Flavourful Saskatoon, September 10, 2012

Cheese curds, cherries and curry; 
apples and ginger; students and an urban food oasis


Garden Patch Movie, Sept. 12 
Bring your lawn chairs, snacks, family and friends and enjoy a move at 7:30 pm on September 12 in the Saskatoon Food Bank’s newly-harvested Garden Patch (900 block of 2nd Avenue North). With the help of local volunteers, the Food Bank was able to harvest twice as much fresh, local food as they did last year - a great addition to the Food Bank’s resources.

The Food Basket Challenge starts this week. Subscribe via email to the participants’ blog posts.

Slow Food Saskatoon, Sept. 13
Don’t forget! Slow Food Saskatoon is holding its first official meeting on September 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm at Mayfair Library. I hope to see you there.

Cheese Curds, Sept. 15
Herschel Hills, Saskatoon’s Artisan Cheese House was at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Sept. 8 with fresh, local ricotta. Sharon McDaniel hopes to have fresh cheese curds for sale next Saturday. For more information, like the Herschel Hills Facebook page or check out their brand-new website.

Urban Apple Canning Workshop, Sept. 18
It's harvest time, and you can have flavourful, local fruit all year long. Don't miss the Urban Apple Canning Workshop at 6:30 pm on September 18 at CNYC (905 - 20th Street West).


Student Specials, Saskatoon Farmers’ Market
During the month of September, the Little Market Store and a number of other vendors at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market will be offering Student Specials. You’ll need to show your student card.

Vij’s Curries & Ginger Chutney
One of Vancouver’s most successful Indian restaurants is Vij’s. And now we can enjoy Vikram Vij’s excellent curries here in Saskatoon as his frozen entrees are available at Dad’s Organic Market on 8th Street.

I’ll be eating mine with Just Ginger chutney from the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market.

Aunt Mary’s Tart Cherry Juice 
I came across a new Saskatchewan product when I visited the Herbs n Health Foodport during the Broadway Street Fair. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks interesting.

Aunt Mary's Tart Cherry Juice is one of the products being developed by Prairie Fruit Processors Ltd, a group of cherry producers who have joined together to purchase cherry processing equipment. The cherry juice is made from prairie-grown tart cherries without any sugar, additives or preservatives.

Apparently, tart cherries contain 16 different antioxidants, including vitamins A, C and E, as well as various minerals.

Good Food Junction is open! 
The Good Food Junction at Station 20 West opened on September 7. It’s open every day from 9 am to 8 pm. Congratulations to all who worked so hard to make this neighbourhood grocery store a reality.

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, like the Wanderlust Facebook page, 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

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

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