Wanderlust and Words

Local News   It’s easy to forget how much work goes into growing and preparing food for sale. And Covid has made things even tougher. One farmer tells me he is spending an extra day to day and a half a week preparing vegetables to sell at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market in order to comply with health authority requirements. Where does he find the extra time in what must already be a jam-packed growing season!  Trent at Scratch Provisions makes great pies with lots of imaginative flavours (e.g. harissa lentils and cauliflower; balsamic pickled beet, ricotta & sunflower seed). My family enjoyed his vegetarian Thanksgiving pies this weekend - lots of holiday spices and the tang of fresh cranberries. In fact, we enjoyed them so much, we're ordering more.  I’m really enjoying the sour leaf cabbage rolls from Kapusta & Kake at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Cooperative – rich, tangy, lots of flavour. Wally Satzewich says their borscht is the best he’s ever tasted. Th...

The close relationship that develops between the person who grows or makes our food and the person who eats it is at the heart of a farmers’ market. A friend describes the relationship between consumers and farmers’ market vendors as a partnership. “We’re co-producers,” she says.  Lockdown and the Covid pandemic have made all of us more aware of how important food is. As a result, farmers’ markets have grown in popularity. Sales increased between 10 and 30% in Melbourne , Australia, despite the lack of tourists and browsers. Instead, the focus was on local people coming to do their weekly shop. Similar trends have been noticed by Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative (SFMC) farmers and producers. If we want a secure food supply, we need to support our local farmers and producers. And the best way to do that is through a farmers’ market, a self-supporting group of farmers and producers who share a similar interest in working with their hands, providing their community with food, a...

Local News  You can enjoy cider and yoga on Wednesdays from 7-8 pm from now until the middle of September at the Crossmount Cider Company. Farmers’ Markets A first-year farmer says farmers' markets can be key for beginning farmers . “That farmers’ market already is doing a lot of the marketing for you, [and] already has a customer base that is coming regularly. So it’s a lot easier.” Podcasts Food Tank lists quotes from 15 recent podcasts/articles that highlight the challenges of building a sustainable, equitable food system . They range from How can we understand and prepare for the connections between COVID-19 and diet health? to What is the importance of middle-man food processors in supporting local farm-based food systems? In a recent episode of Telus Talks , the host sits down with two restaurant owners to talk through the challenges they’ve faced with nation-wide shutdowns and gradual re-openings. The Economics of Food In a recent interview with In Dige...

Local News  Did you know you can find the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative in Stonebridge on Wednesday afternoons throughout the summer? They’re in the lot adjacent to the Spiffy Car Wash at 600 Melville Street from 3-7 pm . Kevin Wesaquate remembers picking Saskatoon berries with his family as a positive experience, creating kinship and family bonds. He wanted to give today’s kids the same experience and worked with volunteers to plant over 440 saskatoon berry bushes in Victoria Park . An additional 250 bushes were planted last year. Kevin is a spoken word poet. He imagines a world where “we trade in protein bars for pemmican where we could pick wild berries in our communities. Where diabetes doesn’t exist thanks to the medicine keepers and paleo diets, a place where our children could run free of gangs and crime, a place where young men let their hair out like warriors of the past in suits and ties, where beadwork is valuable and honored over gold and diamond...

“I don’t want you just to sit down at the table.  I don’t want you just to eat, and be content.  I want you to walk out into the fields  where the water is shining, and the rice has risen.  I want you to stand there, far from the white tablecloth. I want you to fill your hands with the mud, like a blessing.  (Rice, Mary Oliver)  Rice – very few of us don’t have rice in our cupboards. In fact, it’s the primary food source for half the world’s population. But where and when was it first domesticated?  How is it grown and cooked? I decided to do some research.  History  Recent evidence indicates that rice (oryza sativa) has been grown for thousands of years across a wide band of land from northern India to southern China. Short-grained (japonica) rice appears to have originated in China, whereas long-grained rice, which is genetically distinct, originated in India. Researchers believe that short-grained rice spread from China to India where f...

Local News  Purple wheat , used by Saskatoon producers in bread and vodka, has its origins in the Ethiopian highlands. Ingredients & Dishes  Unity in diversity: “Ethiopian injera is sourdough, Indian dosa is sourdough, Sri Lankan hoppers are sourdough, Sudanese kisra is sourdough. Technically speaking, any fermented bread made between roughly 3,700 BC and the invention of commercial yeast in the 1800s could be considered sourdough, too.” And you don’t need to be a man – or a techie – to make great sourdough , without an instruction manual. From an Aztec remedy for intestinal parasites to today’s home gardens – scarlet runner beans have traditionally been grown by small-scale farmers and gardeners. This has helped to maintain local seed diversity and preserve higher genetic diversity . Food for Thought “ Small to medium scale farms are the cornerstone of local food systems. If farmers’ markets disappear, these farmers lose market access and economic stability...

  Local Happenings  The Saskatoon Heritage Society’s annual luncheon is at 12 pm, Mar. 15 , at the Sheraton Cavalier. The guest speaker, Elizabeth A. Scott, curator at the Western Development Museum, will share stories of life in Saskatchewan told through the clothes we wore. Sparrow Coffee Shop, the sister to City Perks, is starting to be open. Like them on Facebook to find out when you can drop by. I’m looking forward to browsing the book collection later in the spring. Two Saskatoon coffee shops are on the list of the 50 best coffee shops in Canada – City Perks and Collective Coffee. 33 1/3 Coffee Roasters in Regina also makes the list. A new company with Saskatoon links aims to replace plastic with natural materials that will quickly decompose in backyard compost. Cogomelo’s “products are made from mycelium-based composites, where we use a substrate – in our case, agricultural waste – that is partially replaced as the fungal biomass grows and consumes it.” T...

Local Happenings  Happy New Year! I’m so pleased to see that the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market attracted a good crowd at its first market in its temporary location at 2604 Koyl Avenue. Change is hard, but it’s also an opportunity for renewal. I’m hoping that this move will provide the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative with a chance to focus on their long-term goal of connecting the urban public with the source of their food. I look forward to seeing new vendors coming forward who really value that connection with the people who eat their food and new customers who are eager to meet the person who grew or baked their food – whether it’s the farmer who tells you about the hailstorm that played havoc with their crop or the baker who tells you about the Mexican festival origins of their different baked goods. There has been an interesting conversation on City Perks’ Facebook page this past week (Jan. 3 post) about ways of reducing the number of disposable coffee cups. S...

Local Happenings  Bulk Basket , Saskatoon’s “local, sustainable, package-free grocer,” is moving to 401 20th Street West in Riversdale. They buy Saskatchewan products whenever possible and provide a discount to those who need it most. Boffins at Innovation Place will close its doors on November 15 . It’s disappointing as it’s a beautiful space with a lovely outdoor patio and a great location beside the pond/garden. “ Second Chance Food Saskatoon is an ad-hoc committee dedicated to reducing food waste in Saskatoon. Comprised of members from various local food security, poverty, and waste reduction focused agencies, Second Chance Food seeks to advocate for and enable mechanisms that increase donation of surplus food, and encourage a more sustainable food system in our city.” I chatted with Coralee Abbott and Daryl Grunau about City Perks ’ new venture last week. Sparrow will have slightly more seating than City Perks. But the big plus is a full-size commercial kitchen w...

  Local Happenings  Bottles of Sentinel Bottleworks ’ cider portray images of Saskatchewan’s endangered species and they’re donating $1/litre sold to Nature Saskatchewan, which works with landowners to protect critical habitat of endangered species. Sentinel Bottleworks raised over $1,000 between June 1 and July 15. You can find their cider on tap at various local restaurants. It’s on sale at Sobeys, Metro, SLGA, and soon at Co-op liquor stores. Faith Bohn has started a stuffed cookie business that she hopes will provide employment for people like her sons with Down syndrome . Alberta Flavour is helping large institutions increase their purchases of local food as well as filling some of the gaps between farmer and purchaser. Quebec is forging its own cheese identity. Here are just a few Quebec cheeses . Food for Thought  An apple a day keeps the doctor away by promoting healthy intestinal bacteria. And organic apples are best of all as they harbour a m...