Wanderlust and Words

“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...

Local Happenings City Perks will be opening a second coffee shop, Sparrow , at 536 2nd Avenue North in December. The Glen at Crossmount is hosting Prairie Pours , a showcase of Saskatchewan-made alcoholic beverages from 5-10 pm , Oct. 18 . I was pleased to find a Solo Italia frozen pizza at Safeway last week. Solo Italia Fine Pasta is located in Ogema, SK, and makes wood oven pizzas and pastas. This was definitely the best frozen pizza crust I’ve ever had, but at $16 it wasn’t cheap. If you’re looking for a good bottle of Canadian wine, here are the winners of the BC Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards for 2018 . Food for Thought  Ranjan Datta, a board director for Saskatoon Open Door Society and Saskatchewan Multi-cultural Council, has written an account of how the University Community Garden has been able to address food insecurity, reconciliation, and cross-cultural understanding . The Canadian Love Food Hate Waste website has lots of information for those o...

Starting a new food business is tough. How do you let the public know you exist? How do you stand out in a crowded marketplace? How do you maintain quality and standards? Sanjay Joshi and his partners at Wow Pizza seem to have worked it out. Their unique products, innovative marketing, and systemic approach strike me as a recipe for success. Unique Products  Wow Pizza’s menu is designed to stand out from the competition. They have innovative products that you won’t find anywhere else. Mac n Cheese pizza is the ultimate comfort food combining rich, creamy cheese pasta and sauce with a crispy crust. Butter Paneer pizza is for those days when you crave something a little bit different. The crust is topped with a plentiful helping of mild curry sauce, marinated paneer (small cubes of fresh cheese), jalapeño peppers, tomato, green pepper, and onions sprinkled with mozzarella cheese. There is a pleasant curry flavour that doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. Mac n Chees...

One way to get to know a city is through its food, so I signed up with Manchester Food Walks for a tour of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. This tour particularly appealed to me as it combined food with history and street art. The Northern Quarter used to be an industrial area and has maintained many of its old buildings so it’s often used as a film set. It’s centrally located featuring a wide variety of independent stores and restaurants. One of the most famous stores is Afflecks , an "emporium of eclecticism". As we walked around the neighbourhood, the guide, John, pointed out interesting stores and other restaurants worth visiting. I was intrigued to be told that a convenience store was actually a secret bar. Street art is encouraged in the Northern Quarter so there are places where graffiti artists are invited to contribute on a rotating basis. I particularly enjoyed the parrots perched on buildings along a street which used to be home to pet s...

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...

Karma Grand Opening, Apr. 15 Karma Conscious Café & Eatery is holding its grand opening on Apr. 15. There will be live entertainment and free samples. Orofino Wines  Award-winning Orofino Winery is owned by former Saskatchewan residents. You can enjoy their wines at the following events: Regina, Apr. 21 – wine pairing dinner at Wild Sage Kitchen & Bar Saskatoon, Apr. 22 – wine tasting seminar at Co-op Wine, Spirits, Beer Canning 101, Apr. 23 Take a Canning 101 workshop at the Glen at Crossmount on Apr. 23. Introductory Beekeeping Courses  Saskatoon – May 14-15 , Lalonde Honey Farms Regina – May 28-29 , St. Joseph’s Honey, Balgonie Riversdale Deli/ Capanna Pizzeria  I was sad to learn that Riversdale Delicatessen and Capanna Pizzeria are closing and will be up for sale. Culture Mother  Culture Mother in Gravelbourg, SK, sells live Kefir, Kombucha Scoby, Jun Scoby, Mesophilic Yogurt and Sourdough cultures. New(ish) Regina Busines...

Brunch at Be Love vegan restaurant Firkin Friday for Meewasin, Apr. 1  They’ll be tapping a keg of Meewasin 80 beer from Prairie Sun Brewery at Fionn MacCool’s on Apr. 1. One dollar from every pint will be donated to Meewasin Valley Authority. Spring Fling, Apr. 17 (Moose Jaw) Sarah Galvin, Swift Current, will be selling her baked goods in Moose Jaw for the first time at the Spring Fling trade show . You can find out more about Sarah and her food by following her Facebook page, FoodCraft by Sarah . Café Noir / Karma  Café Noir on 2nd Avenue is rebranding itself as The Karma – Conscious Café and Eatery . Roshni and Vivek are trained baristas. They plan to serve vegetarian/vegan food, fair trade coffee, and will donate 3% of the Café’s earnings to local charities. Lunch at Ottavio's Italian Bakery & Delicatessen Local & Fresh (Regina)  Local & Fresh delivers local products to your Regina home or workplace. You can select from over 1,000 pro...

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...

Winter Holidays  The Griffin Takeaway will be closed from Jan. 1-10 . The Odd Couple Restaurant will be closed from Jan. 1-31 . UNA Pizza & Wine Calgary-based UNA Pizza & Wine is opening a second restaurant on Broadway Avenue in Saskatoon in about 10 days time. I’ll be curious to see what it’s like and how it tries to differentiate itself from all the other pizza places that have recently opened in Saskatoon. Calgary’s wine list looks very interesting, emphasizing small boutique wineries and specifying which ones are organic, sustainable, or biodynamic. I visited Parés Baltà winery in Spain and would highly recommend their wines. The Calgary take-out menu shows quite a few vegetarian options (vegans would need to ask for the dishes without the cheese). Choo-It Craig Campbell introduced Choo-It cereal in 2007. He’s now ceased production and it looks like he’s beginning a new adventure as Rock Paper Coffee Roasting Company . Chain Reaction Urban Far...

Down to Earth, Mar. 4  Jasmin Fookes and Brit MacDonald are the new hosts of CFCR Radio ’s environment and sustainability program that they’ve renamed Down to Earth . They’ve asked me to be their first guest! I’ll be on the radio this coming Wednesday, March 4, at 6:30 pm , to talk about food, the environment and my two online publications ( Wanderlust and Words and EcoFriendly Sask ). Meet Javier Paredes, Torreon de Paredes Winery, Mar. 21  Meet Javier Paredes of Chile’s Torreon de Paredes Winery on Saturday, March 21. He’ll be at Ingredients from 11 am to 1 pm offering samples of his wines. There’ll be a formal wine tasting from 2-3 pm at the Co-op Liquor Store where he’ll open a wide selection of wines from three different ranges, including some in Saskatchewan for the first time. Javier will also be attending dinners in Moose Jaw and Regina . Slow Food Canada 2015 National Meeting, Apr. 24-26  Slow Food Canada is holding its annual meeting, alo...

Pizza is one of my very favorite foods and, when it’s being prepared by the folks who run Riversdale Deli, I know it’s going to be good. Capanna Pizzeria is located around the corner from Riversdale Deli . Big windows facing east mean that the restaurant is full of sunshine, a welcome sight on one of our cold, wintery days. Passing by on the street, you can watch the chefs rolling out the pizza dough. Step through the door, and you’ll feel right at home. This isn’t a big, intimidating restaurant. There’s bench seating under the window and a scattering of wooden tables and chairs. Behind the marble-topped bar is a brick wall lined with bottles of wine and there’s a mural of Italy on the wall in the kitchen area. The kitchen is open so you can chat with Chef Darby Kells and have a look at the pizza oven. The pizza oven is hi-tech fancy. It has three different heating sources, all of which can be individually controlled. The rotating stone disc heats the pizza crust from b...

Citizen Cafe & Bakery Capanna Pizzeria  Riversdale Deli hopes to open Capanna Pizzeria on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Winemaking: Farming and Art, Feb. 22  Doug Reichel , Fine Wines Sask, will be talking about the connection between quality food and quality wine at the Slow Food Salon , 1:30-3 pm , Sunday, February 22, at The Local Coffee Bar. Doug says, "In many ways, Saskatchewan people have much in common with the vintners and winemakers of the world because we live close to the world of agriculture. We share the same interest in the soil, weather patterns, and yield. The world's better winemaking is a juxtaposition of farming and art." Doug Reichel, Fine Wines Sask Grants for Urban Agriculture, Environment, Recreation  The Co-op will contribute up to $1 million annually to support urban agriculture, environmental conservation, and recreation spaces in western Canada . Applications must be submitted online between April 1 and May 15 . Saskatoon F...

Paddock Wood is 10 Years Old!  Congratulations to Steve Cavan and Paddock Wood Brewing on their 10th anniversary. They’re offering Growler Specials from Dec. 8-12. Read my profile for a look at the company’s evolution . Boxcar Café  The Boxcar Café at Station 20 West is re-launching January 5 with Chef Jenni (@newgroundcafe) as Executive Chef. I wish them every success. The Night Oven Bakery  It’s that wonderful time of year when the bakeries are full of seasonal goodies. The Night Oven Bakery is offering panettone and stollen made from organic flour, citrus, sugar and nuts with natural yeast. Pre-order and pre-pay to pick up on Saturdays, Dec. 13, 20 and 24. Riversdale Deli  The new vegetarian sandwich at Riversdale Deli sounds intriguing – sweet ‘n spicy melon puree, sherry vinegar roasted carrots, and toasted fennel polenta. If you sample it, please report back as I’m very curious. Cappana Pizzeria is now on  Facebook and Twitter (@yxep...