Flavourful Saskatoon, February 22, 2016

Home Delivery 
A shout-out to Dad’s Organic Market. Their home delivery service can be so helpful and they phone to discuss any questions or substitutions.

Petra Market Offers Syrian Refugees a Taste of Home 
It’s good to hear that Petra Market is providing Syrian refugees and other Saskatoon newcomers with a welcoming place where they can purchase familiar foods. I visited it a few years ago and really liked it.

Want to Make Your Farmers’ Market More Accessible?
I thought that this was an interesting article about making your farmers’ market more accessible so that it serves more than the “educated, white Whole Foods” crowd. Location isn’t a problem for the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, but I wonder if the recent increase in beer, wine, and spirits producers sends the wrong message.

Healthy Habits Food Swap 
I thought a healthy habits food swap was an interesting idea. This one is being held in conjunction with the Hastings Park Farmers’ Market. There are lots of details explaining how it’s organized.

Healthy Fast Food 
I’m intrigued by the idea of healthy fast food that leaves to one side the snobbism of Michelin stars and Gold Medal Plates. Instead, the focus is on tasty food that people can enjoy and is good for them. I really hope this Watts food truck is a success.

“Our cheeseburger and our veggie burger are really, really addictive,” says Choi. “That’s the biggest thing we were looking for: that addictive factor.” ….. “One of the things about food in our country is that it’s been completely denatured,” says Patterson. “If you look at food from Mexico to Thailand, to China, to India, they cook with spices. They cook with deep, rich flavours, acidity, fermentation. None of that is in American cooking. We have meatloaf and gravy. We have burgers. We have food from which the soul has been removed.” 

Cooked 
I’m looking forward to watching Michael Pollan’s Cooked on Netflix.

In an interview with Pollan, he says his approach is investigative not prescriptive: “My assumption was that in the mere act of caring about provenance, our food would get better because the opacity of the food system is what protects it from reform. We as journalists have this perhaps touching belief that if people have the right information, they’ll make the right decision.” 

Saving Our Skins: Building a Vineyard Dream in France
In Grape Expectations, Caro Feely told the story of how she and her husband bought a vineyard in France. In her second book, Saving Our Skins: Building a Vineyard Dream in France, she shares how she and her family made a go of it and started making money.

Producing great wine wasn’t enough. To make ends meet, they offer wine tours, holiday cottages, vineyard shares, and sell their waste product to another business. Feely says, “if we wanted to be in this wine business, we had to be rebels. We had to stand out and change the rules to suit us, rather than succumb to the rules of a game set by large buyers, a game doomed to be lost by small producers.”

In addition to diversifying their business, the Feelys try to share with others the importance of purchasing wine, like theirs, which is organic and biodynamic. It’s a great read if you enjoy wine and support entrepreneurs and organic food.

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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