Wanderlust and Words

Local News  The first episode of Jenn Sharp’s Flat Out Food docuseries launches on Feb. 24 on Citytv.  In the Garden  A California teenager has helped install seed libraries in all 50 states .  In the Grocery Store  Alicia Kennedy explains why she only eats natural peanut butter . 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: “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’m a huge fan of beans as a cheap, sustainable source of protein, so I’m delighted to discover Slow Beans , a group of Slow Food bean farmers who are dedicated to safeguarding legumes as an agricultural priority and increasing their consumption....

“Many people say they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it.” – Richard Adams  Local News  I was so sorry to hear that Chef Jenni had lost her sense of taste and smell due to Covid – I do hope it’s only temporary. Nic Miller, Tales from Topographic Kitchens , talks about the importance of taste and smell , 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.  Order a 3-course Valentine’s Day dinner from Trent at Scratch Provisions . Proceeds will support programming for student parents at Nutana Collegiate.  Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization. In Saskatoon , 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 f...

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.  I visited Spain in 2009 and 2011 and was blown away by the ceramic tiles – from Valencia’s Estació del Nord , to the alcazares in Sevilla and Cordoba , to Gaudí ’s fantastical architecture.  It made me all the more eager to visit Portugal where the azulejos (ceramic tiles) have gained a world-wide reputation. Portugal’s azulejos date back to the 13th century. They can now be found throughout Portugal, both indoors and outdoors, in private homes and public buildings.  On my trips to Spain, I saw a number of really lovely Roman mosaics. The Palacio Lebrija in Sevilla had a large collection paving most of the main floor. Archaeologists have recently uncovered a large 5th century mosaic floor in the Cotswolds, which puts paid to the theo...

Wishing you a happy Christmas and many blessings in 2021.  “Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is blue water, soft sand, and warm weather.” (unknown)  “May we rest safely this night, sleep in perfect peace, and rise with the morning light.” (Celtic prayer) A European Advent Calendar, Part IV

Ups and downs. Ferris wheels and merry go rounds! Happy Solstice!  “If there’s one thing I could wish for right now, it would be to have one of those horses from the merry go round – they were the most exciting thing to go on as a kid.” (Deborah Madison)  “And the seasons they go round and round and painted ponies go up and down. We're captive on the carousel of time. We can't return we can only look behind from where we came. And go round and round and round in the circle game.” (Joni Mitchell)  “What did I tell ya? There’s the whole world at your feet. And who gets to see it but the birds, the stars, and the chimney sweeps.” (Mary Poppins) See Also A European Advent Calendar, Part I A European Advent Calendar, Part II A European Advent Calendar, Part III

We’re on the brink of an adventure, children. Don’t spoil it with questions.” (Mary Poppins Returns)  “Relishing this health, this singleness, I reach myself out along the surface of a crystal . . . how simple this motion, how free of life and death, how like a god’s in his changing!" (The Night Skater, Frederick Morgan)  “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything would it?” (Anne of Green Gables)  “Hello, Rabbit,” he said, “Is that you?” “Let’s pretend it isn’t,” said Rabbit, “And see what happens.” (Winnie the Pooh) See Also A European Advent Calendar, Part I A European Advent Calendar, Part II

“Always on Christmas night there was music. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang.”  (A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas) Is your home ready for Christmas? Bring in a tree, a young Norwegian spruce, bring hyacinths that rooted in the cold. Bring winter jasmine as its buds unfold – bring the Christmas life into this house.” (The Christmas Life, Wendy Cope)  “Bring red and green and gold, bring things that shine, Bring candlesticks and music, food and wine. Bring in your memories of Christmas past. . . . Bring the Christmas life into this house.” (The Christmas Life, Wendy Cope)  See Also A European Advent Calendar, Part I

“ December, in my memory, is white as Lapland, though there were no reindeers. ” (A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas)  This is a strange, often difficult Christmas season for many of us. Over the next month I’ll share some of my European Christmas memories accompanied by quotes that I hope will brighten your day.  First up are the bears!  “There’s a polar bear in our frigidaire – he likes it ‘cause it’s cold in there. He’s slurping the soda, he’s licking the ice. And he lets out a roar if you open the door. And it gives me a scare to know he’s in there – that polary bear in our fridgitydaire.” (Shel Silverstein)  “When you see someone putting on his big boots, you can be pretty sure that an adventure is going to happen.” (Winnie the Pooh)  “I don’t feel very much like Pooh today,” said Pooh. “There, there,” said Piglet. “I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.” (Winnie the Pooh)

I’m not a huge fan of big cities, but I fell for Lyon in a big way. Unlike Paris, it’s easy to orient oneself and move around and it’s not jam-packed with tourists. On top of that, it’s a very attractive city with lots to see and do. The city is located in the centre of France and has been a regional capital since the Roman era. You can visit two amphitheatres and a modern museum packed with Roman mosaics and statues. During the Renaissance, the city hosted large commercial fairs and Italian bankers set up business here. In the 19th century, Lyon was the centre of the silk-weaving industry and traces of this still remain in the Croix Rousse district. The old city is a Unesco World Heritage site and is fascinating to visit as your guide will lead you into and between buildings by various hidden passageways. For meat eaters, there are a host of small restaurants with an excellent reputation and there are 4 Paul Bocuse Brasseries to visit as well. The shoppin...

I am looking forward to being home in Saskatoon next week, but I’m also bracing myself for the culture shock of residential streets wide enough to be highways, parking lots bigger than some English villages, and being compelled to drive because of urban sprawl and lack of good public transit. I’m currently in Lyon, the second largest city in France, and yet it’s easy to get around. I’m staying in a residential neighbourhood just outside the city centre. There’s street after street of high-rise apartment buildings, which wouldn’t appeal to North Americans and their insistence on single-family dwellings. And yet, it comes with huge advantages. I have access, within 2-3 blocks, to metro, tram, bus, or train. I have a choice of two markets, 5 days of the week, with everything from cheese and bread to fruit and vegetables. There’s an abundance of small supermarkets as well as bakeries, pharmacies, cafés, and restaurants. I’m staying in a two-bedroom ground-floor apar...

I’ve spent the past 4 winters in Europe, travelling frequently between different housesitting destinations by train and coach, and I’ve learned a lot. Here are a few tips that will save you time and money. Rome2Rio  Rome2Rio is an amazing resource. Plug in two cities and the site lists all your different travel options. I use it extensively to see how difficult it will be to get somewhere and identify the best route and train company. I don’t know how I’d manage without it. I don’t usually book tickets on Rome2Rio, but last winter I was stumped. The European train sites wanted me to book using Canadian information, but the Canadian options would only work if I was still in Canada. Fortunately, I was able to book through Rome2Rio without a hitch. Not all train stations are as beautiful as this one in Valencia, Spain Trains Trains in the UK and Europe are awesome compared to our hopeless Canadian options. But there are some tricks: Check how often you’ll have to cha...

Carcassonne, France Herb-a-licious, Jan. 19  Learn how to create your own herb garden at The Glen at Crossmount on Jan. 19. A Local Hero It’s heart-warming to read about Laurie O’Connor, Executive Director, Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre . Three cheers for people like Laurie who reach out to help others and make our community a better place. Ostentatious Orange For a limited time only, Nvigorate (Saskatoon Farmers’ Market) is offering Seabuckthorn Gelato with a chocolate swirl. We’re Fooling Ourselves  There are some major psychological barriers to preventing food waste . For example, we don’t like an empty refrigerator or an empty shopping cart. And we may inspect prices carefully when shopping, but we’re nowhere near as price conscious when we’re cleaning out the refrigerator. “We so often say, ‘What do I want for dinner?’ as opposed to, ‘What do I have for dinner?’ . . . I think we need to reframe the way we think about what we have in our fridg...