Wanderlust and Words

“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 Happenings  I had lunch at Restaurant Kashmere on Broadway Avenue on Friday. If you enjoy Indian food, this is the place to go. The dahl was creamy and flavourful. The eggplant bharja had a bit more zip – if you enjoy lots of onion, choose this one. I appreciated knowing that they were using (and promoting) Saskatchewan lentils and you could tell they were cooking from scratch. Service was excellent and the food was beautifully presented. Prairie Sun Brewery is now open on Broadway with regular hours, 7 days a week, starting Tuesday, Nov. 5. Aria Restaurant & Spirits in Rosewood offers a diverse menu with food for everyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions. Bulk Basket opens in Riversdale on Tuesday, Nov. 12, and is hosting its grand opening on Nov. 16 and 17. There is free 2-hour parking on Avenue D and 8 customer parking spaces behind the store. Products  In a potentially futile effort to combat insomnia, I have come across a range of or...

Books that combine food and travel are some of my favorites. Here are three that I’ve just finished reading and would highly recommend. My Beer Year  Lucy Burningham enjoys drinking beer and, living in Portland, she’s in the right place as there are so many micro-breweries. She decides to expand her knowledge and understanding of beer by spending a year studying to become a Certified Cicerone (beer expert). My Beer Year: Adventures with Hop Farmers, Craft Brewers, Chefs, Beer Sommeliers, and Fanatical Drinkers as a Beer Master in Training is very readable. You feel like you’re sitting down chatting with the author as she recounts her home brewing experiences, her visits to breweries and hop farms, and travels. My favorite part of the book was the last third which describes in detail her visit to Belgium and Germany where she tries to uncover the essence of Belgian and German beer. You don’t have to enjoy beer to enjoy this book. But if you do enjoy beer, be sure to ha...