Flavourful Saskatoon, March 16, 2015

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 Saskatchewan’s craft breweries – Nokomis Ale, Rebellion Brewing, Black Bridge Brewery, and Bushwakker Brewing – in this past weekend’s Regina Leader-Post.

The Temperance Brewing Co-operative Ltd. is taking a different approach as it’s using a co-op model. “Temperance’s plan is to build a base of a few hundred members who are invested, both financially and psychologically, in the brewery. They hope to leverage the capital raised from members into additional financing for a 10 to 20 hectolitre brewery with a full-service tap room to serve the region. As an initial step, they hope later this year to contract brew a beer to get the name out and start generating some revenue.”

Flying Dust First Nation 
Flying Dust First Nation has a 20-hectare organic garden, a storage facility that includes a farm store and a commercial kitchen, and a CSA. They offer cooking and crop production classes.

Christie's - Il Secondo Bakery

Coffee Cherries & Leaves 
If you’re always eager to try something new, here are a couple of coffee-related options.

City Perks serves cascara, a coffee cherry tea that is made from the dried skins of the coffee cherries once the beans have been removed. It doesn’t taste like coffee and has a much lower caffeine content. “Cascara is often described as having a sweet, fruity taste with notes of rose hip, hibiscus, cherry, red currant, mango or even tobacco.” 

Another option is coffee leaf tea (I don’t know whether it’s available in Saskatoon). It has no caffeine and very high levels of antioxidants.

(with thanks to Daryl (@ddgrunau), one of City Perks’ very knowledgeable baristas)

Leibster Nomination 
My thanks to Nicole Davis, Daybreak Mill, for nominating me for the Leibster Award. I really admire Nicole and her determination to grow, mill and distribute healthy, organic flours, grains and cereals. Young farmers like Nicole are our hope for the future.

The Future of Local Food 
The number of farmers’ markets has changed very little in the past two years as food producers find new ways to get their food into the hands of local consumers: e-commerce, food hubs and farm-to-school programs.

Is the Era of Big Food Coming to an End? 
Consumer demand for fresh, healthy food has led to a decline in the growth of the large food companies, such as Kellogg and Kraft. Some of the major food producers are responding by offering healthier options. Unfortunately, some processed foods continue to see growth, such as Pringles chips and Chef Boyardee’s canned pastas.

Vegan Chefs
It’s great to see vegan chefs receiving media coverage. In this article, three vegan chefs (including a 14-year-old girl) share recipes and outline what inspired them to become chefs.

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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