Wanderlust and Words

You’re invited to attend the very first planning meeting for Slow Food Saskatoon on Thursday, June 7 , from 7-8:30 pm at Caffe Sola (corner of 23rd Street and Pacific Avenue). Please come prepared to share your ideas, hopes and dreams for Slow Food Saskatoon. I hope that by the end of the evening we will have decided on one or two activities to introduce Slow Food to Saskatoon residents. I know we all lead busy lives, so I’m hoping we can divide up the tasks into bite-size, manageable chunks and begin sharing responsibilities for internal and external communications and event planning. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please email me your suggestions for Slow Food Saskatoon, and I will take them to the meeting for you. Please feel free to share this invitation. Everyone is welcome. P.S. Our use of Caffe Sola’s space is free so long as we all indulge in one of their lattes or desserts. They serve awesome food so this shouldn’t be a hardship ;-) See you soon! ...

Food news and events in and around Saskatoon – Slow Food Saskatoon, peas and barley, sticky toffee pudding, a very local holiday, and a food drive  Food Drive, June 2  The Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre needs teams of volunteers to go door to door on June 2 to collect food that people have donated (paper bags to be distributed in the mail). If you are interested in participating, contact Evelyn at 664-6565 ext 228. Slow Food Saskatoon, June 7 Everyone is invited to attend the very first planning meeting for Slow Food Saskatoon from 7-8:30 pm on Thursday, June 7 at Caffe Sola (corner of 23rd Street and Pacific Avenue). Please come prepared to share your ideas, hopes and dreams for Slow Food Saskatoon . I hope that by the end of the evening we will have decided on one or two activities to introduce Slow Food to Saskatoon residents. I know we all lead busy lives, so my goal is to divide up the tasks into bite-size, manageable chunks and begin sharing responsi...

Success as an entrepreneur is often a question of being in the right place at the right time. But it also requires enthusiasm and an inquiring mind. Saskatchewan farmers grow 80% of the world’s supply of mustard seed, but it wasn’t until 2007 that Gravelbourg farmers could deliver their mustard seed to a local milling plant. Now there was an opportunity to manufacture mustard locally, and Gravelbourg Mustard opened in 2008. Marketing and Promotion Gravelbourg Mustard was a small operation with limited distribution for the first few years, but it changed hands in July 2011, and the new owners, Val and Leo Michaud, are eager to expand the product line and increase distribution across Canada. Gravelbourg Mustard currently produces four varieties of gourmet mustard: German style, French style, Cranberry, and Saskatoon Berry.  Val hopes to change the public perception that mustard is only used as a condiment on hot dogs and hamburgers. One of her first acts was to publish th...

Food news and events in and around Saskatoon – heirloom vegetables, black pansy/red clover/rose petal syrups, Castle dining, and healthy, local cafeteria eats PayDirt Farm CSA  My family has just signed up for a bi-weekly delivery of chemical-free, heirloom vegetables from PayDirt Farm in Wakaw. The CSA is a new venture by Grant Black and Patricia Robertson, local writers who are keenly interested in good, slow food. As a writer, I’m infatuated by the names of some of the vegetables – Monstrueux de Viroflay spinach, Southern Giant Curled mustard greens, North Holland Blood Red scallions, Cosmic Purple carrots, Rainbow Sweet Inca corn, and Purple tomatillos. A full share costs $400, while a half share costs $250. Contact paydirtfarm@sasktel.net for additional information. Vendor Night, SaskMade Marketplace SaskMade Marketplace is showcasing Bedard Creek Acres ’ unique syrups at 4 pm on May 24 . There will be samples of Red Clover Blossom Lake Diefenbaker trout; arti...

Yesterday’s post, What is Slow Food? , explored the meaning and objectives of Slow Food. But how do we actually translate that into action? There were 13 convivia represented at the 2012 Slow Food Canada national meeting, and they shared their activities over the past year. Here are just a few of the ideas: Slow Food Calgary served over 4,000 slow food meals at the Calgary Folk Festival and has published a Snail Trail publication and mobile app identifying local producers of good, clean, fair food. Slow Food Columbia Valley holds an annual palooza to celebrate a particular vegetable (potato soup competition, pumpkin bowls) as well as a Sustainable Speaker series. Slow Food Southern Alberta published The Faces of Food , with stories and photographs of local farmers and their farms. Slow Food Toronto is matching every garden that they adopt in Africa with a garden in Toronto. They held a canning workshop with new Canadians, First Nations people, and children to preserve...

“Slow Food envisions a world in which all people can enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.”  The Opposite of Fast Food  When I left for the Slow Food Canada national meeting in Edmonton, I had a vague idea of what slow food was. It was the opposite of fast food – food gulped down rapidly at a drive-through burger joint – food eaten to stop the hunger pangs without giving any thought to what it tasted like or how it was made. But that was a rather negative definition of slow food, and I was wrestling with the idea that promoting slow food made me into a food snob who turned up her nose at people who bought supermarket strawberries or used cake mixes. Good, Clean, Fair Slow Food began to make more sense to me as I listened to the Slow Food leaders from across Canada talk about their work to promote Slow Food. Paolo Di Croce, Secretary General for Slow Food International , emphasized that Slow Food is a political movemen...

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – fresh and local, kids’ day at the Market, culinary events, fair trade, reducing food waste  Fresh n Local, May 14 Fresh n Local will soon be delivering farm-fresh produce and sustainably-sourced groceries to Saskatoon residents. You can try out the system and find out more about the vendors and the types of food that will be supplied on May 14 at 7:30 pm at The Two Twenty. Farmers’ Market Dinner, May 17 Chef Dan Walker of Weczeria will be cooking up a five-course meal at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market at 6 pm on May 17. Tickets are available at the Market office. Kids’ Day at the Market, May 19 The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market is celebrating Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day with product snacks, displays and activities for kids from 10 am to 2 pm . This is a great opportunity to get your kids hooked on market shopping. Emma Lake Culinary Evening, May 24 & 25 Enjoy a 6-course dinner prepared by Kevin Tetz, the E...

Foodie news and events in and around Saskatoon – slow food, Foodshed, chocolate without slavery, and the provincial dividing line  Slow Food Canada  I had an amazing time at the Slow Food Canada annual meeting in Edmonton. I learned so much about slow food and am deeply committed to starting a slow food convivium in Saskatoon. I will be writing more about this shortly, but email me if you’re interested in joining. I was so proud to represent Saskatchewan farmers and producers. I distributed sample bottles of Three Farmers camelina oil – this was something new for all the attendees so a great opportunity to promote this product. People enjoyed the Daybreak Mill granola at breakfast, and seabuckthorn gelato from Northern Vigor Berries was a huge hit with homemade pies (it is such a vibrant orange!). I also distributed samples of hemp hearts from Hestia Organics and served Gravelbourg Mustard . A huge vote of thanks to all the producers who provided me with samples! ...

Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet  by dee Hobsbawn-Smith  Calgary’s Introduction to Regional Cuisine When dee Hobsbawn-Smith opened Foodsmith restaurant in 1992, the menu changed every day in order to take advantage of local, seasonal products. All the producers were named on the menu. “I was way ahead of the curve,” dee explains. “It was a tough sell in a meat-and-potatoes town. Calgary has evolved a lot since then.” dee’s father was in the Air Force, so the family were gypsies for most of dee’s childhood. But her mother was from Saskatchewan, and dee grew up eating and enjoying good Prairie food. As a young woman, dee started taking university classes but soon realized that she wanted a portable, creative skill and switched her attendance to cooking school in Vancouver. She later completed her culinary apprenticeship in Calgary and then supplemented her formal education with cooking classes in Europe, which had a lasting impact. Madeleine Kamman , who had a ...