Wanderlust and Words

I have just spent 2½ weeks housesitting in North Vancouver (Thanks, Stephanie and Anne!). As always, this was an excellent opportunity to check out some Vancouver food and food places. Here are some of my new finds. Chill Winston Chill Winston occupies a sunny corner in Gastown. A friend and I enjoyed a meal on the patio. I sampled three of the beers they had on tap (there’s a huge beer selection). My vegetable sandwich was amazing – grilled asparagus, marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, hummus, lettuce and tomato on walnut scallion bread. Pourhouse Next time I visit the Pourhouse , I’ll be sure to sit at the bar so that I can watch the bartenders make their extensive line-up of cocktails. There aren’t a great many food options for vegetarians, but the mushroom tart topped with arugula salad was very tasty, and my Old Cuban cocktail brought back happy memories of sipping mojitos in Nicaragua. And I loved the decor - bare brick and wooden beams. There is a Saskatoon con...

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – lentil brownies, pumpkin spiced ale, better bread box, Townsite Brewing   Lentil Brownies?? Lentils are a fantastic source of protein and fibre, are gluten-free, and may even help reduce the risk of heart disease. And we grow them right here in Saskatchewan, exporting 90% to other countries around the world. A great new website, lentils.ca , offers a great collection of recipes, including lentil brownies, pina colada cream pie, lentil and cheese quesadillas, and asiago, artichoke and lentil salad. Pulse Canada is another informative website about beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. You can download a cookbook listing the top 10 ways to eat pulses as well as recipes for soups, salads, appetizers, and desserts. Or you can pick up a copy at the Little Market Store at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Better Bread Box Nestor’s/Three Sisters community bakery and youth training program at 912 20th Street West continues to expand it...

Over 40 wineries were represented at the BC VQA Fall Release Tasting sponsored by the British Columbia Wine Institute . I sampled wines from approximately half of them. Listed below are some of my personal favourites as well as some of the conversations I had with the winery representatives. Please keep in mind that I only sampled wines from half the wineries represented. The fact that I don’t list a winery doesn’t mean it isn’t great. BC’s wine industry has grown from 17 wineries in 1990 to over 195 in 2011. Wine is now being produced in five different wine regions – Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands) – from 60 different grape varieties. Hester Creek Estate Winery I had enjoyed a bottle of Hester Creek Estate Winery ’s Merlo t earlier in the week, but the Cabernet Merlot is even better – smooth and spicy. Hester Creek (Oliver) is one of the larger wineries with a restaurant, guest villas and cooking classes. Kraze Legz Viney...

I have added two pages to my website to serve as handy references (links in top right-hand corner): Great Food Places in Saskatoon Winery Reviews I will continue to update and add to the pages over time. It should be noted that I am a vegetarian and I try to eat local, organic food and support local producers. This influences my choice of food and restaurants. Photo: Weczeria

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – community gardens, woman power, birch syrup, wild mushrooms, local apples and vodka Community Gardens CHEP Good Food Inc. is working with community gardeners to increase access to fresh, affordable, healthy food. Here’s an excerpt from EcoFriendly Sask’s interview with Ruth Anne Hudack, Community Gardening Coordinator with CHEP : “Ruth Anne says that there has been increased interest in community gardening over the past three years. Accessibility to land was a problem at first, but City officials and community decision-makers have grown in their understanding and appreciation for community gardening. Saskatoon Public Schools provided funding and support for four pilot projects in 2011, and the number of churches providing land is growing.... "Community gardening is evolving from a recreational activity on small plots of land to intensive gardening on larger plots as people seek to produce their own food in order to ensure grea...

Trying to Understand Hunger and Poverty in Saskatoon I value good food, and I spend a large percentage of my budget on food. I feel very fortunate that I have always had sufficient financial means to buy food and I’ve never had to use the Saskatoon Food Bank, but I’m aware that for many people that is the only option. My sister in law, Inspector Shelley Ballard, is one of the participants in this week’s Food Basket Challenge . The participants have all agreed to live for one week on the contents of a basket from the Saskatoon Food Bank, along with 5 staples from their cupboard and $5. It is, in many ways, an artificial exercise, as they will go back to their regular budget and eating habits at the end of the week. However, the discussion on the Food Basket Challenge’s website and Facebook page is thought-provoking, and I’m looking forward to follow the participants’ progress over the next week. Personal challenges There are so many different issues for the participants to...

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – japadogs, brewery tour, community bakery, wine, recipes  Paddock Wood Brewing Tour, September 13  Like Paddock Wood’s Facebook page to indicate that you will be participating in a tour of the brewery at 11 am on Tuesday, September 13 . Enjoy! Sushiro Japadog Charity Night, September 14  Megan and Todd, the owners of Sushiro restaurant on 10th Street just off Broadway, are hosting a charity party on Wednesday, September 14 to support Oxfam and its work with the East African food crisis. Contribute by purchasing a Japadog and a Moosehead brew. 100% of your money will be donated to Oxfam. In Vino Veritas, Boffins, September 21  Discover six wine and food pairings at Boffins Club on Wednesday, September 21 . The cost is $30/person and should be reserved in advance (249-5344, boffins@boffins.ca ) as space is limited. Sundays at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market until October 9  Have you visited the Sunda...

It’s okay to play with your food!  Remember when you were little and your parents firmly told you not to play with your food? Well, I have good news! Seoul Korean Restaurant at 334 20th Street West in Saskatoon encourages you to play with your food! Seoul Korean Restaurant just opened a couple of weeks ago, and it’s a fascinating blend of modern and traditional. The menu is an iPad2, which works well as there are photos of all the dishes. There is not a lot of choice for vegetarians, but we enjoyed the cup of miso soup and the potato pancake (gamja jeon) at the start of our meal. We then had a couple of rice dishes, one in a hot pot (my preference as it stayed hot longer). Now, this is where the fun begins. The rice dishes come with the vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, carrots) beautifully arranged around the edge of the rice with a fried egg perched on top and a side dish of hot sauce. And you’re supposed to mix it all together! Dessert is a traditional Korean di...

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – organic, fair trade lemon pepper and dried fruit, a new pub, cooking classes and a food basket challenge  Ten Thousand Villages – Ethical, Organic Dried Fruit   Ten Thousand Villages on 2nd Avenue is selling packages of dried fruit from Level Ground Trading . The fruit is certified organic and the farmers receive a fair price for their harvest. Fresh fruit is cut and dried by women living in Cazuca, Colombia, a refugee settlement on the outskirts of Bogotá, providing fair income, microcredit loans, education and health care opportunities for their families. There are four different varieties : mango, pineapple, golden berry (I was told that the tart berries are really good in a salad), and tropical (banana, mango, coconut). Rook and Raven Pub A new pub opened this week on 2nd Avenue (where Barking Fish used to be located). The Rook and Raven is a new venture by the owners of the Yard and Flagon on Broadway. Lind...

A fantastic meal by White Birch Catering Dinner Club at Fruition Orchards Going out for dinner is fun, but it’s even more fun when the meal is served on a farm with four-day-old sheep, a crowd of hungry chicken, and some scatterbrained goats. White Birch Catering Dinner Club , under the direction of Chef Moe Mathieu, hosts a dinner approximately once a month. The theme and the location are constantly changing, but the quality of the food remains the same – outstanding. This month’s dinner was a vegetarian banquet planned by Chef Moe’s apprentice, Lindsay Adams . I had met Lindsay and knew that she was a strong advocate for good vegetarian cuisine, so I was eager to see what she would come up with. Fruition Orchards The dinner was held at Fruition Orchards and Family Farm , the home of Carmen and Keith Dyck. The farm is just outside of Aberdeen, and they have 90 sheep, 10-15 goats, and approximately 300 chicken, in addition to 6-7,000 young fruit trees and 10 beehives. The prope...