Flavourful Saskatoon, March 19, 2012

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – fair trade, Spanish wine, human library, eat local - cook local, bison and ziplines 

Fair Trade, March 21/22
Michael Zelmer, Fairtrade Canada’s Director of Communications, will be speaking in Saskatoon this week:

7 pm, March 21 – How Fair is your Fair Trade? – presentation and fair trade fair (The Refinery)

3-4:30 pm, March 22 – Co-operative Solutions: How the Fair Trade and organic coffee markets support forested ecosystems on Nicaraguan coffee farms – Centre for the Study of Cooperatives Lecture Series (Prairie Room, Diefenbaker Building, UofS)

Human Library, March 24 
You can check out a book with a difference on Saturday, March 24, 10:30 am to 5 pm, at the Saskatoon Public Library. Rather than physical books, the Human Library is an opportunity to talk to individuals who have experienced social prejudice or stereotypes. Here are two examples:

Arati, Spicing Up Saskatchewan – an immigrant who began her Canadian career as an operating room nurse but has gone on to create Chatty’s – a spice business to make Indian cuisine available and accessible in her adoptive country

Karen, Growing Community with Community Gardens – an experienced community gardener who would love to discuss ways of producing healthy food and improving the local food system while also meeting new neighbours and getting more exercise

Congratulations to all the participants. It takes courage to share your beliefs and experiences publicly.

Spanish Wine and Tapas, March 30 
I'm planning to attend Souleio’s monthly wine tasting  from 6-9 pm on March 30. For $15, you can sample four wines, including the Parés Baltà Brut Cava. Tapas will be available for $8-12 a plate. Seating is limited; phone 979-8102 to reserve.
Pares Balta Winery, Spain
View more PowerPoint from Penny McKinlay
Think Global Eat Local, April 13 
CHEP Good Food Inc. and Health Everywhere will present the seventh annual Think Global Eat Local dinner at 6 pm, April 13, at the Hilton Garden Inn. The meal, featuring international cuisine, will be followed by a silent auction, entertainment, music and dancing. The proceeds help support CHEP’s community food programming.

Eat Alberta (Saskatoon?)
Eat Alberta is a mix of hands-on and demonstration workshops, tasting sessions, and presentations from leaders in the Edmonton food community – from Sourdough 101, Knife Skills, and Preserving Vegetables, to Beer Appreciation and Making Salad Rolls at Home.

Organizers hope that participants will learn how to use and source local food as well as develop nurturing and ongoing relationships with one another and with those that produce our food.

Eat Alberta is organized by local food bloggers. This is where the non-mainstream media really comes into its own as it moves from researching and writing to doing and leading. I’d love to see a similar event in Saskatoon – maybe a partnership between Slow Food and Transition Saskatoon?

Ag-West Bio – Sea Buckthorn 
My article about Northern Vigor Berries was republished in the March 2012 issue of Ag-West Bio’s publication, Bio-Bulletin.

EcoFriendly Sask – Bison and Ziplines
My “other” online publication is EcoFriendly Sask, and I’ve interviewed some really cool people lately who demonstrate that caring about the environment can be fun and profitable.

Come Out and Play: Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures – the Prairies’ first canopy zipline tour also serves as park ambassador and nature advocate

Stewardship: A Critical Role for Landowners – a free-ranging herd of prairie bison and the ranchers who watch out for them

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post regular profiles of culinary entrepreneurs, new restaurants and new food products.

Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to Wanderlust and Words by email (top right-hand corner) to stay on top of Saskatoon’s evolving food culture.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 28, 2017

Image
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...
Read more

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 21, 2017

Image
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...
Read more

Saskatoon's Persian Store

Image
Mulberries, Pomegranate Sauce, Dried Lemons, Kashk and Doogh From the outside, it looks like an old-fashioned corner convenience store. But step inside, and you quickly realize that you’ve discovered a Middle Eastern treasure trove. The Persian Store at 223 – 25th Street West is operated by Mahyar Behnami, who has been in Saskatoon for two years. The store serves an Iranian/Persian community of approximately 500 people, but it’s an opportunity for all of us to try new things. Mrs. Behnami kindly gave me a tour of the store and explained how the different dishes and ingredients would be served in Iran. Canned Goods There is a large assortment of ready-made, canned dishes. (The stews are always served over rice that is dry, not sticky.) Ghormeh sabzi is often considered the Iranian national dish. It contains herbs, dried lemon, onion and red beans – you can add your own meat. The herbs usually include parsley, leeks/green onions, cilantro, spinach and fenugreek, and the...
Read more

Petra Market: A Mediterranean Grocery

Image
Tucked away in a strip mall on Primrose Drive (north of Lawson Heights Mall) is Petra Market, a treasure trove of food products from the Arabic countries in the Mediterranean. I’m fascinated by grocery stores full of unknown-to-me products but also a little nervous about trying things, so I was really happy when Nour Dabbour, the owner of Petra Market, showed me around and told me about the different items. Nour is trying to stock products from as many Middle Eastern countries as possible. He even stocks the same product from a number of different countries because he says that each country’s product tastes slightly different. Za’atar , a spice mix, is a prime example with packages from Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and each one is a slightly different colour with a slightly different taste. The most popular areas of the store are the nut and treats bars with an amazing assortment of Middle Eastern candies and mildly spiced nuts. Nour gave me a variety to try and I’m real...
Read more

The Golden Towns of Beaujolais

Image
Heading north out of Lyon, you pass through a long tunnel and exit into a lush green countryside leaving the city far behind. You then turn and head up the hill onto winding roads between a patchwork of vineyards. Many of the vines are really old with short, thick, twisted trunks and a thin stem of green leaves and buds. These are the Gamay vines of Beaujolais, interspersed with a few fields of greener, leafier Chardonnay vines. South Beaujolais, just 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, encompasses 25 medieval villages of orangey-gold stone (limestone and iron) that is surprisingly vibrant (I had been expecting something lighter, similar to the Cotswolds in England). Some of the villages still have the remains of 14th century castles. Oingt is classed as one of the most beautiful villages of France and it really is lovely. You can take a walk around the town on the former ramparts and the church is austere and beautiful. I was on a half-day tour , which combined stopping to...
Read more