Wanderlust and Words

Local News  The Food Centre is hosting a free teleconference on finding your place in the marketplace by knowing your product and your customer from 1-2:30 pm , Apr. 14 . Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables on a month-by-month basis. The May box is expected to include spinach, radishes, green onions, Hakurei turnips, beet greens, beets, and pea shoots. Selection will vary from week to week and may be affected by weather. Almost half the delivery boxes are already spoken for, so put in your order now . The Night Oven Bakery has hot cross buns on their online order form . Plus flour, coffee, pains au chocolat, croissants – yum! My sister in law and I ordered takeout from Chef de Partie Catering this past week. We can highly recommend the lentil terrine served on a bed of sweet potato mash, the kale slaw (lots of red and green pepper slices for crunch and dried cranberries for sweetness), the dill pickle pasta salad, the m...

Local Happenings If you’re on Broadway, stop by Beppi’s Gelato for Italian coffee and cake. While you’re there, check out the expanded range of groceries. Beppi’s winter hours are Tuesdays to Sundays , 9:30 am to 8:30 pm . Derek Hooper, winemaker and co-owner of Australia’s biodynamic Cape Jaffa wines, will lead a tasting at Blairmore Co-op Wine Spirits Beer on Oct. 18 . These are lovely wines and I highly recommend this event. Don’t miss the pop-up weekend lunch options at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market . They’re often international in flavour and always reasonably priced. Food for Thought For all you farmers who are looking forward to at least a few more restful hours over the winter, here’s Food Tank’s fall reading list . There’s everything from history lessons on wars caused by food shortages and the history of meals in Christianity to school lunches, a New Orleans cookbook, and wild apples/real cider. Grin! “What I have been doing lately, in a fit of lazine...

What do you do if you’re ready for a career change? If you’re Paola Chiste, who grew up in an Italian family and has a passion for all things Italian, you start making and selling gelato. Beppi’s Gelato opened on May 28, 2019, just off Broadway, and is already a go-to destination. The store is named after Paola’s grandfather. “He was wonderful,” Paola says, “placid, kind, wise despite a lack of education, a hard worker, and he loved sweets.” What is Gelato?  Gelato is served at a warmer temperature (12°) than ice cream. Whereas ice cream relies on sugar to bring out the flavour, that’s not necessary with gelato as the flavours are stronger at a higher temperature. It’s also more malleable, so it’s served with a spatula. The ingredients tend to be more natural in gelato, and it’s much denser than ice cream. Cheap ice cream will contain as much air as ice cream, whereas there is only 18-20% air in gelato. Gelato cones are long and narrow. Flavours  One of P...

Learn and Play Café  Two young women are opening a kid-friendly café at 441-34th Street East.  Learn and Play Café  will have food both adults and kids will enjoy, organized activities three times a day, and classes, such as yoga and painting, that parents can enjoy alongside their kids. It sounds like fun. Prairie Sun Moves to Broadway  Prairie Sun Brewery hopes to move a microbrewery and restaurant onto the former site of the Farnham Block by this winter. Tsampa  You don’t have to head to India to eat tsampa. Daybreak Mill sells traditional tsampa made from their own barley that that is sprouted, roasted, and blended with rolled barley flakes and just a touch of Himalayan Sea Salt. The Dalai Lama starts his day with tsampa mixed with tea and butter made from yak’s milk (cow’s milk butter can be substituted if you don’t have a handy neighbourhood yak). Piece a’ Pizza  Una Pizza & Wine was packed last Monday evening. I enjoyed the pizza...

Christmas Night Market, Dec. 7  Get a head start on your Christmas shopping while listening to the music and enjoying samples from the kitchen by Chef Jenni on Dec. 7 at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Christmas Night Market . Family Games Night @Nosh, Dec. 8  Nosh Eatery & Tap will be hosting an evening of family and friends board games from 5-8 pm on Dec. 8, Broadway’s annual late-night shop event. Specials will include kids’ meals for $6 and hot chocolate and apple cider for $2. Garlic x 3 Meadowlark Farm will be selling sliced, minced, and powdered slow-dried garlic products  using organically grown heirloom garlic from their garden. Gluten-Free Tourtière The Griffin Takeaway will be offering a number of holiday season specials , including frozen gluten-free tourtière to take home and bake. Pea Pops If you like snacking on Three Farmers’ Roasted Chickpeas, try their Pea Pops – roasted green peas flavoured with ranch, dill pickle, or sriracha . Rutabaga ...

Newport's butcher shop - excellent fresh fruit and vegetables The Changing Politics of Organic Food, Feb. 11   Lisa Clark, author of The Changing Politics of Organic Food in North America , will be speaking at Innovation Place from 3-5 pm , Feb. 11. Raw Chocolate Workshop, Feb. 13  Intuitive Path Superfoods is hosting a raw chocolate workshop including raw chocolate body painting (!) from 2:30-4:30 pm , Feb. 13. Cooking on a Budget, Feb. 16 (Swift Current)  Sarah Galvin is offering a free Cooking on a Budget class at 5:30 pm , Feb. 16, in Swift Current. Email sgalvin@shaw.ca to register. Flavour 101, Mar. 8 (Swift Current)  Sarah Galvin will share her knowledge of how to add flavour to your food at 6:30 pm , Mar. 8, in Swift Current. Sarah says herbs and spices are just one way to add flavour. Your choice of fat, stock, and vegetables also makes a difference. Student Iron Chef Competition  Working in teams of four, with help from a Mar...

Wow! What a transformation. It’s been a while since I’ve dropped in at El Mercado Las Palapas on Broadway, and I hadn’t realized that it had become a restaurant as well as a store. But it makes sense. After all, the store is owned by the same people who own Las Palapas Restaurant. And the store always sold lots of Mexican food products. The bold, bright colours of the tables and chairs in the window seating area will cheer you up on the even darkest, dreariest day. And so will the food. I had tacos stuffed with Vegetarian Scramble – scrambled eggs  tofu with mushrooms and a variety of other vegetables – prepared on the spot by John. You can add your own salsa, giving you the choice of mild, medium or hot. The tacos are fairly small, so they’d make a great mid-afternoon snack as well as a light lunch. You can also order Tortas on multigrain whole wheat buns or Molletes, open-faced sandwiches topped with broiled cheese. And you can eat in or order take-out. Next time I...

Fresh Veg. & Coffee  Our Farm is selling local, chemical-free veggies Saturdays from 8 am to noon beside St. Joseph’s Parish Hall. They’re joined by Vector Coffee , an espresso bar catering service run by Daryl Grunau, recently voted Best Barista by Planet S Magazine. El Mercado Las Palapas  El Mercado Las Palapas , Broadway Avenue, now has a kitchen and is serving up breakfast tacos, waffled churros, vegetarian scrambler, tortillas, and more. Summer Gardening Program for Kids Ag in the Classroom is hosting a summer garden drop-in program every Friday from 10-12 at the Garden Patch with activities, crafts and games. YXE Beer Fest, Aug. 28-29  Saskatoon’s first outdoor beer festival will be held in Rotary Park, August 28 & 29 – local food trucks, local bands and lots and lots of craft beer. Tickets are now on sale at yxebeerfest.com and at Congress Beer House . Indigenous Agriculture  Wanuskewin has undertaken an indigenous agriculture pro...

Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, May 2  The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market heads back outdoors on Saturday, May 2. Top of the Hops, May 21-23 Top of the Hops is back at Prairieland Park, May 21-23. Ouzopalooza, May 22  Transport yourself to a Greek taverna at the Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation’s fundraising dinner, Ouzopalooza , on May 22. Vegan Pho The Odd Couple Restaurant is now serving Vegan Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup (a.k.a. Vegan pho). I really appreciate all the vegetarian/vegan items on their menu. Saskatoon Seed Library A Saskatoon Seed Library – what an awesome idea! Why not join and start growing and saving seeds to ensure greater local food security? Tomatoes and Milkweed  Monarch butterflies can’t survive without milkweed. Blazing Star Wildflower Seed Company will be setting up at the Street Stall Saturday Market adjacent to the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on May 2 with heirloom tomatoes and peppers as well as wildflowers. They hope to have...