Flavourful Saskatoon, March 4, 2013
Saskatoon’s Food System
A group of concerned stakeholders is collaborating to study the current state of food production in the Saskatoon region and enhance understanding of consumer demand and potential linkages between producers and consumers. The group is conducting a regional food system assessment and engaging with the community to create a plan of action that addresses gaps and improves the regional food system.
Producers and consumers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas through online surveys. The consumer survey looks at shopping patterns and accessibility while the producer survey is designed to assess the size of regional food production and its future potential.
Food Safety
How do we ensure that the food we buy in the supermarket is safe for human consumption? I was intrigued to read an article comparing the food safety regulations for eggs in the United States and the European Union as they took completely opposing approaches.
In fact, American eggs would be illegal in a British supermarket. The US says that you must thoroughly wash the eggs – Europeans say you must not clean the eggs in any way. The US says that eggs must be kept in coolers – Europeans find their eggs on the shelf at room temperature. Both have solid arguments in their favour, which shows just how difficult it is to maintain food safety on an industrial scale. (Photo credit: cursedthing on Flickr)
Lunch at Café Noir
Café Noir is now serving lunch – panini, salad and soup – after 11:30, Monday to Friday. I’m looking forward to trying it out.
Hot Cross Buns
Earth Bound Bakery has started selling hot cross buns on Saturdays. They are so good and almost 100% organic – plus locally-grown flour.
Souleio Dinners
Souleio will be open every Friday evening from 6-9 pm for dinner. The focus will be on the food for the first three Fridays, while the last Friday of the month will be reserved for Wine Nights focusing on wine education and pairing.
Dirt Candy
I get so frustrated with the whole culinary culture that believes that without meat you can’t have a gourmet meal. I want vegetables to be treated seriously, as the centrepiece of outstanding cuisine.
So I absolutely love the Dirty Candy Cookbook by Amanda Cohen and Ryan Dunlavey. Not only does it profile vegetables, but it illustrates how to cook vegetables to get maximum flavour. And “illustrate” is exactly what I mean because this is a graphic novel cookbook!
“Anyone can cook a hamburger. Leave the vegetables to the professionals,” says chef, Amanda Cohen.
The recipes are creative and unusual. There’s Roasted Potato Soup with Tomato Pearls and Crispy Vinegar Potatoes which incorporates molecular technology, Olive Fettucini with Pickled Eggplant and Eggplant Jam, Red Pepper Velvet Cake (yup! it uses red peppers), and Molten Beet Cake with Roasted Pear Sorbet and Pear and Beet Leather.
Cohen’s blog is currently featuring a Lady Chef Stampede showcasing the women who’ve changed the history of food. The most recent post is about female sushi chefs.
The cookbook is available at McNally Robinson and the Saskatoon Public Library.
Classy Beans
The Guardian newspaper posted an interesting collection of classy bean recipes. I plan to try the Bean Chili with Chocolate and Walnuts, and I was intrigued by the Lebanese Potato, Cucumber and Fava Bean Soup. There is also a very fancy Matcha and Azuki Gateau Roulé for those of you who are four-star bakers.
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.
A group of concerned stakeholders is collaborating to study the current state of food production in the Saskatoon region and enhance understanding of consumer demand and potential linkages between producers and consumers. The group is conducting a regional food system assessment and engaging with the community to create a plan of action that addresses gaps and improves the regional food system.
Producers and consumers are invited to share their thoughts and ideas through online surveys. The consumer survey looks at shopping patterns and accessibility while the producer survey is designed to assess the size of regional food production and its future potential.
Food Safety
In fact, American eggs would be illegal in a British supermarket. The US says that you must thoroughly wash the eggs – Europeans say you must not clean the eggs in any way. The US says that eggs must be kept in coolers – Europeans find their eggs on the shelf at room temperature. Both have solid arguments in their favour, which shows just how difficult it is to maintain food safety on an industrial scale. (Photo credit: cursedthing on Flickr)
Lunch at Café Noir
Café Noir is now serving lunch – panini, salad and soup – after 11:30, Monday to Friday. I’m looking forward to trying it out.
Hot Cross Buns
Earth Bound Bakery has started selling hot cross buns on Saturdays. They are so good and almost 100% organic – plus locally-grown flour.
Souleio Dinners
Souleio will be open every Friday evening from 6-9 pm for dinner. The focus will be on the food for the first three Fridays, while the last Friday of the month will be reserved for Wine Nights focusing on wine education and pairing.
Dirt Candy
So I absolutely love the Dirty Candy Cookbook by Amanda Cohen and Ryan Dunlavey. Not only does it profile vegetables, but it illustrates how to cook vegetables to get maximum flavour. And “illustrate” is exactly what I mean because this is a graphic novel cookbook!
“Anyone can cook a hamburger. Leave the vegetables to the professionals,” says chef, Amanda Cohen.
The recipes are creative and unusual. There’s Roasted Potato Soup with Tomato Pearls and Crispy Vinegar Potatoes which incorporates molecular technology, Olive Fettucini with Pickled Eggplant and Eggplant Jam, Red Pepper Velvet Cake (yup! it uses red peppers), and Molten Beet Cake with Roasted Pear Sorbet and Pear and Beet Leather.
Cohen’s blog is currently featuring a Lady Chef Stampede showcasing the women who’ve changed the history of food. The most recent post is about female sushi chefs.
The cookbook is available at McNally Robinson and the Saskatoon Public Library.
Classy Beans
The Guardian newspaper posted an interesting collection of classy bean recipes. I plan to try the Bean Chili with Chocolate and Walnuts, and I was intrigued by the Lebanese Potato, Cucumber and Fava Bean Soup. There is also a very fancy Matcha and Azuki Gateau Roulé for those of you who are four-star bakers.
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.
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