Wanderlust and Words

Food Film Night, Sept. 29 CHEP Good Food Inc. and the Saskatoon Food Council are hosting a free screening of episode 1 of Cooked based on Michael Pollan’s book of the same title at 7 pm , Sept. 29. There will be free snacks and refreshments from the Boxcar Café. German Harvest Fest, Oct. 7  Be sure to attend the German Harvest Festival (Erntedankfest) at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Oct. 7. The event is organized by KulturGarten Saskatoon. “In Germany, Erntedankfest is strongly entrenched in the culture. The Erntedanktag is an official holiday, in most areas celebrated on the first Sunday in October, which is usually also the first Sunday following Michaelistag or Michaelmas on September 29th. Erntedankfest is not a big day of family get-togethers and feasting, rather a religious and communal celebration, giving gratitude for the harvest.” Battle of Canada Wine Tasting, Oct. 12  Jerome Chomos will help participants to enjoy the unique qualities of wine from O...

Seabuckthorn Days, Sept. 23 & 24  Celebrate local berries with a tropical taste during Seabuckthorn Days , Sept. 23 & 24, at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Seminars are by donation and include Dr. Soolanayakanahally speaking about the emerging opportunities and benefits of seabuckthorn. There will be a gourmet lunch with every dish including seabuckthorn on Sept. 24. From the Kitchen to the Bookstore, Sept. 24  Renée Kohlman and Karlynn Johnson will discuss the food blog to cookbook process at 12:15 pm , Sept. 24, as part of Word on the Street. Global Adventures in Home Cooking, Sept. 24  Jan Wong will talk to dee Hobsbawn-Smith about her book Apron Strings: Navigating Food and Family in France, Italy and China at 2:45 pm , Sept. 24, at Word on the Street. Goat Milk There's a new vendor at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market - Hal Jadeske of Richard, SK, with fresh goat milk. Food for Thought  How do you finance a dream? Here’s how The Local Kit...

Pumpkin Festival, September  Black Fox Farm & Distillery is holding a pumpkin festival on the last three weekends in September: Sept. 16 & 17 , Sept. 23 & 24 , Sept. 30 & Oct. 1 . Fundraiser Pies Finance your next fundraiser with frozen, unbaked apple and appletoon pies from Petrofka Orchard. Parkerview Brews Kombucha  Parkerview Brews is selling their kombucha at Street Stall Saturdays from now until the end of September. It can also be purchased at The Local Kitchen . School Lunches  A local survey of parent-made school lunches indicated that the food kids brought from home was less healthy than the food in school meal programs . Rachel Engler-Stringer is “calling for universal school meal programs for all students. She suggested that finicky children who turn up their noses at healthy foods like fresh fruit and vegetables might very well change their habits when they see their classmates enjoying nutritious meals.” Food for Thought ...

Bountiful Harvest  I shopped at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Saturday and was blown away by the huge amounts and astounding variety of local produce. What a rich harvest of fresh vegetables! I appreciate it so much more when I’m buying direct from the farmer rather than picking up neatly packaged parcels at the supermarket. By the way, a young woman is selling samosas stuffed with lentils, potatoes, and parsley, and they’re delicious. A Week in the Life of a Market Vendor  Sarah Galvin sells bread and baked goods at the Swift Current and Moose Jaw markets. She’s hard at work every day of the week, not just market day. She recorded a week’s worth of activities on her Facebook page – Foodcraft by Sarah . Jennifer and Adi from Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens recorded that it took them 16 hours and 20 minutes to pick four 100-foot rows of padron peppers. And that’s just one of their crops. Waste Not, Want Not  Here are 10 ways to reduce your food waste fo...

The Next Great Food Business Public Tasting, Sept. 7 The Local Kitchen is hosting a public tasting with samples from each of the finalists in the Next Great Food Business competition. Finalists are: King’s Jerky, Kind Condiments , Smoke and Salt BBQ, Bannock Express , and Voodoo Van . Wine Tastings Guess the most expensive wine (Sept. 8), sample some Rhône wines (Sept. 22), or attend the 2017 Premier Showcase Wine Dinner (Sept. 28) sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Premier Showcase is also offering a Portugal with a Splash of California wine seminar (Sept. 29) and a Women & Whisky seminar (Sept. 30). Refresh and Renew I had a chat with Trent Loewen about his plans now that he has sold Earth Bound Bakery. He is heading east to visit chef friends in Ontario and then off to New Zealand to explore what's happening there. After 9 years with a single focus, it's time to explore new ideas. Interestingly enough, the bakery's new owner is a business...

Prairie Harvest Café I was sad to learn that Prairie Harvest Café has closed its doors. It’s been one of my favorite Saskatoon restaurants since day one, and I really appreciated the fact that the chefs focused on cooking with local ingredients, many supplied by the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. All the best of luck in your new adventures. We’ll miss you. Hug a Farmer This has been a tough summer for many farmers. Prairie Sun Orchard lost their entire cherry crop to insects. Drop by their stand at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, tell them you care, and have an ice cream. My favorite is the chocolate cherry fudge, but Clare Pearson, the principal ice cream maker, says her new favorite is the salted caramel. Peppers If you’re like me, you assume that all small, skinny peppers are super hot and avoid them like the plague. But that’s a big mistake. Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering two long, skinny peppers – one can be hot, but the other isn’t. Padron chile pepper...

Grandora Gardens Whites from Portugal  James Romanow recommends some white wines from Portugal and points out the difficulties wine distributors such as Doug Reichel  face in introducing a wider variety of wines to the Saskatchewan market. Thank you Doug for recognizing that some of us are wine lovers and appreciate the opportunity to sample a wide variety of wines from around the world. Neighbourhood Grocery Stores  A market survey indicates that Saskatoon’s downtown population is too small to support a grocery store . And yet, which comes first – the residents or the store? Less people are likely to live downtown if they’re unable to shop locally. Councillor Darren Hill points out that City Park, North Park, Richmond Heights, and Sutherland also need a grocery store and they should be taken into consideration if the City decides to offer incentives for grocery development in downtown. Prairie Grid Dinner Series Eat North is hosting the Prairie Grid Dinn...