Wanderlust and Words

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – February brings apples, heart-shaped cookies, Townsite beer, and plans for a local bounty store in Prince Albert Irish Music Night, Museo, February 1 Museo Coffee hosts Comholtas, Saskatoon’s Irish folk session music club on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:45-8:45 pm . You’re invited to come and enjoy the music and the locally-roasted coffee – there’s no cover charge. February is Apple Month The BC Tree Fruits Association was formed 75 years ago. In February, they celebrate National Apple Month to promote locally-grown fruit. Check out the association’s website. I particularly liked the section showing all the different apple varieties that are grown in BC. They also have lots of recipes – from Caesar Apple Salad to Peanut Butter Apple Crumble. While you’re cooking, your children can decorate an apple, upload the photograph and enter the Artful Apple contest . The winner will receive an Okanagan vacation package for fou

It’s winter, and I’m longing for fruit, but I’m trying to buy as many local foods as possible so pineapples and mangoes are out of the question. Not to worry! I’ve found a new favourite that combines a tart, slightly tropical flavour with a heaping serving of health-giving vitamins and anti-oxidants. And it’s grown in Saskatchewan. Sea Buckthorn Berries Sea buckthorn is a deciduous shrub that was originally grown in Europe and Asia. It doesn’t mind a cold climate or poor soil, so it’s found at the foot of the Himalaya, in Siberia – and on the Canadian Prairies. Sea buckthorn has a long and storied history. Ghengis Khan is said to have fed sea buckthorn berries to his army and the leaves to his horses to keep both healthy and strong prior to battle. Tibetan medicinal texts from as early as 600 A.D. refer to the herbal remedies made of sea buckthorn for skin and digestive disorders. The tradition continues. The Indian Department of Defence recently sponsored a conference on sea

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – Chef Anthony heads to Nationals, Griffin Takeaway, Slow Food Canada, SPIN Farming and more Warm the Heart Soup Cook-off, January 29/February 1 Enjoy a bowl of soup and support the Heart and Stroke Foundation during WinterShines by sampling the soups of some of Saskatoon’s most talented chefs. At noon on Sunday, January 29 , beginner chefs will compete against each other for the honour of moving on to the Warm the Heart Cook-off at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, February 1 . Both events will be held at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Pay $5 for soup and bread or $10 for soup, bread and a glass of wine. Michelle Zimmer of Wild Serendipity Foods has entered her Thai Carrot Coconut Soup in the January 29 competition. Good luck, Michelle! We love your soups as well as your scones and macarons. Gold Medal Plates Preview Dinner, February 3 Chef Anthony McCarthy, the gold prize winner at the 2011 Saskatchewan Gold Medal Plates, will be compe

The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market proudly opened the Agrium Market Kitchen this past week. The sale of local food products is now complemented by cooking classes, dinners, and demonstrations. The kitchen is also available to local individuals or groups who want to host their own event or prepare foods that require a licensed commercial kitchen. Sponsors Agrium Potash Vanscoy gave the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market $25,000 towards the construction of the kitchen and an outdoor patio (much-needed seating on busy Market days). Agrium says that they are pleased to help the Market as they feel it’s a good fit with their work with local farmers and agriculture. A number of other local businesses also stepped forward to help make the Market Kitchen a reality. They are: Beehive Flooring , FloForm Countertops , Krazy Kiley’s Audiotronic , Riversdale Mechanical , Samsung , and Saskatoon Appliance . Executive Chef Dinners The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will be holding a series of Executive Ch

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – Symphony Scotch, Station 20 West Gala, PA Cooking Classes, Gourmet Products & Gooey Buns Explore Mediterranean Spain, January 20 Join me on Friday, January 20 at 2 pm in the Frances Morrison Library Auditorium (main downtown branch) for a trip to sunny Spain. My slideshow presentation moves beyond the beaches of Mediterranean Spain to visit local markets, Roman ruins, palm tree gardens, and Gaudi architecture. Gluten-Free Food Fair, January 22 There will be a Gluten-Free Food Fair at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Sunday, January 22 from 5-8 pm . The cost is $2.00 per plate. This is a fundraiser for the Saskatoon Celiac Association. Scotch Fest, January 27 & 28 Support the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and enjoy a blind tasting of some of the world’s finest scotches, accompanied by hors d’oeuvres, and with entertainment by orchestra musicians at Scotch Fest . The tasting will be led by experts from Cava Wine & Spirits

Prairie Harvest Café , Saskatoon’s newest restaurant, features comfort food, lovingly prepared from scratch using as many local ingredients as possible. And it tastes great! Chef and co-owner Mike McKeown has been a part of Saskatchewan’s food and catering industry for over a decade. Working in remote fishing camps, Mike relied on an airplane to drop off supplies. “It really makes you think on your feet as you have to work with whatever is available,” Mike says. More recently, Mike has been selling ready-made meals at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, so he is well acquainted with the local food producers. Slow Food Prairie Harvest Café will serve the kind of food that Mike and his co-chef, Joel Hassler, like to eat. “It’s food with a lot of time and love put into it, but entirely accessible to the customer,” Mike says. “In Saskatchewan, we are also very lucky to have access to so many local grains, legumes and root vegetables. It will be a lot of fun to explore the landscape wit

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – take your pick of a Market dinner, a Chinese New Year celebration, a Robbie Burns supper, and a new Prairie restaurant Prairie Harvest Café, January 13-14 Prairie Harvest Café will officially open its doors at 2917 Early Drive this coming weekend. I attended the soft opening this past weekend and was very impressed with the quality of the food and the setting. I’ll be posting a full review later this week. Executive Chef Dinner, Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, January 19 The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will be hosting Executive Chef Dinners on the third Thursday of each month from January to May, pairing local chefs with fresh Market ingredients. Chef Anthony McCarthy, recipient of the Gold medal at the 2011 Saskatchewan Gold Medal Plates competition, will host a 5-course meal with wine pairings on Thursday, January 19. You’ll have a chance to talk with Chef Anthony before dinner. Tickets are $85 and are available online or at the Ma

I’ve been dreaming about ways in which Saskatoon can support and expand its local food and culinary enterprises. Here’s my 2012 wish list in no particular order. Start-up Grants & Resources New businesses often need help – from drawing up a business plan to renting space in a commercial kitchen to building a production facility. Let’s establish a community platform that links people and resources to culinary entrepreneurs who need help. Note: The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre does important work, but its focus is limited to developing commercial food products. Similarly, Ideas Inc. is a local business incubator, but it does not have a food focus and lacks a commercial kitchen, which is sorely needed. (This last sentence was added in response to a reader's comment.) Role Models: The Toronto Food Business Incubator is a non-profit organization that supports the growth of food industry micro-enterprises. Members have access to business plan analysis and

Cities have personalities. For far too long, Saskatoon’s personality has been somewhat schizophrenic. The riverbank has been a green oasis in the midst of a rather bland city – downtown streets lined with anonymous banks and office buildings and urban highways with generic strip malls and parking lots. I’ve started a wish list of random acts of urban playfulness – small, defiant gestures to draw people out of their cars and onto the streets of downtown Saskatoon. Food Trucks and Pop-Up Shops City Hall is surrounded by green spaces that are hugely under-utilized. Let’s turn them in to people spaces by inviting food trucks and food cart vendors to park beside City Hall with creative, lunch-time offerings. Let’s hold a food truck festival on a week night with buskers and craft stalls and displays. Let’s hold an outdoor Christmas market with hot chocolate, music and dancing to keep us warm whatever the temperature. Let’s set up pop-up shops on vacant lots or coffee shops in parkin

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – from cask ale to perogies, ginger, knitting, and vegan recipes Saskatoon’s First Cask Ale Event, January 5 Winston’s Pub, in partnership with Paddock Wood Brewing , is hosting a cask ale event on Thursday, January 5. Bagpipers will be piping in the cask at 7 pm to be followed by knocking in the spigot. Ukrainian Christmas, January 7 Be sure to stop by The Three Sisters at Nestor’s Bakery for some traditional Ukrainian foods to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas on January 7. You can pick up perogies, borscht, Urkrainian bread, poppy seeds, and more. Earth Bound Bakery, closed January 1-12 Earth Bound Bakery is closed until January 12. How will I manage without my Saturday croissant! Wild Serendipity Cooking Classes Michelle Zimmer of Wild Serendipity Foods has posted her Winter 2012 Cooking Classes . The Desserts Only class in May sounds awesome – 5 amazing sweet treats. I recommend signing up immediately as Michelle’s classes fil

It’s a holiday tradition to review the books I’ve read over the past year. Here are my favourites for 2011: Nature Bees: Nature’s Little Wonders by Candace Savage The mix of graphics, myth, history and science was entrancing. Travel Playing Cards in Cairo , Hugh Miles A disturbing look at the lives of women in Egypt - they are so constrained by societal, male rules. Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam , Andrew Pham How do people survive in a country that has been ravaged by war and occupation for generations? Pham, whose family escaped to the United States, returns and experiences the conflict between his American values and beliefs and his family ties to Vietnam. The Woman who fell from the Sky: An American Woman’s Adventures in the Oldest City on Earth , Jennifer Steil Steil is an American journalist who moves to Yemen as editor of a local newspaper – an informative look at Yemen and journalism in a small Arab country. C