Flavourful Saskatoon, February 10, 2014

Warm the Bones, Feb. 22 
SaskMade Marketplace’s monthly get-together on February 22 (10:30-4) is aimed at spreading the warmth with soup, pie and hot cider. Plus you’ll get a chance to test TuBees potential new honey flavours – will it be Ginger or Coconut (11-3)?

Cheese & Beer Night, Feb. 28
Details are now out for Prairie Sun Brewery’s Cheese & Beer Night on February 28. There will be over 25 different cheeses, paired with 10 different Prairie Sun beers, a fondue corner, cheese and chocolate, cooking demos, door prizes, and much, much more. Only 50 tickets are available so buy yours right away.


Don’t Panic!
I arrived at Earth Bound Bakery and the door was locked with signs saying they were undergoing renovations. Oh, no! How could I make it through the week without a croissant and a crusty loaf of bread!

Never fear. They’ve set up a counter in the doorway to Dad’s Organic Grocery so you can still get your fill of goodies. Trent has even started making slices of focaccia.

Fresh Turmeric 
A basket of gnarly roots with an apricot glow caught my eye in Dad’s Organic Grocery. It looked like ginger, but was much more colourful. What could it be? It was organic turmeric root. Turmeric was first used as a dye and later for its medicinal properties. Here are some ideas on how to use fresh turmeric.

Pennywise, Pound Foolish
I love Cara Cara oranges. But they’re expensive. So when I saw regular oranges for a quarter of the price at Dad’s (both were organic), I bought them instead. What a mistake. The cheaper ones were full of seeds and completely lacking in flavour. I’ll stick to Cara Cara oranges in future, though I may try some Blood Oranges as well because I love the bright colour.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Wine and chocolate – how could it be anything but delicious! Check out this recipe from BC Wineguys in Nelson, BC (the friendliest wine store in the West).


Food  Hackathon
Food people recently met with techie builders for a 48-hour hackathon/startup weekend in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Their goal was to rethink production, distribution and consumption and develop creative solutions to current agri-food challenges. Here’s one account of the weekend. Wouldn’t it be great to have a similar event in Saskatoon?

Has Craft Beer Gone Too Far?
As you know, I’m a huge supporter of craft beer. But this quiz makes me wonder whether it’s becoming a touch too extreme. A beer made with yeast from the brewmaster’s beard – seriously? Yuck! And I won’t even mention some of the other weird and wonderful things that have been made into beer.

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

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