Wanderlust and Words

Easter Egg Hunt  Join the Easter Egg Hunt at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from 10 am to 2 pm , Saturday, April 4. The Market will also be open on Sunday, April 5. Liquor Tastings  The Co-op Liquor Store organizes regular tastings:  April 10, 7 pm – Concha y Toro wine (including Bonterra) April 25, 7 pm – the history and production methods of several rum distilleries April 30, 7 pm – Nathalie Bonhomme , Spanish wines, including one made in collaboration with Bodegas Juan Gil , Jumilla Wally’s Urban Market Garden It must be spring – or else Wally of Wally's Urban Market Garden is very optimistic. He told me he planned to start planting garlic and onions on March 29! Cider  What could be nicer than a thirst-quenching glass of cider in an English pub or a French crèperie? But cider is also popular in northern Spain, parts of Germany and other countries around the world as I discovered when I read World’s Best Ciders by Pete Brown and Bill Brad...

Way back in November, I visited SMAK Ukrainian Store & Coffee Shop at 1002 - 22nd Street West, open Monday-Friday, 10 am to 6 pm. They stock an impressive variety of products as these photographs will illustrate. Mushrooms - yum! Marinated vegetables They also stock no-stir, quick-cooking barley, buckwheat and millet. Jam Perogies Soup in a jar - just add water Homemade bread and rolls with cherry, plum and poppyseed filling Spices and marinades Kvas - a lighly fermented drink made from rye bread Honey with fruit and nuts Tea - some with herbs from the Ukrainian mountains

Urban Agriculture for Sceptics, Mar. 27 Noelle Chorney and William Hrycan will discuss the pros and cons of urban agriculture and field questions from the floor from 2-3:30 pm , March 27, at the Frances Morrison Library. Transitioning to Organic Farming, April Saskatchewan Organic is offering a series of one-day workshops across the province in April on how to profit from transitioning to organic farming . Bizarre Beers, Apr. 1 This month's beer tasting at the Co-op Liquor Store is a series of weird and interesting beers from various breweries. Famoso Pizzeria I really enjoyed my mini pizza and chocolate gelato at Famoso Pizzeria . Good food and a nice, casual atmosphere (photos, except for the wine, are of Famoso Pizzeria). 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Saskatoon will soon have a new addition to its craft brewing scene. 9 Mile Legacy Brewing , located in the Ideas Inc. building next to the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, will be opening in late April and plans to sell growler...

Slow Food Saskatoon  Slow Food Saskatoon is planning some interesting events over the next few months. I encourage you to attend one or all of them. In addition to the events listed below, there are several members-only events – an excellent reason to become a member of this international organization . Mar. 29, 1:30-3 pm (The Local Coffee Bar) – Hear from Nicole Davis, Daybreak Mill, and other past attendees about all there is to see, taste and enjoy at Terra Madre, an international slow food festival. Apr. 19, 1:30-3 pm (GSA Commons, Emmanuel & St. Chad Chapel) – In celebration of National Poetry Month, local poets will read from their works. May 24 – Eat These Words, Slow Food Annual Fundraising Dinner & Readings from MFA Creative Writing students (part of Wild About Saskatoon’s NatureCity Festival ) June 28, 1:30-3 pm – tour of Saskatoon Food Bank’s Garden Patch Saskatchewan’s Craft Breweries  There was an excellent profile of some of Saskatche...

Saskatoon Food Bank’s Garden Patch  In 2014, the Saskatoon Food Bank’s Garden Patch grew over 30 varieties of vegetables and produced 17,000 pounds of produce . Volunteer now to form a team and adopt a plot to plant, weed and harvest in the summer. Backyard Garden Sharing If you’ve got a garden you can’t use or are itching to turn the soil but don’t have a space, contact Jared Regier, coordinator of CHEP’s Backyard Garden Sharing Program . Espresso & Lavender  Riversdale Delicatessen has an excellent selection of cheese. There are at least six kinds of Pecorino, but the cheese that caught my fancy was the Espresso & Lavender . It’s a subtle flavour (you don't have to like coffee!) and I really enjoyed it. Not cheap but worth it. Vending Machine Beans Affordable food was hard to come by in some of the poorer neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, until a small company started distributing vending machines full of bulk staples , such as r...

Down to Earth, Mar. 4  Jasmin Fookes and Brit MacDonald are the new hosts of CFCR Radio ’s environment and sustainability program that they’ve renamed Down to Earth . They’ve asked me to be their first guest! I’ll be on the radio this coming Wednesday, March 4, at 6:30 pm , to talk about food, the environment and my two online publications ( Wanderlust and Words and EcoFriendly Sask ). Meet Javier Paredes, Torreon de Paredes Winery, Mar. 21  Meet Javier Paredes of Chile’s Torreon de Paredes Winery on Saturday, March 21. He’ll be at Ingredients from 11 am to 1 pm offering samples of his wines. There’ll be a formal wine tasting from 2-3 pm at the Co-op Liquor Store where he’ll open a wide selection of wines from three different ranges, including some in Saskatchewan for the first time. Javier will also be attending dinners in Moose Jaw and Regina . Slow Food Canada 2015 National Meeting, Apr. 24-26  Slow Food Canada is holding its annual meeting, alo...