History Repeats Itself </span></b></div><div>There is nothing new under the sun. Today’s anti-vaxxers are simply following in the steps of 1<a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-mark-of-the-beast-georgian-britains-anti-vaxxer-movement" target="_blank">9th century anti-vaxxers</a> protesting against the smallpox vaccine. The anti-vax posters were dramatic with humans morphing into cows or being chased by diseased mermaids! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmapyMfXBpAWUDIcDzQvHCXQ0f7ug53iJO4AKaOGDilsKIINM9rR4uw7_U1vu7Ac-7TZMBd_jMhxJxaVJ4c8M6opgXlvy8LjsKRwmjlSE-VByGVlnVOMEr4YQpIJmzz4LrjJGevYrFGI/s1200/smallpox.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1200" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmapyMfXBpAWUDIcDzQvHCXQ0f7ug53iJO4AKaOGDilsKIINM9rR4uw7_U1vu7Ac-7TZMBd_jMhxJxaVJ4c8M6opgXlvy8LjsKRwmjlSE-VByGVlnVOMEr4YQpIJmzz4LrjJGevYrFGI/w400-h264/smallpox.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">How to Knit </span></b></div><div>The <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/knitting-manuals-collection/" target="_blank">first knitting manuals</a> were published in the 1830s and were designed for women who wanted to work from home: “this Book may prove beneficial to that numerous and useful class of Females, whose pecuniary means are limited, but whose minds and pursuits are well regulated and directed.” Take a look at some of these manuals, now available online, with their exotically named patterns and lists of places to sell your wares. The manuals were collected by the “knitting bishop” who assembled quite a collection of knitting paraphernalia. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Flat-Packed Noodles </span></b></div><div>A <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mighty-morphing-pasta-changes-shape-boiling-water-180977675/" target="_blank">new noodle</a> could save on cupboard space and packaging. It “comes out of the box looking flat and straight, but emerges from a seven-minute stint in boiling water transformed into curling 3-D shapes." Grooves in the noodles “increase the surface area of some parts of the pasta, those areas absorb water faster and swell up, contorting the noodle as they do so”. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</i></span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-60398039819095303992021-05-03T08:54:00.000-06:002021-05-03T08:54:19.859-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, May 3, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJ21X2WiRM7ZhddZ5mOzPVZIs1tHmFSWQ6eSdRLJ9Q-D9wiv1PSMW7v5SkiDCYLEjJSPbbcqzFiQvzKtyFxspxNtnkxeFlxiBJQeQwhiqosFVB_YxiDn_RddNo0nTwKcL3m8epcah594/s2048/IMG_9390+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1812" data-original-width="2048" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJ21X2WiRM7ZhddZ5mOzPVZIs1tHmFSWQ6eSdRLJ9Q-D9wiv1PSMW7v5SkiDCYLEjJSPbbcqzFiQvzKtyFxspxNtnkxeFlxiBJQeQwhiqosFVB_YxiDn_RddNo0nTwKcL3m8epcah594/w400-h354/IMG_9390+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b><div>I plan to try some of the cleaning products produced by <a href="https://www.nikihk.ca" target="_blank">Nikihk</a>, a local Indigenous company that got its start distributing household cleaning kits to First Nations communities to prevent the spread of Covid. They have 7 different cleaning products, 6 of which include scents of plants and herbs which are significant in Plains Cree usage. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Saskatoon Public Library is offering an <a href="https://saskatoonlibrary.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=14711&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2021/05/01" target="_blank">archival slideshow on Saskatoon homes</a> from sod houses to boom-time mansions from 4-5 pm, May 6, on Facebook and ongoing on YouTube. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food </span></b></div><div>I’m going to give tea-flavoured rice a try. Here’s a recipe for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/may/01/meera-sodhas-vegan-recipe-for-green-tea-rice-with-sake-vegetables" target="_blank">green tea rice with loads of green vegetables</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>It’s time to start adding fresh herbs (from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BergamotBasil/" target="_blank">Bergamot & Basil</a>?) to your dishes. Here are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/apr/14/herbal-delight-17-delicious-ways-with-mint-from-courgette-frittata-to-a-flawless-mojito" target="_blank">17 ways to use mint</a> – from mint pasta to mint julep as well as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/apr/24/herb-noodle-salad-roman-herb-anchovy-lemon-thyme-leek-tart-tarragon-olive-oil-ice-cream-mark-diacono-herb-recipes" target="_blank">spicy herb and noodle salad and a lemon thyme and leek tart</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anas Attasi, author of <i>Sumac: Recipes and Stories from Syria</i>, wanted “to show the world a side of Syria they hadn’t seen before. . . . ‘<a href="https://live-taste-cooking.pantheonsite.io/the-story-is-in-the-sumac/" target="_blank">We’re such a generous people, with so much culture and history</a>, but you don’t see that story on television.’” </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblEOsgF9RtU-rqn4fro8h1pkOAMeKf73rou7Qd_0csmaBsv5GBAw5FXKLPr4kKtZcwXVjus0Y-9nRCJ1rHXp3F9rP6y9AEKbJTuhDny08kzhiONHOib79KZocWI_mel_AuvTil5TAsQ8/s2048/IMG_9476+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblEOsgF9RtU-rqn4fro8h1pkOAMeKf73rou7Qd_0csmaBsv5GBAw5FXKLPr4kKtZcwXVjus0Y-9nRCJ1rHXp3F9rP6y9AEKbJTuhDny08kzhiONHOib79KZocWI_mel_AuvTil5TAsQ8/w284-h400/IMG_9476+edit.JPG" width="284" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Intelligent Travel or Industrial Espionage? </span></b></div><div><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/eighteenth-century-spies-in-the-european-silk-industry/" target="_blank">In the 18th century industrial espionage was viewed as intelligent travel</a>. “This form of industrial espionage wasn’t exactly cloak and dagger. It was common at the time for savants, men, mostly but not exclusively, of science to travel abroad and gather trade secrets. They insisted they weren’t spies but rather just curious about the advancing wonders of the age.” </div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="http://www.ecofriendlysask.ca" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #351c75;">You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).</span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #351c75;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/plants/wildmint/ " imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1364" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKldLXRl491ZIDHWMpCnNndyWquiYviZwsB13zSPQetjMT3nLr8n4ezzwSbwF6kmAtv-OAO1nSiJcJWblFcavyRMGTmOvCpwLgACVWo9annDg_ZDlUs6hPPT0Lu0IEPfeG7uCFBR4zU0/w400-h231/wild+mint.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Check out <b>EcoFriendly Sask</b>’s <a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/plants/wildmint/ " target="_blank">Nature Companion</a>, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces</span></i></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-11462846735396084602021-04-26T08:58:00.000-06:002021-04-26T08:58:59.092-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, April 26, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvWvf-_IdimtDXcbBWiSxLP727WN99_MapnoV1NsyCYxMOoZeVYrcziys3wtei09A7P8G54faNIT_8inOq0HQomHLlQWVYK7hGHxlZ_dONax8fJnABYssf5MZXP4SIaSyZEvQQ-9yt78/s2048/P1010015-1+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvWvf-_IdimtDXcbBWiSxLP727WN99_MapnoV1NsyCYxMOoZeVYrcziys3wtei09A7P8G54faNIT_8inOq0HQomHLlQWVYK7hGHxlZ_dONax8fJnABYssf5MZXP4SIaSyZEvQQ-9yt78/w400-h300/P1010015-1+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Women </span></b><div>In 19th century Great Britain, the artists and scientists were expected to be men. And yet, women found a way to contribute. Margaret Rebecca Dickinson produced a remarkable collection of dried plants and detailed wildflower watercolours that became a valuable addition to a natural history museum’s collection. <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/margaret-rebecca-dickinson" target="_blank">Do take a look at her work</a> as we wait impatiently for spring flowers in Saskatoon! </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Our Bodies, Ourselves</i> was first published 50 years ago. It was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/apr/22/our-bodies-ourselves-clitoris-pain-pap-smears-womens-health" target="_blank">influential in the lives of so many women</a>, myself included. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food Equality </span></b></div><div><i>Reinventing Food Banks and Pantries: New Tools to End Hunger</i> by Katie Martin is aimed at people working in food banks who want to improve the system: “<a href="https://www.foodpolitics.com/2021/04/24372/" target="_blank">What if our success is measured not simply by the pounds of food we distribute but by the reduction in people who need our services?</a> Or the number of people who are connected to additional services? Or the number of people who make fewer trade-off decisions between paying for food, rent, or medicine. Or the number of people who have improved health outcomes based on the food and services they receive?” [book review] </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Wine </span></b></div><div>From day one, BC’s Burrowing Owl Winery has made a huge effort to grow and produce <a href="https://hiredbelly.com/earth-day-burrowing-owl-celebrates-sustainability/18452" target="_blank">environmentally sustainable wine</a>. They’ve donated over $1 million to the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC, installed bird houses and bat boxes as well as solar panelling on every possible surface. Many other BC wineries are <a href="https://hiredbelly.com/tightrope-bcs-first-certified-sustainable-winery/18464" target="_blank">following in their footsteps</a> with a new association, Sustainable Winegrowing BC, certifying wineries. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxECZY4uP7aBHrTHBaYuTvNOKhg7KZJGOBsEt0jKmr9MZkOvpda1usjZ-j50AgdUFLzGWoEeOxiMybD8yNDQQsj3rt3dTcdoc6d4ooG_8INxZzlKxXgXXqLaAWtq-nyqevAUIpGfW5vE/s845/Vancouver+Island+2010+011+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="844" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxECZY4uP7aBHrTHBaYuTvNOKhg7KZJGOBsEt0jKmr9MZkOvpda1usjZ-j50AgdUFLzGWoEeOxiMybD8yNDQQsj3rt3dTcdoc6d4ooG_8INxZzlKxXgXXqLaAWtq-nyqevAUIpGfW5vE/w400-h400/Vancouver+Island+2010+011+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Employment & Immigration </span></b></div><div>Unlike many other countries, Canada’s immigration system is highly decentralized with provincial governments, community groups, and employers playing a role in selecting economic migrants. “There are pathways to permanent residency and citizenship designed specifically for butchers, mushroom harvesters, and greenhouse workers; one that includes cleaners in Sudbury; one for long-haul truckers in British Columbia; others for international students who want to start businesses in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Saskatchewan; and still more for dozens of other tightly defined groups of workers in specific parts of the country.” It may be inefficient and susceptible to fraud, but it’s also the reason <a href="https://thewalrus.ca/how-immigration-really-works/" target="_blank">Canada is “winning a global competition for labour” and has the “highest public support for immigration of any country in the world.”</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Lazy Gardening & Avocados</span></b></div><div>I’m a lazy houseplant gardener. I have 11 pots of amaryllis because they bloom beautifully in the spring, require no care, and reproduce with no help from me. I’m always reluctant to throw away the avocado seed when I’ve finished eating it. Now, Google it and you’ll get all sorts of instructions on how to start an avocado plant. My method is much simpler! Bury the bottom third in the dirt around another houseplant. Try and remember to water frequently. Be very patient, and voilà! A sprout emerges (sometimes). </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b><i> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </i></span></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></i></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-78123588674257960382021-04-19T08:48:00.002-06:002021-04-19T08:48:51.877-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, April 19, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifz5OSIJzU7O_ZgUDonaIo9uFgDT0QJCP2FQqEhC_NV2vkrDkWZESYQTmqCc0Xaq5N_oDU9cWZqlOWYEdEHXVRavrVfz7jsbidmFuenLO23uMZYnH2TrdVmtJRh2WinYmNBpSxQfdDHEU/s2048/IMG_2587+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifz5OSIJzU7O_ZgUDonaIo9uFgDT0QJCP2FQqEhC_NV2vkrDkWZESYQTmqCc0Xaq5N_oDU9cWZqlOWYEdEHXVRavrVfz7jsbidmFuenLO23uMZYnH2TrdVmtJRh2WinYmNBpSxQfdDHEU/w400-h266/IMG_2587+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>“We live with mystery, but we don’t like the feeling. I think we should get used to it. We feel we have to know what things mean, to be on top of this and that. I don’t think it’s human, you know, to be that competent at life. That attitude is far from poetry.” </i>– Mark Strand </span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b></div><div>Saskatoon’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cnycsaskatoon" target="_blank">Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op</a> is accepting orders for wooden garden boxes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Jane’s Walk Saskatoon is organizing <a href="https://janeswalksaskatoon.ca/index.php/2021/04/06/virtual-self-directed-walking-tours-2021/" target="_blank">virtual and/or self-directed walking tours</a> for Jane’s Walk 2021 on May 1. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bread</span></b> </div><div><a href="https://thisismold.com/endangered-kitchen/portuguese-sourdough-heritage-grains#nl-2" target="_blank">A depression and a dictatorship in Portugal shaped its bread</a>, transforming local grains and loaves to a nutritionless industrialized product. “Just as it is intertwined with Portugal’s political and economic history, bread has also mapped human progress and it survives as we survive. Bread can be as fragile as our own democracies, as Portugal’s grains have proven. I only hope that after years of austerity, the country looks towards a brighter future, full of much better bread.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Travel </span></b></div><div>The new <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/groundbreaking-new-center-unveils-worlds-largest-collection-of-inuit-art-180977469/" target="_blank">Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery</a> “houses 14,000 sculptures, prints, drawings and textile art created by Inuit artists from across the Canadian Arctic. In addition, nearly 7,400 artworks are on loan from the Government of Nunavut.” </div><div><br /></div><div>And a quote for those of us who are impatient to start travelling again – I found it particularly apt. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>“Oh God, are there so many of them in our land! Students who can’t be happy until they’ve graduated, servicemen who can’t be happy until they are discharged, single folks who can’t be happy until they’ve found a mate, workers who can’t be happy until they’ve retired, adolescents who aren’t happy until they’re grown, ill people who aren’t happy until they’re well, failures who aren’t happy until they succeed, restless who can’t wait until they get out of town, and in most cases, vice versa, people waiting, waiting for the world to begin.” – Tom Robbins</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10YRVNJ8Fd0onjh-3tBUN-n4sxhMM2yjbExqezc8cqBk9IpRmvRu5f-3N7AH4AVc-RGaHita63BzR0K_f7wODt4LK_092-JHbuJWpvmLEI2S4ZvZ01Fq8lPAFzAYkMczOR4uEGrO9VV8/s2048/IMG_2590+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10YRVNJ8Fd0onjh-3tBUN-n4sxhMM2yjbExqezc8cqBk9IpRmvRu5f-3N7AH4AVc-RGaHita63BzR0K_f7wODt4LK_092-JHbuJWpvmLEI2S4ZvZ01Fq8lPAFzAYkMczOR4uEGrO9VV8/w400-h266/IMG_2590+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Winged Poetry</span></b> </div><div>April is National Poetry Month in the United States, bringing with it <a href="https://orionmagazine.org/2021/04/four-winged-poems-to-celebrate-national-poetry-month/" target="_blank">four poems about birds</a>. I particularly enjoyed the ones about the <a href="https://orionmagazine.org/poetry/the-sharp-shinned-hawk/" target="_blank">sharp-shinned hawk</a> (<i>“No longer endangered, it has rebounded, one bright strand in the story of time”</i>) and the <a href="https://orionmagazine.org/poetry/the-hummingbird" target="_blank">hummingbird</a> (<i>“A blur in the periphery, like the mind if the mind were airborne”</i>). </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Writers & Robots </span></b></div><div>As a writer, I’m staggered by the idea that I could be replaced by a computer or robot. I pride myself on my ability to analyze information, decide what is important (and why), and pull it all together in a logical sequence. My goal is always to share information in the hope that by doing so I can bring about change or influence our society and culture. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>“<a href="https://medium.com/deepnews-ai/how-do-you-teach-someone-to-write-in-a-world-of-robot-authors-a74238e519c1" target="_blank">So what kind of writing is the human kind?</a> The elaborate and literary? Will the focus of teaching writing in the future be in creating purple prose so swollen with complexity that the sentences stick out like a sore, undeniably human, thumb? </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>“McKnight doesn’t think so. She says that in a world of AI text, the skills that students need ‘will be much more aligned with what we would describe as a process writing approach, drafting, editing, collaborating, sharing and developing those kinds of soft skills that are going to be the skills that are useful in the future.’” </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">Photos are from a boat cruise in Lyon in April 2019.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Footnotes to a Conversation</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-84645993154649552382021-04-12T09:20:00.000-06:002021-04-12T09:20:23.798-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, April 12, 2021<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1m4FR3kyF0hItowmiU_sxc04tRjY-Sgx-x5XM49t_IOUU3G3lprh0g169atkdlI-BtfODtWwJSh060zGE2uTx6GA7rxvkrz9M9SaaeRen183DfQQEY7eeimBcM73Dr9hKW9-N2H1XJc/s2048/IMG_2367edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1342" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1m4FR3kyF0hItowmiU_sxc04tRjY-Sgx-x5XM49t_IOUU3G3lprh0g169atkdlI-BtfODtWwJSh060zGE2uTx6GA7rxvkrz9M9SaaeRen183DfQQEY7eeimBcM73Dr9hKW9-N2H1XJc/w263-h400/IMG_2367edit.JPG" width="263" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>“In Just-spring when the world is mud-luscious the little lame balloonman whistles far and wee and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it’s spring when the world is puddle-wonderful” </i>– e e cummings</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></div></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">A Taste of Spring </span></b></div><div>What food symbolizes spring for you? For me, it’s probably fresh, locally-grown spinach (and rhubarb). By winter’s end, I’ve had my fill of root vegetables (I do try to eat local) and am longing for greens. But in other parts of the world, spring may be something else entirely – <a href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/mexico-city/2021/spring-food-break-2021-mango" target="_blank">mangoes in Mexico City</a>, <a href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/athens/2021/spring-food-break-kumquat" target="_blank">kumquats in Greece</a>, or <a href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/marseille/2021/spring-food-break-brousse-du-rove" target="_blank">fresh goat cheese in Provence</a> (Oh, yes, please!). And each of these foods has a history and a story to tell that surely influences its flavour. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another early spring crop is radishes, but they’ve never been one of my favorites. I’m planning to try the roasted radish lemony chickpea pasta in this set of 12 <a href="https://inhabitat.com/easy-and-unexpected-radish-recipes/" target="_blank">unusual radish recipes</a>, but I’m not so sure about the cinnamon ice cream topped with radishes. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Creativity</span></b> </div><div>I’m always fascinated by creative people and how they shape a business. A brewery in England came up with Moonshine, a successful beer that appealed to a whole range of people. They considered becoming a Moonshine factory, selling the beer in supermarkets and on a national scale. They could have made lots of money, “but <a href="https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2021/4/5/everybody-knows-that-they-make-moonshine-abbeydale-brewery-sheffield" target="_blank">we made a conscious decision not to do that, because it wasn’t fun or interesting</a>.” Moonshine still accounts for 50% of their sales, but they also host a Funk Fest celebrating sour beers and a range of special and one-off beers – “Crossing the Threshold, a dessert stout inspired by Vietnamese steamed rice cakes, which featured additions of rice, coconut and coconut milk” or “Iced Tea Dead People—an iced-tea pale ale made with fresh peaches, hibiscus flowers and sencha tea.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Many Saskatchewan craft breweries operate in a similar fashion and I find it interesting that unusual beers are much more common than unusual wines. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhU4a7COOl0z6YdevX3QzpZyo6urf_GmpUuSt3o9aVTI5vMOyqpvIDjCip0w6xeqOPjCJIlRtG4bW9dkof98P5mJSjL4ajaduwl3lFNe_5bWZeHNpchus3FQXUSQgc3FlRMDhBAjMoO4/s2048/other+wordly.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhU4a7COOl0z6YdevX3QzpZyo6urf_GmpUuSt3o9aVTI5vMOyqpvIDjCip0w6xeqOPjCJIlRtG4bW9dkof98P5mJSjL4ajaduwl3lFNe_5bWZeHNpchus3FQXUSQgc3FlRMDhBAjMoO4/w400-h266/other+wordly.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Word Play </span></b></div><div>Another form of creativity is on display in <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1452125341/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1452125341&linkId=dd64ffd3a042b7c9a52ae41e1420167f" target="_blank">Other Wordly: Words both strange and lovely from around the world</a> by Yee-Lum Mah and illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. There is <i>gökotta</i> (Swedish), “a dawn picnic to hear the first birdsong; the act of rising in the early morning to watch the birds or to go outside to appreciate nature” and <i>hoppipolla</i> (Icelandic), “jumping into puddles.” One of my personal favorites, because I’ve experienced it so often, is <i>resfeber</i> (Swedish), “the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are entangled together; a ‘travel fever’ that can manifest as an illness.” </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Footnotes to a Conversation</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-10604573158326016692021-04-05T08:38:00.000-06:002021-04-05T08:38:46.212-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, April 5, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_jNvhaOYn-J-hbmRmXBaIjTMJBy2ka_K7RBjhlb3ATwXEXsFijQ1tL9536-7Leiu33Zfu2epI01eZEMaOyhmfzlUauPq5K1jxlc3GecuLQhwnhrgsenYJDTHUdnhkW-Q_Y3fV7hvV6U/s2048/IMG_3372+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_jNvhaOYn-J-hbmRmXBaIjTMJBy2ka_K7RBjhlb3ATwXEXsFijQ1tL9536-7Leiu33Zfu2epI01eZEMaOyhmfzlUauPq5K1jxlc3GecuLQhwnhrgsenYJDTHUdnhkW-Q_Y3fV7hvV6U/w400-h266/IMG_3372+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food & Wine </span></b><div>This would not go over well in Saskatchewan! The town of Glastonbury in the UK has pledged to go completely vegan by 2023. “While locals will not be compelled to adopt a vegan diet,<a href="https://normalforglastonbury.uk/glastonbury-town-takes-vegan-pledge" target="_blank"> shops and hospitality in the town will no longer be permitted to sell animal products</a>, so determined carnivores will have to travel elsewhere to purchase meat and dairy. The keeping of livestock within the town will also be prohibited, as will meat barbecues.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Food is one of the more obvious ways that we connect with our heritage, but it can be difficult for newcomers to find the fruits and vegetables that were available in their home countries. It’s exciting to see <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/03/this-modern-farmer-grows-her-heritage/" target="_blank">newcomer farmers growing and selling <i>foreign</i> food</a>. Leslie Wiser “primarily grows vegetables that come from her Asian and German-Polish Jewish heritage on 1.5 acres in Sebastopol, California. This includes ingredients such as bitter melon, Chinese bald head mustard and Southeast Asian herbs that many of her customers—from chefs to immigrant families—had been unable to find in the United States.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Whatever next! Winemakers are now experimenting with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/29/wineries-bottles-seabed-ageing " target="_blank">underwater wineries</a>. “The logic is that underwater conditions mimic the crucial ageing factors that are thought to contribute so much to the flavour of wine, such as constant temperature and the absence of light. Winemakers soon went further, arguing that the watery cellar was leaving its own, singular imprint on the wines.” </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKy-UAEo7HsnW3md-r-qgcpdWIK9tnO_KAsrT6gFEtlSk9K1wvlFDTB1vVuvcjx9dgEXxYFD-lDCjOgbBieJVGsc5NxfFjU57yd9m6-wFM5xAOSPXBqdLGG69CvS_I-09YNEusLabNDM/s2048/IMG_2028+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKy-UAEo7HsnW3md-r-qgcpdWIK9tnO_KAsrT6gFEtlSk9K1wvlFDTB1vVuvcjx9dgEXxYFD-lDCjOgbBieJVGsc5NxfFjU57yd9m6-wFM5xAOSPXBqdLGG69CvS_I-09YNEusLabNDM/w266-h400/IMG_2028+edit.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">All the Colours of the Rainbow </span></b></div><div>“Walk around your neighborhood and count the house or building colors you see. Four million hues of grey? Check. Lots of tans and browns? Definitely. An abundance of white and off white? Absolutely. . . . Much of cities’ avoidance of color is rooted in colonial and Puritan roots. In some European cultures, white is often seen as pure and good, while color has often been linked to the primitive and the superficial. Goethe, a German playwright and novelist, captured the origins of the European anti-color stance when he wrote, ‘Men in a state of nature, uncivilized nations and children, have a great fondness for colors in their utmost brightness,’ whereas ‘people of refinement’ avoid such vivid and saturated colors. <a href="https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/american-cities-should-be-more-colorful" target="_blank">This historic association of good taste with quiet colors has led to neutrals as a sign of moral superiority.</a>” </div><div><br /></div><div>Europeans didn’t have a name for the colour orange until the 16th century “when orange trees were brought to Europe from Asia by Portuguese merchants.” Prior to that date it was called yellow-red or saffron. The word for orange in India and China is still derived from the word for saffron and in Buddhism is connected to “<a href="https://mymodernmet.com/history-color-orange/" target="_blank">perfection and the highest state of illumination</a>.” </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolLmneuq_D7ty9Iu3fmvDLW5CNJINDQCtcROjo-jLPu64Car-5hh3AnH1wWEh4Mp6E0lhuLKdTCM0YwSDtXXslQ-A4xHl4e4ZcQI25LpWJDbNRzj1b4Y9Y6ODyJmG9xH2goAPo-s7q-s/s2048/IMG_2079+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolLmneuq_D7ty9Iu3fmvDLW5CNJINDQCtcROjo-jLPu64Car-5hh3AnH1wWEh4Mp6E0lhuLKdTCM0YwSDtXXslQ-A4xHl4e4ZcQI25LpWJDbNRzj1b4Y9Y6ODyJmG9xH2goAPo-s7q-s/w400-h266/IMG_2079+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Roman Barbie Dolls </span></b></div><div>As a child, I loved playing with my Barbie dolls and never gave a thought to them encouraging sexist stereotypes. What mattered to me was creating stories and acting them out. Upper-class Roman girls from the second to the fourth century had dolls too, “made from bone, ivory, or cloth, the dolls range in length from 15 to 30 centimeters and resemble upper-class adult women, with molded breasts and delineated genitalia.” The dolls reinforced the girls’ expected appearance and roles but could also be used creatively. “Articulation gave dolls the potential to be active in the hands of Roman girls, and they too had the potential to be active as historical agents rather than passive recipients of ideas and ideals while at play . . . . <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/girls-and-dolls-in-the-roman-empire/" target="_blank">With a doll at her disposal, a young girl could role-play as a wife or mother, but she could also inhabit the role of athlete, stage actress, or any other type of woman she knew or imagined.</a>” </div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/ " target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></i></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-69816649130670170982021-03-29T08:23:00.000-06:002021-03-29T08:23:31.816-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, March 29, 2021<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwz3bbWyOoTO3Cy-TyvbvOd04_wJlbokpPzyYlmcVReW3voragCk9wzdhiWKd2nUTkSVdGjFsYwucpRIFsUBTMJNljlykOOXbAk9G7CC5Av9nvv7SoQqv9BQJDkzpJLlyOxcwOiP8-Go/s2048/IMG_9016+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwz3bbWyOoTO3Cy-TyvbvOd04_wJlbokpPzyYlmcVReW3voragCk9wzdhiWKd2nUTkSVdGjFsYwucpRIFsUBTMJNljlykOOXbAk9G7CC5Av9nvv7SoQqv9BQJDkzpJLlyOxcwOiP8-Go/w400-h300/IMG_9016+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food </span></b></div><div><i>“Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns”</i> Well, they’re not quite that cheap at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thenightoven " target="_blank">The Night Oven Bakery</a>, but they are certainly delicious and organic. Night Oven is also selling sour cherry walnut challah on Apr. 2 and 3. If you believe <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_cross_bun" target="_blank">English folklore</a>, you’ll be happy to learn that a hot cross bun baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or go mouldy for a full year and will protect against shipwreck, fire, and illness. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Herbs </span></b></div><div>If you’re eager to purchase herb bedding plants, you’ll be glad to learn that <a href="https://bergamotbasil.ca/2021/03/21/happy-spring-summer-sales-plan" target="_blank">Bergamot & Basil will be set up at various locations</a> this spring, including the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWslnZ0J_jZnaPuWavbLKZSgfN_4TO8TlDPTvTu6L-OGKdpjkHQHfH6SZZ_5kYoMiZPeWDTfnPwGtf-GI1lPEvvV6_iNhZFEPiiA6q6-NIsySmb7UVFc2Pm-7dFT2C73THuM5HrjyQLM4/s996/Lincoln+Castle073+edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="968" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWslnZ0J_jZnaPuWavbLKZSgfN_4TO8TlDPTvTu6L-OGKdpjkHQHfH6SZZ_5kYoMiZPeWDTfnPwGtf-GI1lPEvvV6_iNhZFEPiiA6q6-NIsySmb7UVFc2Pm-7dFT2C73THuM5HrjyQLM4/w389-h400/Lincoln+Castle073+edit.jpg" width="389" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">History </span></b></div><div>There were rumours that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210316-the-legendary-fabric-that-no-one-knows-how-to-make" target="_blank">Dhaka muslin</a> was woven by mermaids, fairies, and ghosts. Or perhaps it was woven underwater. It was all the rage in 18th century Europe, although it inspired alarm as it was so fine it was almost transparent. Dhaka muslin and the plant from which it came disappeared entirely but are now being reintroduced. </div><div><br /></div><div>Archaeologists have tended to base their findings on sex, excluding a <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/how-the-gender-binary-limits-archaeological-study/" target="_blank">more nuanced approach</a>. By using multiple variables, archaeologists find “a large area of overlap between typically “male” and “female” burial goods, suggesting that gender categories were not nearly as narrow as archaeologists had assumed. (Women could bear axes, and men could wear rings, for instance.) Likewise, an individual’s sex did not determine the position they were buried in.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Safe Outdoor Adventures for Kids </span></b></div><div>I interviewed Rebecca Basset, Back40 Wilderness First Aid Training, for <b><i>EcoFriendly Sask</i></b>. She offers some very <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/p/safe-outdoor-adventures-for-kids" target="_blank">practical, down-to-earth advice to ensure your kids can have fun – and stay safe – outdoors</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-42616337631828395432021-03-22T09:35:00.000-06:002021-03-22T09:35:29.519-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, March 22, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_IiYg6DSRj63CQkkUsj3ZxH7vIidYZyrVtbjonvqwtNFXyeGwiobv9hY8N_K_sTmP27WCXGLQfEyayxmcT-1HN34AYE8WVrwfvPtZcE41O-2EaZCJPYdkbNlCOfIp6Lp2PbsTdvJa7U/s2048/IMG_8887+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1806" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_IiYg6DSRj63CQkkUsj3ZxH7vIidYZyrVtbjonvqwtNFXyeGwiobv9hY8N_K_sTmP27WCXGLQfEyayxmcT-1HN34AYE8WVrwfvPtZcE41O-2EaZCJPYdkbNlCOfIp6Lp2PbsTdvJa7U/w353-h400/IMG_8887+edit.JPG" width="353" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food </span></b><div>“Politicians are still saying ‘my job is to make food cheaper for you’, no matter how toxic it is from a planetary or human health perspective,” said Prof Tim Benton, at Chatham House. “We must stop arguing that we have to subsidise the food system in the name of the poor and instead deal with the poor by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/03/plant-based-diets-crucial-to-saving-global-wildlife-says-report" target="_blank">bringing them out of poverty</a>.” </div><div><br />Bread was introduced in Japan in the early 1800s, but it’s been made <a href="https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/journal/a-plethora-of-pan-in-the-modern-japanese-bakery" target="_blank">softer and sweeter</a> to suit the local palate. Shokupan is a soft, fluffy white bread: “slices of varying thickness are used for fruit sandos, sandwiches filled with colorful diced fruit arranged in artful geometric patterns held together with cream.” Kashipan are “snack breads filled with various pastes and sweet creams.”</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Books </span></b></div><div>In a Syrian town under siege from Assad’s regime, a small group of revolutionaries found a new mission: to build a library from books rescued from the rubble. “These young Syrians cohabited with death night and day. Most of them had already lost everything – their homes, their friends, their parents. Amid the chaos, they clung to books as if to life, hoping for a better tomorrow, for a better political system. Driven by their thirst for culture, they were quietly developing an idea of what democracy should be. An idea that challenged the regime’s tyranny and Islamic State’s book burners. Muaddamani and his friends were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/mar/16/words-have-the-power-to-heal-syrias-rebel-librarians" target="_blank">true soldiers for peace</a>.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Slow Down – and Dance! </span></b></div><div>The City of Saskatoon is reviewing speed limits in residential neighbourhoods. The <a href="https://www.saskatoon.ca/engage/speed-limit-review" target="_blank">survey</a> is open until April 30. (Photo provided by <a href="https://walkingsaskatoon.org/ " target="_blank">Walking Saskatoon</a>)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAy8eBMtdvDZ3ghI029HsEAmDLYVAU1CBASoEvEH-gYmnxuZy-rfTCDB733m35L_EE0acZfUfBXVRIqt-jvbYACq0iTGSLKFRCAve6C0dPjz37Qs9gSmWajKU7mJcSTMdt4aio23teko/s680/Walking+Saskatoon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="680" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAy8eBMtdvDZ3ghI029HsEAmDLYVAU1CBASoEvEH-gYmnxuZy-rfTCDB733m35L_EE0acZfUfBXVRIqt-jvbYACq0iTGSLKFRCAve6C0dPjz37Qs9gSmWajKU7mJcSTMdt4aio23teko/w400-h276/Walking+Saskatoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>There will be <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1169671233550653/ " target="_blank">old-time, socially distanced dancing to live fiddle and piano music</a> at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from 12-2 pm, March 27 and April 3. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b><i>Footnotes to a Conversation</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #c27ba0;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #c27ba0;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7CucyuywtYrNVGF_NugRjZ26LtZIZgxBdPafBV8wxfxP5NgWRDfR5zn295axXED6CoMS9lYtYlvCOiScM9QT1nQZTRYFISHu1JUpgKNHAgo7NC94pCRFs5-qC23G7TGVNagLsCjg7BA/s2048/IMG_7168+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7CucyuywtYrNVGF_NugRjZ26LtZIZgxBdPafBV8wxfxP5NgWRDfR5zn295axXED6CoMS9lYtYlvCOiScM9QT1nQZTRYFISHu1JUpgKNHAgo7NC94pCRFs5-qC23G7TGVNagLsCjg7BA/w303-h400/IMG_7168+edit.JPG" width="303" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-35717202618350036622021-03-15T08:21:00.002-06:002021-03-15T09:26:33.521-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, March 15, 2021<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0c-7KxlAgkx8UethHPH8IkzGB6oArn-A202pXt9zaCoXmt3MuyMwVNRzk7eRb7OyMRxi84brNud73HME2453BkdUVo5GNTJJFmdKG0JCfxSP5ZCrufrcxwDuD3-WcNDB9q5nAcmXR1U/s2048/IMG_4698_edited.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0c-7KxlAgkx8UethHPH8IkzGB6oArn-A202pXt9zaCoXmt3MuyMwVNRzk7eRb7OyMRxi84brNud73HME2453BkdUVo5GNTJJFmdKG0JCfxSP5ZCrufrcxwDuD3-WcNDB9q5nAcmXR1U/w400-h249/IMG_4698_edited.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><br /></i></div><i>The geese are honking on the river and I spotted some lovely patches of thick gooey mud on my walk this morning. Spring is on the way!</i><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local Food </span></b><div>There are new vendors at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/stoonfarmersmkt " target="_blank">Saskatoon Farmers’ Market</a> – and they’re bakers! Sentient Sandwich is selling plump, mini sourdough bagels, while Old Homestead Baking is selling loaves baked in a traditional 8x8 foot wood-fired clay brick oven. </div><div><br /></div><div>I picked up some tasty goodies at <a href="https://www.beppis.ca/" target="_blank">Beppi’s Gelato</a> this past week. They offer a wide range of Italian products from pasta and sauce to jam and candies – definitely worth checking it out. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Entertainment </b></span></div><div>My sister in law and I will be going to the theatre – in her living room – in April. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sparrowtheatre/" target="_blank">Sparrow Theatre Company</a> is a new (to me at least) Saskatoon theatre company. On April 3, they’re streaming <i>A Killer Party</i>, a murder mystery musical. Later in April, we’ll be watching <i>One Hour Photo</i>, a Vancouver Asian Canadian production hosted by <a href="https://persephonetheatre.org/shows/play/1-hour-photo/" target="_blank">Persephone Theatre</a>. Having lived in BC, I’m very aware of the discrimination and abuse encountered by Japanese Canadians – this should be an interesting look at one man’s life. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRjMozWDqoKI-FX8Yc4GHh2e7P5xgAdMEuBAcc6qtt1ae_r8lu71uKewkUukfk6AgTyvakZNDkUjwAwz4U5trqowHuAjsMt59wtlrDjvrELiwAHfY-kKuqQJ7OOo9EsqqiH6lcEXiLdg/s2048/one+madder+woman.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRjMozWDqoKI-FX8Yc4GHh2e7P5xgAdMEuBAcc6qtt1ae_r8lu71uKewkUukfk6AgTyvakZNDkUjwAwz4U5trqowHuAjsMt59wtlrDjvrELiwAHfY-kKuqQJ7OOo9EsqqiH6lcEXiLdg/s320/one+madder+woman.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I’ve just finished reading <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1988298687/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1988298687&linkId=cc1df42c9046432f3b47e6a3943d5ce3" target="_blank">One Madder Woman</a> by Dede Crane, a fictionalized account of Berthe Morisot’s life. I was initially attracted to the book because of my interest in French Impressionist art, but there is so much more to this book. You get an excellent picture of family life and social customs as well as a horrifying insight into what it must have been like to live through the Prussian siege of Paris and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune" target="_blank">Commune</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Singing the Blues </span></b></div><div>I bought several pieces of pottery at <a href="http://claystudio3.com/" target="_blank">Clay Studio 3</a> this past week and blue was the predominant colour. Blue is a favorite colour of many people, including me. I find it soothing and tranquil, but it’s also linked to <a href="https://www.janelockhart.com/blog/interesting-facts-colour-blue/" target="_blank">authority and conservatism</a> (IBM, Royal Bank, the Conservative Party of Canada, blue-chip stocks). Supposedly, we’ll be more productive in a blue room and, if you want <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-blue-2795815" target="_blank">to lose weight, try using a blue plate</a> as it’s not an appetizing colour and may put you off your food. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1VIqS2QK5AgNqz-ZY3LElUWJnkWLFAI3tOCb1tyvXgYiaXDloxx_c1E6kNLz1zz42J19S_uoJKekBK7vRQVSxm1NHfFYPrM3nln1bxuCxr1xKJgKmnRu3J2gFJaw11m-mXJRH81OLDJI/s2048/pottery+mar21+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2048" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1VIqS2QK5AgNqz-ZY3LElUWJnkWLFAI3tOCb1tyvXgYiaXDloxx_c1E6kNLz1zz42J19S_uoJKekBK7vRQVSxm1NHfFYPrM3nln1bxuCxr1xKJgKmnRu3J2gFJaw11m-mXJRH81OLDJI/w400-h321/pottery+mar21+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Community Outreach</span></b></div><div>Midway between two very different neighbourhoods, the employee-owned Sant Pau Gym in Barcelona is trying to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p094qhsz/the-people-who-bought-a-gym-and-tried-to-change-a-city" target="_blank">respond to the needs of a diverse community</a>. Membership is free for those who can’t afford it. They close the pool on Friday mornings for Muslim women and offer swimming lessons for trans people. [5-minute video] </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Word</b>s on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</i></div></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-56728885605105495322021-03-08T10:35:00.000-06:002021-03-08T10:35:19.775-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, March 8, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEox2cf2gJ1CmSnEIjZhe7aKUirRzNsgdz47YnJiJ0-F2bHyRGm7pBk2Nyp5crZBpcGdYpeGBozO1vxTjQfnUuye6Oecq_hFNHqCBmta4FEFeTnUWtOFZiCHzXIGifbzEGD2siDgSdv4Y/s2048/IMG_4694_edited.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1433" data-original-width="2048" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEox2cf2gJ1CmSnEIjZhe7aKUirRzNsgdz47YnJiJ0-F2bHyRGm7pBk2Nyp5crZBpcGdYpeGBozO1vxTjQfnUuye6Oecq_hFNHqCBmta4FEFeTnUWtOFZiCHzXIGifbzEGD2siDgSdv4Y/w400-h280/IMG_4694_edited.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b><div>Two Saskatoon women have started a new business, <a href="https://bergamotbasil.ca" target="_blank">Bergamot & Basil</a>, and plan to sell the most interesting variety of herb bedding plants around. The list of herbs they hope to sell is long and exciting (5 kinds of mint, 5 kinds of basil, epazote, huacatay). <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BergamotBasil" target="_blank">Lemongrass</a> is already planted and sprouting. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/250844656522676/" target="_blank">Saskatoon Seedy Saturday</a> has gone virtual with online gardening workshops and presentations from Mar. 20-27. </div><div><br />I’m looking forward to celebrating the spring equinox with a <a href="https://nestsaskatoon.net/2021/03/01/1964" target="_blank">Middle Eastern/North African dinner from Nest Saskatoon</a>. Nest has been supporting refugee settlement in Saskatoon since 1997.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Art & Architecture</span></b> </div><div>The pandemic has created a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to <a href="https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2021/how-pandemic-could-change-architecture" target="_blank">reimagine our built environments</a> – if we care enough (and dare enough) to take it [comic] </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2021/how-pandemic-could-change-architecture" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="732" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKK_itHOhoMvGkX8vBIr6Ra4fBYQ-X037D0qis2OhAsqBT79ZoG6k094zxN80zje15m4GaE3FYFGjuj8FKvQZFM7xnQmS4Uj55Otyv_6af_5ytZGwSCf7bUuN0G_rKuLFWo6TujKVFPk/w389-h400/pandemic+architecture.JPG" width="389" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Travel </span></b></div><div>This <a href="http://www.greenhumour.com/2021/03/migratory-birds-from-first-world.html" target="_blank">cartoon</a> speaks for itself. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.greenhumour.com/2021/03/migratory-birds-from-first-world.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIIzG-dVny7JswPVQqUW4Z1rT4VvOeSLLkfq0_Z1C7BUNbHGUxuV8MKIGsYhWDcokqbqYKMXxfSh_aGL4F8vdv6c_Ma1kK7gIiFeDuMvChvxGXU_tS-OUSKG7J5RFFtYptxy6Aa_Ybqc/w344-h400/migratory+birds.JPG" width="344" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food</span></b> </div><div><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/mar/01/this-sauce-will-change-your-life-30-brilliant-condiments-to-transform-your-tired-lockdown-dishes" target="_blank">30 brilliant condiments to liven up your meals.</a> I’m not sure how many of these are available in Canada, but I’m sure some of them are. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>You can follow <b>Wanderlust and Words</b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</i></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-66220107592676223332021-03-01T09:22:00.000-06:002021-03-01T09:22:49.887-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation, March 1, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnKPnW_TSRQZrno-8pduDk1lHN7nZwSS_QjESbKPC2NJ1Bnm0WTZb6RDewiK0-0Ng7Gmf6gqet0ki3yL3s60eFLdXUsxqLMO0V-THzSpPo5OlY4dNjqpuz0troFM5oloDZby2gHHcRAA/s2048/IMG_1849edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnKPnW_TSRQZrno-8pduDk1lHN7nZwSS_QjESbKPC2NJ1Bnm0WTZb6RDewiK0-0Ng7Gmf6gqet0ki3yL3s60eFLdXUsxqLMO0V-THzSpPo5OlY4dNjqpuz0troFM5oloDZby2gHHcRAA/w400-h300/IMG_1849edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b><div>The Saskatoon Heritage Society is hosting an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/heritageauction/" target="_blank">online auction</a>. You have until March 7 to place your bids on items ranging from books and ornaments to heritage items. </div><div><br /></div><div>Persephone Theatre is hosting an online performance of <a href="https://persephonetheatre.org/shows/play/1-hour-photo/" target="_blank">1 Hour Photo</a>, <i>“the story of Mas Yamamoto, a man whose life was swept up by the major currents of the 20th century. From growing up in a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River, to being confined at a Japanese Canadian internment camp during World War II, to helping build the Distant Early Warning Line in the Canadian Arctic during the height of the Cold War.”</i> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Art & Architecture </span></b></div><div>I love bright colours and am intrigued by innovative architecture, but when is it too much of a good thing? Do we really want a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jan/24/urban-clickbait-why-iconic-architecture-is-all-the-rage-again" target="_blank">football stadium in the shape of a giant lotus flower</a>? How much bright paint would you want in your home? I’m not sure I could handle <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jan/23/pink-walls-blue-stairs-and-yellow-handrails-a-home-renovation-full-of-colour" target="_blank">Tamsin Chislett’s home</a>: <i>“She is standing in her kitchen, beneath a canary yellow steel beam that leaps across a pistachio-coloured ceiling towards a pale pink seating alcove, framing a deep blue sofa. Across the room, a row of pink bannisters topped with a yellow handrail cascades down a teal staircase towards a glossy cobalt blue radiator, meeting the newel post with a bright red dot.”</i> On the other hand, I’d quite like a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/20/interiors-kent-print-texture-and-colour-in-layers-at-a-textile-designers-home" target="_blank">giant wall mural</a> with palm trees and tropical birds. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is so much detail in these <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/tara-lee-bennett-lush-paper-flowers" target="_blank">gardens of intricately-cut white paper flowers</a>. <i>“My current work celebrates themes of growth and renewal,”</i> Tara Lee Bennett explains. <i>“I wanted to bring a breath of freshness—of life and light—not just to myself, but in my art. A reminder that lush times await us all.”</i> </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3QBo5xS0cG-_eFu99bkPJgaKbNYfxe-KbDLobVFSOXsy3qXUjKYLHu6P7oS3BKW0wPtQh3dahJVwjJ_-NpX9bVzQUlDaxfkTicccY3JokDXYUKSEWH-KqX_-2IXn4_ennKEfHkMpjHo/s2048/IMG_2062edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3QBo5xS0cG-_eFu99bkPJgaKbNYfxe-KbDLobVFSOXsy3qXUjKYLHu6P7oS3BKW0wPtQh3dahJVwjJ_-NpX9bVzQUlDaxfkTicccY3JokDXYUKSEWH-KqX_-2IXn4_ennKEfHkMpjHo/w300-h400/IMG_2062edit.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Travel </span></b></div><div>Oh, wouldn’t it be fun to stay in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/feb/28/literary-breaks-11-uk-writers-houses-now-holiday-homes" target="_blank">former home of Agatha Christie</a> overlooking the River Dart in Devon or Sir John Betjeman’s apartment near Smithfield Market in London!</div><div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food </span></b></div><div>Sugar has a positive popular image (the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker Suite, Mary Poppins’ A Spoonful of Sugar), but <a href="https://sourcedjourneys.substack.com/p/sugar-and-spice" target="_blank">there’s a dark side to sugar</a> of slave labour and empire-building: <i>“Cane is sweet sweat slain; cane is labour, unrecognised, lost and unrecovered; sugar is the sweet swollen pain of the years; sugar is slavery's immovable strain. Cane is a slaver; cane is bitter, very bitter, in the sweet blood of life.”</i> (Faustin Charles) </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Footnotes to a Conversation</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="https://ecofriendlysask.substack.com/ " target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay " target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-79182020391818491602021-02-22T08:36:00.000-06:002021-02-22T08:36:03.868-06:00Footnotes to a Conversation<i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArtErQRMwkQJIIRyXgxH7NtdFfWmL8I3HF1lrph-wM7PRqr4BeKAlst41LcgD8sqduWAoxfxr8anmHYcjE9MmNPXbb6V-K2rd-TjR5Z9DXirLTpNqFhqG3nA0UDlJM8Uh31xmLSSEuIA/s2048/IMG_3618+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="2048" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArtErQRMwkQJIIRyXgxH7NtdFfWmL8I3HF1lrph-wM7PRqr4BeKAlst41LcgD8sqduWAoxfxr8anmHYcjE9MmNPXbb6V-K2rd-TjR5Z9DXirLTpNqFhqG3nA0UDlJM8Uh31xmLSSEuIA/w400-h233/IMG_3618+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I began writing about food that was good, clean, fair – and local – in 2010 when I visited Victoria, BC, and was so impressed by the Island’s emphasis on local food. I wanted to explore what was happening in that area in Saskatoon and began interviewing and writing about Saskatoon food businesses and entrepreneurs. The first issue of Flavourful Saskatoon was published 10 years ago on February 17, 2011. That’s a long time and I’m ready to expand my scope. I’ll always care passionately about supporting local farmers and food businesses, but I want to share with you some of my other interests.
</span></i><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="color: #674ea7;">I’m a writer and an introvert so please consider these weekly postings as my conversation with you. They’ll cover an assortment of topics from art and books to food and travel. I hope you will enjoy it, but I also appreciate that I have changed my focus and some of you will no longer be interested – and that’s okay. And don’t worry – as you’ll see from today’s post, there will still be lots of food-related stories!</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Books </span></b></div><div>I’ve just finished a series of 3 mysteries by <a href="http://www.susiesteiner.co.uk" target="_blank">Suzie Steiner</a> and highly recommend them. The plot is well developed, but it’s in the character development that Steiner really shines. Manon is a Cambridgeshire police officer with a messy home and a messy family. Davy wants to get married – maybe – and he wonders if he’ll ever step out of Manon’s shadow at work. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a migrant farm worker, be sure to read <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07XM84SCD/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07XM84SCD&linkId=07e0e2ce0d3051979db281592299708c" target="_blank">Remain Silent</a>. It paints a horrifying picture of modern-day slavery that allows the rest of us to eat cheap food. </div><div><br /></div><div>On a similar theme, here’s a <a href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/lisbon/2018/man-at-work/" target="_blank">photo essay illustrating the life of João Rafeira</a>, an itinerant farm worker in Portugal who divides his year between sheep shearing, cork harvesting, wine making, olive picking, and tree pruning. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ5F7n478w93oTJyg5TSDPfR0qeq1LSwgKDvASoNNvZIJDBW6QO2OFpJg28WB1UJmXeu9p4xEXqJGiv8SYH_PwfbM3Q5vA6tG8GwpN5HGCmlRdADF3v8haxSBwHpTryz_kZIG41ts84o/s1200/two+way+mirror.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ5F7n478w93oTJyg5TSDPfR0qeq1LSwgKDvASoNNvZIJDBW6QO2OFpJg28WB1UJmXeu9p4xEXqJGiv8SYH_PwfbM3Q5vA6tG8GwpN5HGCmlRdADF3v8haxSBwHpTryz_kZIG41ts84o/w265-h400/two+way+mirror.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I have a whole new appreciation for Elizabeth Barrett Browning after reading about her frustration with living in lockdown due to illness and her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/15/what-we-can-learn-from-elizabeth-barrett-brownings-years-in-lockdown " target="_blank">search for ways to stay socially active</a>. “Elizabeth was one of the first cultural influencers to understand how a virtual existence offers escape from daily life, ‘The escape from pangs of heart & bodily weakness ... when you throw off yourself … what you feel to be yourself … into another atmosphere & into other relations, where your life may spread its wings out new’.” (<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08L6XP4GF/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B08L6XP4GF&linkId=4fda7c3d7bb3dfed70abc64a6ad0d0a1" target="_blank">Two-Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning</a>, Fiona Sampson) </div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Ethics </span></b></div><div>Ashley Rodriguez discusses <a href="https://bossbarista.substack.com/p/you-should-open-a-coffee-shop" target="_blank">what it takes to create an ethical, responsive business</a> and discusses one coffee shop that got it right: “Standard Pour was conceived after another prominent coffee shop in the area closed, and Shanelle and Darlene used the opportunity to create a responsive business, one which felt both true to themselves and which honored the needs of the neighborhood it was part of. . . . They pored over decisions, and ensured that every choice they made was reflective of their principles. They valued partnering with local suppliers, so they hired area bakers. They valued quality products, so they exhaustively tasted and vetted coffee and tea samples. They valued working with Black-owned businesses, so they sought them out. They wanted to have a good answer for every question. ‘Why are we doing this? Because it’s reflective of our value system.’ ‘Why is this person here? Because they’re part of our community’.” </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_YZsrievvNEf2IWCdxbp71X_PqqczOwmcyRVtLdCDjkJdUiZpUoWZ_VIMMpMPjAZIk9UcvVk-gHEcythdbSHRKfl73bQInBkuKxTe4vBHlwhtc3BM2VmoF8UKGAI-ryVF3JTYNlk6Fs/s2048/IMG_3962+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_YZsrievvNEf2IWCdxbp71X_PqqczOwmcyRVtLdCDjkJdUiZpUoWZ_VIMMpMPjAZIk9UcvVk-gHEcythdbSHRKfl73bQInBkuKxTe4vBHlwhtc3BM2VmoF8UKGAI-ryVF3JTYNlk6Fs/w400-h266/IMG_3962+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Art & Architecture </span></b></div><div><a href="https://earthbound.report/2021/02/19/what-is-generous-architecture/" target="_blank">Generous architecture</a>: “The built environment can include or exclude. It can be beautiful or ugly, inviting or foreboding. A building or a space can project power and ego, or it can project welcome and belonging. We need more of the welcoming kind, a generous architecture for a world beyond endless private accumulation as the end goal of a good life.” </div><div><br /></div><div>“A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/18/islamic-12th-century-bathhouse-uncovered-in-seville-tapas-bar" target="_blank">magnificently decorated 12th-century Islamic bathhouse</a>, replete with dazzling geometric motifs and skylights in the form of eight-pointed stars, has emerged, a little improbably, from the walls and vaulted ceilings of a popular tapas bar in the heart of the southern Spanish city of Seville.” </div><div><br /></div><div>I may start playing with Lego! Check out the <a href="http://jnack.com/blog/2021/02/16/legoh-van-gogh/" target="_blank">3D Starry Night</a> set which so perfectly imitates the painting by Vincent Van Gogh. And, for those of you with green thumbs, you can also build a <a href="https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/bonsai-tree-10281 " target="_blank">bonsai cherry tree.</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i><b>Footnotes to a Conversation</b></i> is a weekly Monday feature with an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. If you share my love of nature, I suggest you also read <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> that I publish in collaboration with my brother, Andrew. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-7167630407061014122021-02-15T09:18:00.000-06:002021-02-15T09:18:16.463-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, February 15, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWc8qDQvAzyXaj8JTSTiV8f_tOH3xfkkhYVldDMrAnRe_dLpXpvRAgvimM-tdTip_Fex-ILytAvVEx_J4JVA6PyVlc4m87jyv9DtDjbhiJSIgRIyGOrN0PONr3YkhfGsrwQivbhwyUF_g/s2048/IMG_7321+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1611" data-original-width="2048" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWc8qDQvAzyXaj8JTSTiV8f_tOH3xfkkhYVldDMrAnRe_dLpXpvRAgvimM-tdTip_Fex-ILytAvVEx_J4JVA6PyVlc4m87jyv9DtDjbhiJSIgRIyGOrN0PONr3YkhfGsrwQivbhwyUF_g/w400-h315/IMG_7321+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b><div>The first episode of Jenn Sharp’s <a href="https://mytoastlife.com/flat-out-food-docuseries-saskatchewan-food-farmers-chefs/" target="_blank">Flat Out Food docuseries</a> launches on Feb. 24 on Citytv. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">In the Garden </span></b></div><div>A California teenager has helped <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/02/this-teenager-helped-launch-seed-libraries-in-every-state/">install seed libraries in all 50 states</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">In the Grocery Store </span></b></div><div>Alicia Kennedy explains why she <a href="https://www.aliciakennedy.news/p/on-peanut-butter" target="_blank">only eats natural peanut butter</a>. The addition of palm oil or hydrogenated vegetable oil in standard peanut butter is convenient because it prevents separation and extends shelf life, but it is environmentally unsustainable: <i>“What we take from the planet and don’t give back has consequences, even when we’re talking about something as seemingly trivial, as seemingly classed, as peanut butter. These small choices, these differences of a dollar or two, are meaningful.” </i></div><div><br /></div><div>I’m a huge fan of beans as a cheap, sustainable source of protein, so I’m delighted to discover <a href="https://www.slowfood.com/where-have-you-bean" target="_blank">Slow Beans</a>, a group of Slow Food bean farmers who are dedicated to safeguarding legumes as an agricultural priority and increasing their consumption. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQJhyphenhyphen0QmsF_5LzIL8erjp2kCqt891HJJCtcmtW9DgXZMPvUPJAIuGOhQZJWK0Vl6X1MGoVH1KJxDODcmww7AfeI0vG8K8KXqcZtmaNs2FuGr9vtPCkDgl-w0AnLHFuSlfDHAo7oqldAw/s2048/IMG_7329+edit+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1897" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQJhyphenhyphen0QmsF_5LzIL8erjp2kCqt891HJJCtcmtW9DgXZMPvUPJAIuGOhQZJWK0Vl6X1MGoVH1KJxDODcmww7AfeI0vG8K8KXqcZtmaNs2FuGr9vtPCkDgl-w0AnLHFuSlfDHAo7oqldAw/w370-h400/IMG_7329+edit+1.JPG" width="370" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The History & Politics of Wine & Beer </span></b></div><div>Archaeologists have unearthed what could be the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/13/worlds-oldest-known-beer-factory-may-have-been-unearthed-in-egypt" target="_blank">oldest known beer factory</a> in Egypt. And it really was a factory: <i>“Eight huge units – each is 20 metres (about 65ft) long and 2.5 metres (about 8ft) wide. Each unit includes about 40 pottery basins in two rows, which were used to heat a mixture of grains and water to produce beer.” </i></div><div><br /></div><div>The Phoenicians were making wine in Lebanon as early as the 7th century BC. A new generation of winemakers is establishing new winemaking traditions with <a href="https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/journal/wild-yeast-and-native-grapes-in-lebanon" target="_blank">native grapes, wild yeasts, and biodynamic processes</a>. They face formidable challenges with a corrupt government, economic turmoil, and 300,000 people homeless due to the explosion in Beirut’s port, but that doesn’t stop them. <i>“It’s important to revive viniculture here . . . . If you have a deep story like Lebanon, it’s important to retrieve and find your future into your own past.”</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Georgia, like Lebanon, has a long history of winemaking, but <a href="https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/journal/the-story-of-georgian-wine" target="_blank">being part of the Soviet bloc changed everything</a>. Vineyards were nationalized and grapes were grown for volume not quality: <i>“It was essentially sweet plonk.”</i> Indigenous grapes only survived thanks to small family vineyards. A Russian embargo on Georgian wine in 2006 revived the industry as it turned to foreign markets and discovered that Western consumers preferred drier wines, more suited to classic Georgian wine. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Politics of Food </b></span></div><div>It bothers me that so many people must rely on the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre which in turns relies on corporate sponsors for a large share of its capacity. To my mind, those large corporations are a large part of the problem so how can they also be the solution? I thought that ensuring excess food doesn’t go to waste was a better solution, but is it? It allows the large supermarket chains to maintain their current wasteful practices. There’s a more in-depth discussion of community, charity, and corporations in <a href="https://vittles.substack.com/p/feeding-the-problem-community-charity" target="_blank">last week’s edition of Vittles</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-16746647178052864052021-02-08T08:57:00.000-06:002021-02-08T08:57:26.601-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, February 8, 2021<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>“The mind is like an umbrella – it functions best when open.”</i> – Walter Gropius</span> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D4dHOrNXHkh7AbdcoDojuULH96BtaG4tKcoXuL8JS7LNVd0vskjZhORRPhSobVRe9k4H-66CUmYxV86CVKxt-ZpEBWlSfMMJdGnLjjldLfbM_rtXERDOfMdzczMTaFCLy0LYw8EWY8M/s1578/P1010019edit2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="1578" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D4dHOrNXHkh7AbdcoDojuULH96BtaG4tKcoXuL8JS7LNVd0vskjZhORRPhSobVRe9k4H-66CUmYxV86CVKxt-ZpEBWlSfMMJdGnLjjldLfbM_rtXERDOfMdzczMTaFCLy0LYw8EWY8M/w400-h379/P1010019edit2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> There’ll be an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fiddlyness/" target="_blank">old-time outdoor dance</a> at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from <b>12-2 pm</b>, <b>Feb. 13</b> and <b>20</b>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Longing for bagels and cream cheese? Check out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bagelshopyxe" target="_blank">The Bagel Shop</a> at 200 Avenue B South (old location of Little Bird Patisserie). I’ve heard it’s owned by the group that also operates Congress Beerhouse and a few other Saskatoon restaurants.<div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">It may be winter, but <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OurFarmYXE" target="_blank">Our Farm</a> is still providing Saskatoon with fresh, organic greens. You can pick up their microgreens at Dad’s Organic Market or enjoy during a meal at Calories or Citizen Café. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was so sorry to hear that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CollectiveCoffee" target="_blank">Collective Coffee</a>’s last day of business will be Feb. 28, 10 years after they opened in 2011. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It’s winter, we’re in the midst of a pandemic, and there are so many hungry people in Saskatoon. I donate on a regular basis to both the <a href="https://saskatoonfoodbank.org/donate" target="_blank">Saskatoon Food Bank</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/293115702003" target="_blank">Food Not Bombs Saskatoon</a>. Here are some other options. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkE0pRFJQa9kS9tlrce-oeAx8wCvnCVPIrWJM-mATEolyPmVAJhh_koylgOMYS3gGwOmKxJg4Gi3054VOFeN5UzwfjymnrWpELz7PPYDBd5HsTiS00Gljeq6qMpmOxB1fF8Mk-4xt-mFQ/s1080/food+programs+2020.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkE0pRFJQa9kS9tlrce-oeAx8wCvnCVPIrWJM-mATEolyPmVAJhh_koylgOMYS3gGwOmKxJg4Gi3054VOFeN5UzwfjymnrWpELz7PPYDBd5HsTiS00Gljeq6qMpmOxB1fF8Mk-4xt-mFQ/w400-h400/food+programs+2020.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food Trends </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Is anyone in Saskatoon selling <a href="https://live-taste-cooking.pantheonsite.io/what-is-it-about-the-vegan-caesar/" target="_blank">vegan Caesar salads</a>? Apparently they’re all the rage.<i> “Chefs love making vegan Caesars, and people love eating them. That’s because the dish requires a certain thoughtfulness and culinary education to develop. A chef’s understanding of taste and texture is what enables them to channel the attributes of one dish into another while using different ingredients, and the vegan Caesar is a mouthwatering example of this.”</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Poison </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">A new study has found that exposure to glyphosate and its commercial Roundup formulation, can disrupt the function of gut microbiome (bacteria and fungi) and internal body systems with potentially serious effects on human health. <i>“Today, glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup are the most widely used class of pesticides in the world. . . . <a href="https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/articles/are-glyphosate-based-herbicides-poisoning-us-and-the-environment" target="_blank">This is a poison which is so pervasive that it is now present in food, air, rainwater and tapwater.</a> Surveys of human populations have shown that the vast majority of people in both the USA and Europe contain glyphosate in their urine, suggesting constant daily exposure from different sources.”</i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpvVobHXMhe9-m71O2j4gVq8CWBsYtuGp6ObQagmYmk9uja_T1uc-oxcoFST4UAIuRP__Wh4bn4pr8g1kbcAmfsLqb5taskXOz6HwfUPcWg6qZZECEyAQOjxAAqHFWr1bLJqmGesSVFM/s1166/P1010020edit2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1053" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpvVobHXMhe9-m71O2j4gVq8CWBsYtuGp6ObQagmYmk9uja_T1uc-oxcoFST4UAIuRP__Wh4bn4pr8g1kbcAmfsLqb5taskXOz6HwfUPcWg6qZZECEyAQOjxAAqHFWr1bLJqmGesSVFM/w361-h400/P1010020edit2.JPG" width="361" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Politics of Food </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Surprisingly enough, two articles about Karak Chai popped up in my reading material this week and were an excellent reminder of the important role food plays in the lives of both immigrants and tourists. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>As far as cities go, Dubai could be compared to a pair of Louboutins: vertiginous, expensive and not particularly suitable for walking. . . . <a href="https://vittles.substack.com/p/through-chai-searching-for-a-truer" target="_blank">As much as I enjoyed the comforts of my privileged life, the fancy dinners and weekend brunches didn’t offer me a connection to its moving parts — the people that keep the city running.</a> I needed an intimate map to Dubai, one plotted through keen exploration and bookmarked with personal experience. That’s how I embarked on a year long affair with karak chai.” </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>“<a href="https://www.whetstonemagazine.com/journal/a-sip-of-sweet-karak-offers-a-taste-of-dubai" target="_blank">Chai is that feeling of home that many Indians take with them across the globe.</a> It is what they crave for before the day begins and the doors of their minds are flung open to the cares of the world, and at the end of a long one, when the steam gently rising out of their cups is reassurance that they did their best. Whether sipped on in the comfort of the home or outside a corner cafeteria, it is an excuse to gather with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors, even if for a few minutes in their busy or mundane day.” </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/ " target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).</span></div></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-3302763909311656852021-02-01T08:57:00.001-06:002021-02-01T09:59:29.728-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, February 1, 2021<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #3d85c6; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6O3EyaQrtLuUHkpmNdVbtiVxdtxpKuzgcpk6-KkGOlkImMjl3OntijT-PJ_WjpsKEYAoNFReCJhXkQdy5nrQpzGqqUy4_0TahvqE1MTeK3JOsEPxoVYh6kR3IXiq2rwduOY9XZDVKaAw/s2048/IMG_9416+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6O3EyaQrtLuUHkpmNdVbtiVxdtxpKuzgcpk6-KkGOlkImMjl3OntijT-PJ_WjpsKEYAoNFReCJhXkQdy5nrQpzGqqUy4_0TahvqE1MTeK3JOsEPxoVYh6kR3IXiq2rwduOY9XZDVKaAw/w400-h300/IMG_9416+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #674ea7;">Welcome to February! The days are a little longer and winter is a little bit shorter. My Christmas cactus is flowering and there are buds on 5 of my amaryllis. Long live sunshine and flowers! If you’re busy perusing seed catalogues, why not consider <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/01/how-to-grow-seed-spices/" target="_blank">growing spices</a>, such as dill, fennel, or mustard? </span></span><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b></div><div>The Forest Grove Free Food Donation Box is one family’s attempt to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7598489/saskatoon-family-food-box-forest-grove/" target="_blank">address hunger in Saskatoon</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I’m not dining out at the moment, but that doesn’t stop me supporting local businesses. I highly recommend the pecan pie brownies from <a href="https://www.prairieinkrestaurantsaskatoon.com" target="_blank">Prairie Ink</a>, the black bean and lime sandwich from <a href="https://earthboundbakerykitchen.com/menu/" target="_blank">Earth Bound Bakery & Kitchen</a>, and the citrus cardamom buns from <a href="https://sparrowcoffeeyxe.square.site/" target="_blank">Sparrow</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food Trends</span></b> </div><div>The thought that goes into developing new food products is quite astonishing. Here are two articles about future food trends based on <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/01/20/What-trends-will-shape-flavour-innovation-in-2021" target="_blank">flavour</a> and <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/12/03/Eat-the-rainbow-ADM-expects-consumers-to-explore-beyond-their-palate-s-comfort-zones-in-2021/" target="_blank">colour</a>. People are looking for adventure, travelling the world through their taste buds and there will be an increased desire for exotic and unusual flavours (pink grapefruit, yuzu, mandarin, pomelo, kumquat, kaffir lime). Colour is key; for example, orange is associated with Vitamin C as well as happiness and excitement. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4MG7CQM0nfB4ZrcucllbY0zsVNuq4_cdCkKmno0puNU85RobE7dL-nwBHmNeOyHpTyLgXTPwtorR-wf7Nt7np2Yf2lCL3RLdaNlfWlZhyBvjYyFBI-hUD9vyxtJs0r8irzN-IvzlaVE/s2048/IMG_9390+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1812" data-original-width="2048" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4MG7CQM0nfB4ZrcucllbY0zsVNuq4_cdCkKmno0puNU85RobE7dL-nwBHmNeOyHpTyLgXTPwtorR-wf7Nt7np2Yf2lCL3RLdaNlfWlZhyBvjYyFBI-hUD9vyxtJs0r8irzN-IvzlaVE/w400-h354/IMG_9390+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Farmers Markets </span></b></div><div>Why, oh why, are municipal governments so unwilling to support farmers’ markets when they are community hubs, popular with residents and tourists alike, let alone an essential piece of the puzzle in ensuring local food security! <a href="https://urbanicity.com/hamilton/city/2021/01/a-petition-has-been-created-to-save-the-hamilton-farmers-market/" target="_blank">Hamilton Farmers’ Market is strugglin</a>g financially due to Covid with the City clawing back the rent relief initially provided - the market could go under. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://onlyhereforthefood.ca/2021/01/25/food-notes-for-january-25-2021/" target="_blank">Edmonton’s first food hall</a> is scheduled to open this spring. Their goal is to provide food entrepreneurs with the infrastructure, technology, and processes so that <a href="https://justcook.kitchen/" target="_blank">all the chefs have to do is cook</a>. Their emphasis on technology strikes me as very superficial: “We believe that being able to make data-driven decisions is what will lead to smooth and lean operations. . . . Easy identification of best dishes, food trends, or not-so-successful dishes and ways to improve, which will ensure continued success and growth.” My favorite restaurants, places like Hearth, are all about people and connections to the land and to the heart, not trends and stats. On the other hand, opening a restaurant is a risky business, so I can see there would be advantages to getting started in a food hall. The food hall concept was promoted by City of Saskatoon administration for the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market former site on 19th Street and I’ve always questioned why people would want to dine out in a glorified food court. The emphasis on technology and profits is a direct contrast with the farmers’ market philosophy of connecting people with their food sources. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt_lqvFkNq-JwbbXk_VpFdYUdrEoQRDGuHcImvqqu-VrzaobJXSjwwB4bKllaVxq3TPpfd1fEwTCOg9CPviJIJqVpMuqD1cx9qpFCcxvItjrkG0fsxguX-3HS8L8A7h_eAORty7IcOcI/s2048/IMG_9424+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYt_lqvFkNq-JwbbXk_VpFdYUdrEoQRDGuHcImvqqu-VrzaobJXSjwwB4bKllaVxq3TPpfd1fEwTCOg9CPviJIJqVpMuqD1cx9qpFCcxvItjrkG0fsxguX-3HS8L8A7h_eAORty7IcOcI/w400-h300/IMG_9424+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Politics of Food</span></b> </div><div>Newfoundland’s first Chinese restaurants didn’t look or taste Chinese: “In the early days, in my father’s restaurant, there was no Chinese decor. I did not adopt any Chinese ornaments either when I started my own business because I was <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/have-chinese-restaurants-always-looked-chinese" target="_blank">afraid that local people might not like it</a>.” I think this would have applied to many of the Chinese restaurants in small Prairie towns as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>Telus Talks offers an interesting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj5g8bWqQ6I&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">half-hour video on the future of food</a>, both nationally and globally. While Canada has a surplus of food, it is short on food production capacity and a great many people lack the money to feed themselves adequately (from 1 in 10 pre-Covid to 1 in 8 during the pandemic). </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre). </span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://naturecompanion.ca/trees/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1189" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1blQMvTiOISXRNpV_FnLyUoUv9zdQA_aa354NHqiRz-WK47VbxqgL52pG1cKz2HbLABjobplTtuVJ9Esj3pYdDSHzkpFIHjIzECW8ovEpPJq0dRsiSBV2NEyCLqJMtZTN_co3rbrVvio/w400-h303/trees.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #674ea7;">Take <a href="https://www.naturecompanion.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask's free nature app</a> with you the next time you go out for a walk.</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-9483180899438460332021-01-31T16:09:00.008-06:002021-01-31T16:09:53.854-06:00February Hodge Podge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vuk1l8R99kFr_8rxqndx-zM-5lZ13abzc979ll51gd7mJUQWX0X-b9dike4G63ugRkZplE6GLFmaiEBcYK_5np43vXVGvG1MNXaGTIYP37agIVdc0ZWKwVxDlotLtUfZQs_oJGhKws0/s2048/Cordoba+2+046+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vuk1l8R99kFr_8rxqndx-zM-5lZ13abzc979ll51gd7mJUQWX0X-b9dike4G63ugRkZplE6GLFmaiEBcYK_5np43vXVGvG1MNXaGTIYP37agIVdc0ZWKwVxDlotLtUfZQs_oJGhKws0/w400-h300/Cordoba+2+046+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I admit! I have been overly optimistic when setting my monthly themes. It’s the end of January and 3 of my books about Portugal and tiles/mosaics are still unread, so I’ve decided to lower the bar this month. <div><br /></div><div>Hodge podge is a <a href="https://tasteofnovascotia.com/recipes/hodge-podge/" target="_blank">Nova Scotian casserole</a> that relies on seasonal vegetables to make a simple but delicious one-pot meal. It sounds like a great way for me to make use of some of the local root vegetables that are currently in my fridge. And I’ll try to do the same when making my book choices by emphasizing the books that are already on my bookshelves, both physical and virtual. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am longing for tropical climates and lush, green gardens so I plan to read a travel book and a book of gardening stories. I’m also looking for some simple wisdom so plan to reread either Winnie the Pooh or The Wind in the Willows. I’ve found some gardening programs on Acorn TV and hope to explore <a href="https://acorn.tv/secrethistorybritishgarden/ " target="_blank">history and evolution of the British garden from the 17th to the 20th century</a> with Monty Don. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you’re looking for an absorbing read, I highly recommend Susie Steiner’s books about a Cambridgeshire police officer. The character development is outstanding and the plots are engrossing. I recommend reading them in order, starting with <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B018QMZR24/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018QMZR24&linkId=d16692a324c5d98214bb362a118bea92" target="_blank">Missing, Presumed</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIclsqzIqSWrYGQQERcwAITdyVkWkGMpDmZlSqNI5T-pnn_XDKxn9CFBlrBeeGjjQ_hx9M6Sp9V3IkMenZGw5PIoG-qgk3qbm6MQmrrkGuW58MY4tK8Y5cupoKzzklXOOrF8N3S3IgO8/s795/Missing+Presumed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIclsqzIqSWrYGQQERcwAITdyVkWkGMpDmZlSqNI5T-pnn_XDKxn9CFBlrBeeGjjQ_hx9M6Sp9V3IkMenZGw5PIoG-qgk3qbm6MQmrrkGuW58MY4tK8Y5cupoKzzklXOOrF8N3S3IgO8/w265-h400/Missing+Presumed.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I’m currently reading <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1631494961/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1631494961&linkId=bb7d889efabc03e8430afe25e3f101a0 " target="_blank">Mudlark: In Search of London’s Past Along the River Thames</a> by Lara Maiklem and it has reminded me of the hot summer when I spent happy hours poking around for old glass bottles in the Slocan River. There must be all sorts of treasures hidden in the mud lining the rivers flowing through Europe’s ancient cities – London has the great good fortune to be a tidal river and hence can be explored at low tide. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnkr4aukUi8uxrmRPtlU06mAQcHJcSmbiCfjdSEngTCLtEo2__oF6qUcGWRn5V1g-UmsN_c2R4OC8VjkguaVRmGEKnzHCPjExGxB0nx2SI5P60RDBivIrfe19JNCrZu1-nKivpFysTh0/s1824/mudlark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1824" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnkr4aukUi8uxrmRPtlU06mAQcHJcSmbiCfjdSEngTCLtEo2__oF6qUcGWRn5V1g-UmsN_c2R4OC8VjkguaVRmGEKnzHCPjExGxB0nx2SI5P60RDBivIrfe19JNCrZu1-nKivpFysTh0/w264-h400/mudlark.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br />Have a great February! Hold on to hope – for vaccines and renewed travel and social opportunities. We’ll get there eventually so long as we take care of each other.
</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTWM7ICg991_Y8PPX9c6oKJxw0gysxEcKmwOyYAkzxW7tpBamvif7vmru2J9XI2lfCRx5EFD0g76fGHR7CyPEesrxHRo9xjWBTwhqAqepIwxB_KRaBvRMMOd8GbKE953rGzug_d_LIBQ/s2048/granada3+010+cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTWM7ICg991_Y8PPX9c6oKJxw0gysxEcKmwOyYAkzxW7tpBamvif7vmru2J9XI2lfCRx5EFD0g76fGHR7CyPEesrxHRo9xjWBTwhqAqepIwxB_KRaBvRMMOd8GbKE953rGzug_d_LIBQ/w300-h400/granada3+010+cc.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div><b>Photos:</b> Palacio de Viana, Cordoba, Spain; Alhambra Gardens, Granada, Spain</div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-40914737828915426552021-01-26T17:01:00.003-06:002021-01-26T17:02:19.307-06:00Of Food and Culture: Cookbooks that Tell a Story<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5c5_2_bPbyDV2rYqPT5LduzQulFoasLaNG27NeAz_xf30BJELaJWgdUJvqX2mM9-qRzY0A0lVForA4dulE1ZgslsaBUfPsxdrjjYgcUOYNqnii-RDI3kawm14zGWMOWSdbExwJWG6w2k/s1245/Possibly+1959+with+Paul+from+next+door+our+favourite+walk+Mt+Meru+in+cloud+crop+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1157" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5c5_2_bPbyDV2rYqPT5LduzQulFoasLaNG27NeAz_xf30BJELaJWgdUJvqX2mM9-qRzY0A0lVForA4dulE1ZgslsaBUfPsxdrjjYgcUOYNqnii-RDI3kawm14zGWMOWSdbExwJWG6w2k/w371-h400/Possibly+1959+with+Paul+from+next+door+our+favourite+walk+Mt+Meru+in+cloud+crop+edit.jpg" width="371" /></a></div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Stories by privileged middle-class white people line the shelves of every bookstore, exhibiting their authors’ access to travel, to eating for leisure, and to publishers, as they stumble their way through various food discoveries. These stories do not interest me. The stories I really want to know are those from voices I never hear: the non-white women staking their claims to the food traditions of their heritage; the recipes that have sustained communities for generations, migrating from across the world and taking on new lives.”</i> (<a href="https://vittles.substack.com/p/yvonne-maxwell-cooks-yemis-arbisl" target="_blank">Yvonne Maxwell</a>) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">In Bibi’s Kitchen </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Food tells a story – of people, land, and culture. <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1984856731/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1984856731&linkId=56715b9ece280223417f55de41edcd37" target="_blank">In Bibi’s Kitchen</a> by Hawa Hassan with Julia Turshen tells the story of food in 8 East African countries that front the Indian Ocean. For each country, the authors provide a brief overview of the country’s history, economics, geography, and culture. But the most interesting part of each chapter are the interviews with grandmothers (bibi) who talk about the food they love to cook and eat, the importance of family and community, and the role of women in their country. Each bibi shows how to cook some of her favorite dishes, and the authors have adapted the recipes for North American kitchens (kale or collards in place of pumpkin leaves). The recipes tell a story of the country’s geography and colonial past. There are plenty of coconuts and local spices as well as a recipe for a spaghetti sauce from Somalia, which was ruled by Italy for many years. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8DoBszZ2eXNP3fGPhYIwVatWp3vOiAXGLakHpqtSrb0zvqSccAF5Omc9x0N154usxNsb-ekyxXCNbhInJ2w3f2sgETuVyUkaeHp8qfwotF9gYyh8Qe9KHLSP-wPgbvpHhwdMnlKqCUQ/s2048/In+Bibis+Kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1646" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8DoBszZ2eXNP3fGPhYIwVatWp3vOiAXGLakHpqtSrb0zvqSccAF5Omc9x0N154usxNsb-ekyxXCNbhInJ2w3f2sgETuVyUkaeHp8qfwotF9gYyh8Qe9KHLSP-wPgbvpHhwdMnlKqCUQ/w321-h400/In+Bibis+Kitchen.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Falastin</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Judging by the recipes in <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0525610154/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0525610154&linkId=195d4365efdd76834702cbf58a744756" target="_blank">Falastin</a> by Sami Tamimi (chef at Ottolenghi and born in Jerusalem) and Tara Wigley, the Palestinian diet would suit me perfectly – lots and lots of veggies followed by very sweet desserts. What I particularly liked about this cookbook was the wealth of background information. Here, for example, is the introduction to the chapter of snacks, spreads, and sauces: “The Palestinian table is only really happy when it’s covered with food. . . .It’s a way to convey bounty, hospitality, and generosity.” I also learned that food cooked at home in Palestine is very different from the way it’s cooked in restaurants: “Home cooking is the opposite of the ‘grab-and-eat’ style of restaurant cooking; it’s slower and more comforting.” The recipes start with “humble” ingredients like pasta or chickpeas, lending themselves to easy, comforting, everyday cooking. Bread is on every table and on every street corner: “Bread is not just something to eat or something to help scoop up other food to eat. For Palestinians, it’s a way of life.” There are also short essays introducing Palestinian food producers – from a women’s dairy cooperative to tahini and olive oil producers. The authors steer clear of making strong political statements, but they come through all the same when you learn how hard it is to fish off Gaza or about life in a refugee camp. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XqA_ytcuitvO0UAuww29zJvuTnuCkr3rqj5Dj8bAGI4mVHKdFB7mZ6yE3A4T8jdzHIQghK7KMdnTM408CHL0sR-3nrzvlQA12YrVe8PgtH4AsRvyum9jSsgtWFgbprodP6LOuFUns1s/s2048/Falastin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XqA_ytcuitvO0UAuww29zJvuTnuCkr3rqj5Dj8bAGI4mVHKdFB7mZ6yE3A4T8jdzHIQghK7KMdnTM408CHL0sR-3nrzvlQA12YrVe8PgtH4AsRvyum9jSsgtWFgbprodP6LOuFUns1s/w290-h400/Falastin.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chaat, Sambal & Combinados </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://live-taste-cooking.pantheonsite.io/chaat-finally-gets-the-cookbook-it-deserves/" target="_blank">Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India</a> by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy: In India, trains stop at each and every station and local food vendors come on board offering their wares. The cookbook takes readers on a journey throughout India sampling street food. “Chaats are a combination of different flavors and textures. So there is always that sweet, tart, spicy, cooling, and creamy, crunchy, slightly mushy, which you get from potatoes. It’s like each and every taste bud in your mouth gets visited by the chaat, which is such an incredible experience.” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.tastecooking.com/pasta-and-potatoes-the-peruvian-way/" target="_blank">Pasta and Potatoes, the Peruvian Way</a> by Nico Vera: Each of us, depending on our cultural background, defines comfort food differently. For Vera, the ultimate comfort food is pasta with red sauce alongside cheesy potatoes, summing up Peru’s Italian and Andean roots in one plate. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/27/950015805/recreating-indonesian-home-cooking-with-coconut-and-sambal" target="_blank">Coconut and Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen</a> by Lara Lee: “Lee is part Chinese Indonesian and part Australian. She grew up in Sydney, eating food made by her Indonesian grandmother, whom she called Popo. . . . ‘Back then I was too young to learn her recipes,’ she writes. ‘But the flavors of Popo's food left an impression that stayed with me long after she moved back to Timor and later passed away.’"
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>PS</b> The photo gives you a glimpse of my cultural heritage - born of British parents, I spent the first 6 years of my life in East Africa (Arusha, Mt. Meru in the distance - Penny, Pauline, and probably Paul, a neighbour)</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-55233298075147111302021-01-25T08:41:00.000-06:002021-01-25T08:41:27.434-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, January 25, 2021<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBbso1YtVdhp2zBx33g8OlN-jVjmY-8EL4GvF6oubGfw7KBzDNquxOdZhp7M1JmLNLpNjZpFOUv97w-Hdg_E2lf5YtHQ2Rp05IRohLS1DZJU0tX0sY0FcNfJ2kBYwS6jUdyXrEhmjAsA/s2048/IMG_6125+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBbso1YtVdhp2zBx33g8OlN-jVjmY-8EL4GvF6oubGfw7KBzDNquxOdZhp7M1JmLNLpNjZpFOUv97w-Hdg_E2lf5YtHQ2Rp05IRohLS1DZJU0tX0sY0FcNfJ2kBYwS6jUdyXrEhmjAsA/w400-h300/IMG_6125+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />“Many people say they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it.”</i> – Richard Adams </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was so sorry to hear that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/chef-jenni-lessard-covid-19-coronavirus-taste-smell-1.5882264" target="_blank">Chef Jenni</a> had lost her sense of taste and smell due to Covid – I do hope it’s only temporary. Nic Miller, <i>Tales from Topographic Kitchens</i>, talks about <a href="https://topographickitchens.substack.com/p/sniff" target="_blank">the importance of taste and smell</a>, moving beyond the realm of food to encompass, memory, imagination, and beauty. She provides a list of additional resources on the importance of taste and smell and what is often discounted until it is lost. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Order a 3-course Valentine’s Day dinner from Trent at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scratchprovisions/photos/a.343600592937332/759416064689114/" target="_blank">Scratch Provisions</a>. Proceeds will support programming for student parents at Nutana Collegiate. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://secondharvest.ca/who-we-are/" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a> is Canada’s largest food rescue organization. <a href="https://spsfoundation.ca/the-foundation/news-events/spsf-partners-with-second-harvests-food-rescue-program" target="_blank">In Saskatoon</a>, they’ve partnered with the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation to distribute food to families in need. You can support their efforts by encouraging local food businesses to contribute their surplus food to Second Harvest. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a little cool outside - why not shop at the <a href="https://www.saskatoonfarmersmarket.com/" target="_blank">Virtual Farmers' Market</a> and have your order delivered to your door?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://9milelegacy.com/" target="_blank">9 Mile Legacy Brewing</a> now has a newsletter. Sign up for the latest beer and entertainment news from a company that has approached the pandemic with both care and flair. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here’s an <a href="https://silverskate.square.site/" target="_blank">interesting fundraising idea</a> out of Edmonton – a bag of local treats: “We have curated 4 sizes of Celebrate Edmonton surprise gift bags filled with all new locally made products. . . . Show Edmonton some love, support local and let someone know they deserve the best that Edmonton has to offer.” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eaMi9mYxGEImn5dINdzUYIETg4uCWzQlhbFN5BaHo8gBaeUW6jTCWv7lB4_ffpS0a5_1qnFF-LkCzM9ghCrG6y67zcW_kuwwAq25rfC0Hfo8-5vCrsbyA7hh6mxhpcWxKrwC7lBUpfk/s2048/IMG_2800+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1753" data-original-width="2048" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eaMi9mYxGEImn5dINdzUYIETg4uCWzQlhbFN5BaHo8gBaeUW6jTCWv7lB4_ffpS0a5_1qnFF-LkCzM9ghCrG6y67zcW_kuwwAq25rfC0Hfo8-5vCrsbyA7hh6mxhpcWxKrwC7lBUpfk/w400-h343/IMG_2800+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Pizza x 2 </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">These are tough times for food businesses, so full credit to Sanjay Joshi and his partners for opening a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wowpizza.avenuecnorth" target="_blank">second location of Wow Pizza</a> on February 1 at 2209 Avenue C North. Their first location is on College Drive just off Cumberland Avenue and must have been hard hit when the university went virtual.
<a href="https://wanderlustandwords.blogspot.com/2019/07/wow-this-is-good-pizza.html" target="_blank">I visited Wow Pizza</a> at Sanjay’s invitation in July 2019 and appreciated the fact that they were offering housemade ingredients and some unexpected flavours (Achari Chicken with East Indian pickles, Butter Paneer, and a Fruity dessert pizza). They’ll be offering personal pizza and a lunch combo at their new location, which will be handy for people working nearby. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Fine Dining </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">ONA, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/19/michelin-awards-star-to-vegan-restaurant-for-the-first-time-in-france" target="_blank">vegan restaurant near Bordeaux</a> in southwest France, has been awarded a Michelin star. This is a first for restaurants serving only animal-free products in France. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sex in Sicily</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Do Italian cannoli remind you of something (hint, genitalia)? If so, you won’t be surprised to learn that <a href="http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210113-the-erotic-origins-of-italys-most-famous-sweet" target="_blank">erotic pastries have a long history</a>. For example, “the Minne Di Sant'Agata or Minni di Virgini (a ricotta-filled half sphere topped with white icing and a candied cherry) was made to look like a breast in honour of St Agatha, a Roman-era martyr whose breasts were cut off for refusing the advances of a man,” while during Carnival Sicilian men give women tube-shaped cannoli to hint at their sexual desires. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Politics of Food </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Marcus Rashford has been doing an outstanding job at fighting child poverty in the UK. He speaks from the heart, having experienced hunger as a child and benefitted from community acts of kindness. “My story to get here is all too familiar: my mum worked full-time, earning minimum wage to make sure we always had a good evening meal on the table. But it was not enough. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jan/17/marcus-rashford-the-making-of-a-food-superhero-child-hunger-free-school-meals" target="_blank">The system was not built for families like mine to succeed, regardless of how hard my mum worked.</a> As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals… food banks and soup kitchens were not alien to us; I recall very clearly our visits to Northern Moor to collect our Christmas dinners every year.” We live in a very individualistic society where we expect people to make it on their own, but that’s not always possible. As Rashford says, “<a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2020/october/it-s-political" target="_blank">We must stop stigmatising, judging and pointing fingers.</a> Our views are being clouded by political affiliation. This is not politics, this is humanity.” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lisa Elaine Held, in <i>Peeled</i>, her online newsletter, questions whether an American company selling “wellness” food to affluent eaters could <a href="https://peeled.substack.com/p/fonio" target="_blank">benefit family farms in Africa</a>. Happily, the answer appears to be yes - by showcasing traditional, climate-friendly crops, working with small-scale farmers, and keeping processing in Africa. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/ " target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-24352289262409453392021-01-18T08:43:00.001-06:002021-01-18T08:43:55.486-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, January 18, 2021<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bPd7gUXPS774YLVseLcdZGCNozzkbU-4MdcThWnWN-IMupwxVgC43Iwg4aCs-WjwIqSmjphGJowXDGz-qaPE6NInbylz0LFwsQQ2ZpYXaSe6NAshTq3THrgVfdytgMRDTA4kL8nBVrA/s2048/P1010042+edit+tarragona.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bPd7gUXPS774YLVseLcdZGCNozzkbU-4MdcThWnWN-IMupwxVgC43Iwg4aCs-WjwIqSmjphGJowXDGz-qaPE6NInbylz0LFwsQQ2ZpYXaSe6NAshTq3THrgVfdytgMRDTA4kL8nBVrA/w400-h300/P1010042+edit+tarragona.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />“It may be that you yourself are not luminous, but you are a conductor of light”</i> – Arthur Conan Coyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles </span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News </span></b></div><div>CHEP’s annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser has gone takeaway and virtual! Each participant will receive a pottery bowl, locally prepared soup, artisan bread, and dessert to eat while enjoying an online program. Ticket price is $100 for a meal for two persons. A $50 tax receipt will be issued with each ticket purchase. </div><div><br /></div><div>Both Dad’s Organic Grocery and Safeway are selling locally grown organic flour from <a href="https://www.oneorganicfarm.com" target="_blank">One Organic Farm</a> in Waldron, SK. At 40,000 acres, it’s the largest organic farm in Canada. One dollar from every product they sell goes to Charity: Water to support sustainable water projects. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thenightoven" target="_blank">The Night Oven Bakery</a> has an ever-shifting spectrum of macaron flavours. This month it’s citrus time with Grapefruit Crème Brûlée, Orange Rosemary, Lemon Meringue, Key Lime Pie, and Pear Crumble. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday night is lasagna night at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hearth306 " target="_blank">Hearth Restaurant</a> – eat in or take out. Every week it’s a different flavour. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve Been Shopping</span></b> </div><div>Yikes! I’ve become an online shopper during Covid, but I’m still buying from Canadian companies (and not a single purchase from Amazon). </div><div><br /></div><div>I’m always running out of tea. I usually buy from <a href="https://camellia-sinensis.com" target="_blank">Camellia Sinensis</a> in Montreal, but I’ve recently tried teas from <a href="https://westholmetea.com" target="_blank">Westholme Tea Company</a> and decided to try a few more of their offerings. Westholme Tea is situated on Vancouver Island and is the first and only commercial organic tea grower in Canada. They import teas from other countries, but I’m looking forward to trying some of their BC-grown teas (both black and herbal). </div><div><br /></div><div>I made a spicy orange chili stir fry for lunch today with dried orange peel, a sea salt and kelp blend, and smoked chili flakes from <a href="https://gatheringplacetrading.com/" target="_blank">Gathering Place Trading</a> on Cortes Island. This is a family business selling organic, fair trade products sourced directly from farmers (including Saskatchewan’s own Marc Loiselle). Be sure to order the dried pineapple – yum! </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcf7qD9dDRiz6Xs054v7ee4MWfvfwuTkNhqAWlaiugpuHLg3j4Ll7ls5YZHWBTWUCVVOtc7x1yuHve_x9cZ1sX8zj9hoBvlrGltWnll_56l3agOK15EZwHRCKq274GnKx53EwpwPxMAs/s2009/P1010130+tarragona+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2009" data-original-width="1294" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcf7qD9dDRiz6Xs054v7ee4MWfvfwuTkNhqAWlaiugpuHLg3j4Ll7ls5YZHWBTWUCVVOtc7x1yuHve_x9cZ1sX8zj9hoBvlrGltWnll_56l3agOK15EZwHRCKq274GnKx53EwpwPxMAs/w258-h400/P1010130+tarragona+edit.JPG" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Food for Thought</b></span> </div>“Ever wondered how avocados became ubiquitous? Two decades of preparatory work by the London PR agency Richmond & Towers helped.” However, it was baristas who made Oatly cool. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/17/what-will-be-eating-in-2021-and-how-do-food-trends-happen-kimchi-teff-lao-gan-ma" target="_blank">If you’ve ever wondered how food trends happen</a>, this article will answer some of your questions – and give you an idea of what trends you may want to follow in 2021.<div><br /><div>“Some of the most significant stories today are about food. But you won’t find them in the food section, where <a href="https://www.cjr.org/from_the_archives/food-writing-cookbook.php" target="_blank">journalism has been supplanted by fantasy</a>. . . . Food writers have always walked the dangerous lines between journalism, art, and their role as handmaiden to advertising. But we have not wobbled quite so regularly in nearly a half century as we do today.” This article was published in 2003; it is no less relevant today when food writers are still profiling male celebrity chefs, Michelin star restaurants, and working in hand in hand with PR firms and multinational companies. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reading Time</span></b> </div><div>Food Tank is recommending <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2021/01/food-tanks-winter-book-list" target="_blank">24 books about food for winter reading</a>. I think it could be risky for me to read <i>Dreaming in Spice: A Sinfully Vegetarian Odyssey</i> by Hari Pulapaka as my cupboards are already overflowing with spices, but I’m definitely interested. I’d also like to read <i>From Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food is Grown</i> by Amy Wu and <i>Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools and Other Institutions</i> by Joshna Muharaj. Or you can read Canadian with <i>Finding our Niche: A Restorative Human Ecolog</i>y by Philip Loring. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Thank you, Shelley, for all your flavourful recommendations this week!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;">If you enjoyed this issue of <b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b>, please share it. Thank you!</span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-85663763269990386642021-01-11T09:21:00.000-06:002021-01-11T09:21:04.061-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, January 11, 2021<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgfkfWeYRFPBL8h70BOrZWw6bqamLKKCsQApRgzGqIUdKAWBNfQE8ZA3O3P_2WHXZEKfYIuL3M0JQSYeKPi_JRUYo9dXtUsfrRrLsyb4juYAADmH0ulm6Vzvuxp9kadpZHJ6t9Gge8yw/s2048/IMG_1775+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1491" data-original-width="2048" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgfkfWeYRFPBL8h70BOrZWw6bqamLKKCsQApRgzGqIUdKAWBNfQE8ZA3O3P_2WHXZEKfYIuL3M0JQSYeKPi_JRUYo9dXtUsfrRrLsyb4juYAADmH0ulm6Vzvuxp9kadpZHJ6t9Gge8yw/w400-h291/IMG_1775+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div>In the Kitchen </div><div>The <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-peanut-butter-180976525/" target="_blank">Incas were the first grind peanuts</a>, but John Harvey Kellogg was the first to obtain a patent for peanut butter in 1895. Kellogg promoted peanut butter as a “healthy alternative to meat, which he saw as a digestive irritant and, worse, a sinful sexual stimulant.” In present-day North America, peanut butter is ubiquitous and has even been used to test for asymptomatic Covid in testing for a severe loss of smell. </div><div><br /></div><div>From tech-savvy grocery shopping to hard kombucha – Dan Clapson, Eat North, looks at <a href="https://eatnorth.com/dan-clapson/interesting-food-and-drink-trends-expect-throughout-2021" target="_blank">food trends for 2021</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Food for Thought </span></b></div><div>The French spend 2 hours and 11 minutes eating each day. Italy, Greece, and Spain aren’t far behind at 2h05m, 2h04m, and 2h02m respectively. <a href="https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/articles/we-still-need-alternatives-to-supermarkets-perhaps-now-more-than-ever" target="_blank">Canada (1h04m) and the United States (1h01m) are at the very bottom of the list</a>. The positions are reversed when you consider obesity – Americans are in 16th position, while the French are 107th (<a href="http://www.oecd.org/gender/balancing-paid-work-unpaid-work-and-leisure.htm" target="_blank">OECD</a>). </div><div><br /></div><div>“Customer entitlement, or what customers believe they are owed, has long been an issue in the hospitality industry. <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/fwpro/customer-is-not-always-right" target="_blank">Restaurant workers swap stories like war veterans about ridiculous demands, difficult customers, and bad tippers.</a> But the pandemic, and the terrible customer behavior that has come with it—impatience regarding wait times, name-calling, frustration over limited seating and menu options, and disregard for safety protocols—has only served to highlight how pervasive and, frankly, dangerous the problem really is.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Just for Fun </span></b></div><div><a href="https://www.eater.com/2016/4/6/11379472/viennetta-how-its-made " target="_blank">Sway to the music</a> as you watch ice cream cakes built up layer by layer and circling round a factory on a conveyor belt. This short video is for those of you old enough to remember when Viennetta ice cream cakes were the height of luxury. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you’re keen on birds, you may enjoy my review of <a href="https://www.ecofriendlysask.ca/2021/01/the-bird-way-new-look-at-how-birds-talk.html " target="_blank">The Bird Way: A New Way to Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent and Think</a> by Jennifer Ackerman. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #3d85c6;">You can follow <i><b>Wanderlust and Words</b></i> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-47373805787250744702021-01-06T10:43:00.003-06:002021-01-06T15:01:29.770-06:00Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFuNDOdsgHZCkz9OV2YMOp_Ld0OhlUteCfbz2iOsFA0ZXxQxrNz9SfRnmmmZXHzg4Uy39clLt5GTj3P2LiVkAlUT1auMyWonw-fH0FpmMpePqQ9yocKTNkYyPbBLQEDnZOpZhyphenhyphenQ6hRQw/s500/feeding+the+people.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="353" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKFuNDOdsgHZCkz9OV2YMOp_Ld0OhlUteCfbz2iOsFA0ZXxQxrNz9SfRnmmmZXHzg4Uy39clLt5GTj3P2LiVkAlUT1auMyWonw-fH0FpmMpePqQ9yocKTNkYyPbBLQEDnZOpZhyphenhyphenQ6hRQw/w283-h400/feeding+the+people.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“The potato’s dual status as a tool of the modern state and as an emblem of the historical agency of ordinary people” </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1108484069/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1108484069&linkId=302e7db2a016ac114919a6baa38aa392" target="_blank">Feeding the People: The Politics of the Potato</a> by Rebecca Earle presents an overview of the history of the potato. But it does far more than that. Earle's analysis of the role politicians and economists play in directing our dietary choices applies today and to all our food options, not just the potato. It’s a complicated topic. On the one hand, we don’t like government telling us what to eat. There was outrage when the mayor of New York tried to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/03/11/the-new-york-city-soda-ban-explained/" target="_blank">ban the sale of extra-large soft drinks</a>. On the other hand, we do want government to make sure our food is safe to eat (checking for and <a href="https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/index-eng.php?cat=1" target="_blank">recalling products contaminated by listeria</a>, for example). The interplay between politics, economics, and diet becomes even more complicated when examined from a historical perspective. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“Potatoes . . . are something like Spanish truffles, aside from being a bit bigger and not as tasty.” Vicente de Valverde, 1539 </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Potatoes have not always been a food staple, ever-present in homes around the world. Up until the sixteenth century, only a small population living along the Andes grew and ate potatoes. This would change once European explorers returned from their South American travels. Credit has historically been given to governments and scientists for promoting potatoes to reluctant peasants who were unwilling to try something new, particularly as potatoes belong to the same plant family as deadly nightshade and poisonous henbane. But Earle’s research demonstrates little historical basis for these claims. In fact, potatoes spread relatively quickly to all parts of Europe, including small, remote communities. Herbals, health manuals, and cookbooks all indicate that local people were growing and eating potatoes and were in fact responsible for adapting the potato to the local climate, which was significantly different from that of the Andes, from a very early date. “As one 1651 cookbook from the Saxon city of Braunschweig noted, ‘earth-artichokes or roots . . . have become so common that practically every farmer grows them in his garden’.” </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It’s not surprising that peasant farmers and labourers rapidly adopted the potato. They were high in protein, (“while a hectare of land sown with wheat may yield enough protein to feed seven people over the course of a year, a hectare of potatoes will nourish seventeen”), could be planted on a small scale in kitchen gardens, and didn’t need to be harvested at a precise moment. As a result, peasants could evade state taxes and tithing a share of the produce to the local priest. Root crops were also valuable in wartime as invading armies could not see, and therefore steal, the crop. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“What a treasure is a milch cow and a potatoe garden, to a poor man with a large family!” </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">By the 18th century, politicians, priests, and physicans were agreed that potatoes would end poverty and create a healthy population who were fit to serve their country and promote wealth and national sovereignty as healthy workers and strong soldiers. “The Enlightenment’s fascination with the potato reflects the advent not of a new foodstuff or new levels of hunger, but rather of new ideas about the relationship between the health and vigour of the population, and the wealth and power of the state.” Orphanages and poorhouses, along with the army and navy, were encouraged to provide plenty of top-quality food. Working class people should be encouraged to “live ‘cheaper and better’ by making superior choices about what they ate.” Too much meat, white bread, and beer resulted in ill health. Whole grains and root vegetables, particularly potatoes, were not only cheaper but much healthier and would lead to greater happiness. Potato advocates recommended potato bread (6 lbs of potatoes for every 3 of wheat) and soup, although this frugal fare was not always well received (“We will not be fed on meal, and chopped potatoes, like hogs!”). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“The Andean potato had become evidence of European superiority.” </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From Europe, potato-promotion spread around the world. European colonies were encouraged to grow and eat European foodstuffs, which were judged far superior to local products. Imperialism was thus portrayed as an altruistic gesture: “Providence had entrusted Britain with the task of improving Indian agriculture and thereby spreading ‘comfort and happiness’ among the Indian population.” Food continues to play an important role in international relations in order to foster social stability and encourage a transition from subsistence farming to commercial production. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“A scandalous and potentially destabilising alternative to the economic and political forms that the reproduction of capital requires” </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Potatoes were a valuable food source so long as the majority of the population made their living off the land and could grow their own potatoes. But once industrialisation set in, governments and economists changed their tune. Potatoes were now viewed as the root of “slovenliness, filth, misery, and slavery” that would “bring English labourers down to the state of the Irish, whose mode of living, as to food, is but one remove from that of the pig, and of the ill-fed pig too.” Self-reliant farmers and landowners could not be relied on to provide an industrial workforce; potatoes were out of favour. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“Eat potatoes, save the wheat, drive the Kaiser to defeat.”</span></i><span style="color: #45818e;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Potatoes regained their value as a nutritious food staple during wartime. With wheat being shipped overseas to feed soldiers during World War I, Americans were encouraged to eat potatoes. The situation was the same in Europe. “In Germany, the shortage of potatoes, bread, butter and meat reduced public support for the war, and ultimately helped bring down the government, which collapsed in November 1918.” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There was a similar reliance and advocacy surrounding potatoes during World War II. Russians were encouraged to plant potatoes and factories provided workers with allotments. Cookbooks were published in Great Britain encouraging the public to eat more potatoes. Americans were more reluctant to accept the government dictating what they should eat. The Committee on Food Habits affirmed that “choice in food is one sign of being an adult in America.” When rationing was expanded in 1943, it “was accompanied by a media blitz aimed at convincing housewives that the measure provided an opportunity to demonstrate patriotism, rather than constituting a government intrusion into private life.” </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">“Let me be your sweetie”</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The archival recipes and illustrations in <i>Feeding the People</i> are an enjoyable addition to the text. They range from a 17-century drawing of an Andean potato harvest to Potato Pete, a recipe book hero encouraging British housewives to eat more potatoes during World War II (“Let me be your sweetie, he implored housewives on the page offering recipes for puddings.”). Some of the recipes, including cheap potato soup for soldiers and workhouse residents, are pretty dire. Others are more intriguing. There’s Persian Rice with a Potato Crust, an untraditional version of a classic Iranian dish, and Sichuan Stir-Fried Potato Slivers (Did you know that more potatoes are grown and eaten in China than anywhere else in the world?). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was sent a free copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1108484069/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1108484069&linkId=302e7db2a016ac114919a6baa38aa392" target="_blank">Feeding the People</a> by the publisher, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/" target="_blank">Cambridge University Press</a>. Send me an email if you are interested in reading it and I’ll be happy to pass it along.
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wanderlustandwords.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html" target="_blank">Book Reviews</a></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-51118544858083504682021-01-04T09:15:00.000-06:002021-01-04T09:15:45.483-06:00Flavourful Saskatoon, January 4, 2021<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2AwItCL9PmJof2cW2b3J0ClkX4YcOJHWduk6ohqbPTbDBprwEm6J5Fs3sYPzk8NvImK3gmHbrI8xvfhvf6mWLxv9IJ0zMmZNksCqZS1AcXn4iPXAtwuCy5zy4AZtIduJHcnZob6RF-8/s1823/IMG_2202+edit.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1823" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2AwItCL9PmJof2cW2b3J0ClkX4YcOJHWduk6ohqbPTbDBprwEm6J5Fs3sYPzk8NvImK3gmHbrI8xvfhvf6mWLxv9IJ0zMmZNksCqZS1AcXn4iPXAtwuCy5zy4AZtIduJHcnZob6RF-8/w400-h266/IMG_2202+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come whispering ‘It will be happier’.”</i> (Alfred Lord Tennyson) </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Local News</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I’m really enjoying the Swedish baked goods from Seven Tastes (virtual <a href="https://www.saskatoonfarmersmarket.com/ " target="_blank">Saskatoon Farmers’ Market</a>, formerly Frangipani Foods). The cardamom buns are fresh, soft, and have so much yummy cardamom flavour, while the tosca buns are topped with syrupy clusters of almond, hazelnut, and honey. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Doug Reichel Wine Marketing is offering <a href="https://public.dougswines.com/guided-tastings" target="_blank">guided wine tastings</a>. There are two available on his website incorporating conversations with the winemakers. You can also request your own. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Angela Senenko, a sommelier at the Eighth St. Co-op liquor store, has provided a list of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/made-winter-craft-beer-1.5854415" target="_blank">8 winter-friendly beers from across Saskatchewan</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href=" https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-based-company-brings-oat-milk-production-to-sask-1.5860117" target="_blank">Oat milk grown, produced, and packaged in Saskatchewan</a> will be on Co-op grocery store shelves by the summer. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Wild About Saskatoon is hosting an online conversation around<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-land-feeds-us-indigenous-food-sovereignty-and-prairie-cities-tickets-134679996495" target="_blank"> Indigenous food sovereignty and prairie cities</a> from <b>7-8 pm</b>, <b>Jan. 20</b>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">In the Kitchen</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I was intrigued to learn that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/02/theres-no-need-to-peel-ginger-sushi-recipe-waste-not-tom-hunt" target="_blank">you don’t need to peel ginger</a> – just rub the skin off or leave it on. The skin is paper-thin and will melt away when cooked. There’s also a recipe for making your own sushi ginger that is so simple that I may use it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/dec/22/frying-pan-pizza-and-frozen-grapes-guardian-readers-best-kitchen-tips-from-lockdown" target="_blank">some more handy tips</a>: poppadoms puff up nicely in the microwave, spicy oven-roasted chickpeas make a great snack, and you can marinate and fry banana peel to make fake bacon (who knew!) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6huxMIPGeR7f5INZw8vL8oDkhpAUJ7h2GmrSFXPoy6ru-MCxzYi-fAfnWQJ34L5zbgHM1KaBn-2JydGpeV8KUXmkn98KjYjRmqnQgvevXrJSrgeRcxYk7tGvhya7aaJi4io8Z4QxH7uI/s1893/cordoba4+066edit2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1893" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6huxMIPGeR7f5INZw8vL8oDkhpAUJ7h2GmrSFXPoy6ru-MCxzYi-fAfnWQJ34L5zbgHM1KaBn-2JydGpeV8KUXmkn98KjYjRmqnQgvevXrJSrgeRcxYk7tGvhya7aaJi4io8Z4QxH7uI/w325-h400/cordoba4+066edit2.JPG" width="325" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Virtual Travel </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">They’ve unearthed a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/26/exceptionally-well-preserved-snack-bar-unearthed-in-pompeii" target="_blank">snack bar in Pompeii</a> with frescoes and the remains of food in cooking pots. They’d used crushed fava beans to flavour the wine. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wanderlustandwords.blogspot.com/2021/01/its-january-time-for-tiles-mosaics-and.html " target="_blank">I’m off to Portugal in January</a> to explore their history and azulejos (ceramic tiles) with a side helping of mosaics. Why not join me? Virtual travel is free! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><b><i>Flavourful Saskatoon</i></b> is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy <a href="http://ecofriendlysask.ca/" target="_blank">EcoFriendly Sask</a> profiling Saskatchewan nature/environmental initiatives and events. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;">You can follow <b><i>Wanderlust and Words</i></b> on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WanderlustandWords" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/PennyMcKinlay " target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by email (top centre).
</span></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4548876612883438064.post-52147544167008216812021-01-01T12:26:00.000-06:002021-01-01T12:26:10.369-06:00It's January! Time for Tiles, Mosaics, and Portugal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXxTZ5WZpj3cdoRYV_mcPfELfNy_e-Hrl9vmYyebgPVaphIDjXjKe87E6ekNhmyZJTPAOvtGQJTM_BWxgXpPVkNnT78dVbPG3XOIv5YCdbauOiqtpy-aADoaWCq-4ykZAl_9mQ_odcC8/s2048/cordoba4+041+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXxTZ5WZpj3cdoRYV_mcPfELfNy_e-Hrl9vmYyebgPVaphIDjXjKe87E6ekNhmyZJTPAOvtGQJTM_BWxgXpPVkNnT78dVbPG3XOIv5YCdbauOiqtpy-aADoaWCq-4ykZAl_9mQ_odcC8/w400-h300/cordoba4+041+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />2021 – a new year that will hopefully include new travel opportunities. In the meantime, I’ll be combatting the cold and ice of January in Saskatchewan with an exploration of Portugal’s history and azulejos and a side serving of mosaics. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj22nsaGzzu8R3__FYQHAjP0sr_-qKpui1gV8pjXwOvR6c5a8xCK1Knr8pQ3R8cJmaPVAw6r7k0gzd520pucWjgpwdYivFu-g3PMdJ8XPktz_Hurqi4XN7y8dVjO_pemijYHbkuKVWrJE/s1893/cordoba4+066edit2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1893" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj22nsaGzzu8R3__FYQHAjP0sr_-qKpui1gV8pjXwOvR6c5a8xCK1Knr8pQ3R8cJmaPVAw6r7k0gzd520pucWjgpwdYivFu-g3PMdJ8XPktz_Hurqi4XN7y8dVjO_pemijYHbkuKVWrJE/w325-h400/cordoba4+066edit2.JPG" width="325" /></a></div><br /><div>I visited Spain in 2009 and 2011 and was blown away by the ceramic tiles – from Valencia’s <a href="http://wanderlustandwords.blogspot.com/2011/05/travelling-in-style-train-travel-in.html" target="_blank">Estació del Nord</a>, to the alcazares in <a href="https://www.dosde.com/discover/en/the-royal-alcazar-of-seville/" target="_blank">Sevilla</a> and <a href="https://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/alcazar.htm" target="_blank">Cordoba</a>, to <a href="https://www.casabatllo.es/en/virtual-tour/" target="_blank">Gaudí</a>’s fantastical architecture. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmvBgD5zwIRI7UW6Isf1TYBJ_s1zL83im59QeJQNDQr9x36v2VHcUbuoB6YYToqdiT1K1hdLnloXtljg4yY9qduinfJ9QFAFm2dGKLtJ-j1NXnSMGRWth65FVpQ3d0ncxXs_PTSt435w/s2048/P1010099+barca+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmvBgD5zwIRI7UW6Isf1TYBJ_s1zL83im59QeJQNDQr9x36v2VHcUbuoB6YYToqdiT1K1hdLnloXtljg4yY9qduinfJ9QFAFm2dGKLtJ-j1NXnSMGRWth65FVpQ3d0ncxXs_PTSt435w/w300-h400/P1010099+barca+edit.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div>It made me all the more eager to visit Portugal where the azulejos (ceramic tiles) have gained a world-wide reputation. Portugal’s <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/europe/portugal/articles/a-brief-history-of-portugals-beautiful-azulejo-tiles" target="_blank">azulejos</a> date back to the 13th century. They can now be found throughout Portugal, both indoors and outdoors, in private homes and public buildings. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuD68ScECax7OP7sEQR7vrJeprUM_0hPdUrZMt3Z0bZ9Y_UumqftCo6i9FxbkYawySH1-HCwnBZsG_jqT-iKAwPsfv2LZxmjw5sRqbZd7amSpVzoHt34Eegl07HU72Hz9_Km2m6Ey3WQ/s2048/cordoba4+031+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuD68ScECax7OP7sEQR7vrJeprUM_0hPdUrZMt3Z0bZ9Y_UumqftCo6i9FxbkYawySH1-HCwnBZsG_jqT-iKAwPsfv2LZxmjw5sRqbZd7amSpVzoHt34Eegl07HU72Hz9_Km2m6Ey3WQ/w400-h300/cordoba4+031+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>On my trips to Spain, I saw a number of really lovely Roman mosaics. The <a href="https://visitasevilla.es/en/museum-fine-arts-and-other-places/museum-palace-lebrija-countess" target="_blank">Palacio Lebrija</a> in Sevilla had a large collection paving most of the main floor. Archaeologists have recently uncovered a large <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/10/stunning-dark-ages-mosaic-found-at-roman-villa-in-cotswolds" target="_blank">5th century mosaic floor</a> in the Cotswolds, which puts paid to the theory that Britain descended into the dark ages immediately following the Roman departure. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9YywV4a3OLMVvDpxuZ_3-DuTAmtwJ1QJET13dmPr7C2USUlWGUaLX_JJFQVtqXvUKwWntIbOgXylcaq9ofj1T1qSpmhNOCc8JhaQEAxoMNP8QdngYY8rH6wEO1ndHbjRN4YJAQv_mHo/s2048/cordoba4+013+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9YywV4a3OLMVvDpxuZ_3-DuTAmtwJ1QJET13dmPr7C2USUlWGUaLX_JJFQVtqXvUKwWntIbOgXylcaq9ofj1T1qSpmhNOCc8JhaQEAxoMNP8QdngYY8rH6wEO1ndHbjRN4YJAQv_mHo/w400-h300/cordoba4+013+edit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Discovery</span></b></div><div>I want to expand my knowledge of tiles and mosaics so I’m planning to read a number of library books exploring their history, both past and present. I’m also planning to read books about the history of Lisbon, particularly during World War II when it served as a major gateway to freedom (and spy central). I hope to take a virtual tour of some Portuguese buildings and I will be sure to drink a bottle of Portuguese wine. I could try my hand at making a mosaic, but I suspect that won’t happen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Do you have any other recommendations? </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxCC4k4xuNTVdzyXx2MO6M4afr-RdaSlG33SzvLWzqVUaidIjU5CcZQIstdp0Dng905FkGW3pwcOwr4-Ns2zydHAqg1hXBjcFRVp8Lss_ZKf21X1-S2l7WwWl1JpHE03Y7TdH0wYrN_o/s2048/tiles+and+mosaics+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1590" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxCC4k4xuNTVdzyXx2MO6M4afr-RdaSlG33SzvLWzqVUaidIjU5CcZQIstdp0Dng905FkGW3pwcOwr4-Ns2zydHAqg1hXBjcFRVp8Lss_ZKf21X1-S2l7WwWl1JpHE03Y7TdH0wYrN_o/w310-h400/tiles+and+mosaics+edit.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">To Read</span></b> </div><div><a href="https://my.saskatoonlibrary.ca/sm/search/item/76764" target="_blank">Portuguese Decorative Tiles: Azulejos</a>, Rioletta Sabo </div><div>Greek & Roman Mosaics </div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0764340018/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0764340018&linkId=422353546f766245996c224ca3a9bffe" target="_blank">Mosaic Art Today</a>
<br /><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004MPRDO0/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B004MPRDO0&linkId=88fd2146b8d4df0ddf9ffb6d3a8c154c" target="_blank">The Lisbon Route</a>, Ronald Weber </div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1849049971/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1849049971&linkId=0d0ad9476fb57906bc0e93a349f0d872" target="_blank">Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon</a>, Barry Hatton </div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0345809432/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0345809432&linkId=18be07a2f1ad2de88e532205c5ce3680" target="_blank">High Mountains of Portugal</a>, Yann Martel </div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00HK3F5QY/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wandeandwords-20&creative=330641&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00HK3F5QY&linkId=27a09a3001db86bb6854e260d1024896" target="_blank">Skylight</a>, José Saramago
</div></div>Penny McKinlayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620842396202483336noreply@blogger.com0