Flavourful Saskatoon, January 25, 2016

City Centre Food Co-op, Jan. 28
The next CHEP Community Fresh Food Market is from 10:30 am - 4:30 pm, Jan. 28, at the Saskatoon Community Service Village.

Wine & Cheese, Feb. 14
Tickets are now available for Valentine’s Day wine and cheese pairings at 6 pm, Feb. 13 & 14, at Riversdale Delicatessen – 3 wines, 3 cheeses and antipasti, and a 20% discount on all store items.

Out Of Your Tree
Out Of Your Tree in Saskatoon was established to harvest and share otherwise unwanted fruit. The Facebook moderator has moved and the group needs a new coordinator.

This type of project has done extremely well in other cities. Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton not only picks and shares fruit but also cans and preserves it. They’re creating a micro orchard and are offering educational classes. There is so much potential for something similar in Saskatoon. Why not thinking about helping out?

Eating Right Can Save the World
Our food choices have environmental consequences, but we’re bombarded with information, making it difficult to make wise decisions. Eating Right Can Save the World is a comprehensive look at how our food choices have an impact on the planet.

The author concludes that, “Sustainability, it seems, is a little like religion: we’re all striving for an ideal, but it’s difficult, if not impossible, to achieve perfection. . . . Still, a few simple adjustments help a lot. Stop worrying so much about not getting enough protein, and remember that plant-based protein is a lot easier on the planet than animal protein. Buy organic food whenever you can. Source your food as locally as possible, and eat seasonally to avoid racking up major food miles. Eat less and waste less. Be open-minded and creative about new cuisines. Relax. Have fun. Sustainable eating isn’t synonymous with masochism.” 

I was interested to learn that omnivores eat 60% more protein than they require and vegetarians, who people often suspect of not getting enough protein, eat 20% more than required. And the excess is excreted – a complete waste.

Good Reads
I came across lots of interesting articles this past week. Here are just a few.

Interview with Chef Darren Craddock, Riverside Country Club, in Good Life Vancouver 

Bingeing on health foods won’t affect your immune system, but cold, stress, age, and exercise (it’s good for you!) will.

The Herbivorous Butcher, Minneapolis, will stock “hickory-smoked ribs, pepperoni, sausages, jerky, brats, ham, maple-glazed bacon, deli turkey, pastrami, corned beef, salami and a host of other sleight-of-hand items, all prepared minus the benefit of pork, beef, poultry and other animal proteins.” The owners say they’re hoping to give omnivores an easy, comfortable way to switch to a vegan diet, even if it’s only one day a week. 

Practically every banana grown in the western world is descended from a plant grown in the greenhouse of an English stately home. But their death is imminent.

Ffwrn, Fishguard
I had lunch at Ffwrn, the most delightfully eccentric restaurant in Fishguard on Saturday. The Women’s Institute Hall has been turned into a restaurant cum bakery with a large wood oven at the back. The owners are welcoming, and the husband struck me as quite a character. The menu is limited at this time of year, but I enjoyed a potato-leek-camembert pie and a glass of mulled wine. And I was finally able to buy a loaf of dense whole wheat bread straight from the wood-fired oven.

Ffwrn, pronounced “foorn” is “four” in French and “oven” in English.

Here’s a lovely review with more photos.

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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