Flavourful Saskatoon, July 18, 2016

Lily Festival at Black Fox Farm and Distillery

Festival of India, July 23
The Hindu Society of Saskatchewan is holding a Festival of India from 5-8 pm, July 23, in Meewasin Park. There will be a parade, dance and theater performances, henna artists, and vegetarian food. Everyone is welcome.

Vodka Options
Regina’s Birmingham Vodka & Ale House has opened a branch in Saskatoon at 109-810 Circle Drive East.

Hungry Kids
The Salvation Army’s Food on the Move program expects to feed lunches to over 8,000 kids this summer when there are no school lunch programs. Lunch will be delivered to 12 locations: White Buffalo Youth Lodge, Ashworth Holmes Park, A.H. Browne Park, Dr. Seager Wheeler Park, Archibald McDonald Park, Mount Royal Park, Pleasant Hill Park, St. Mary's Wellness Centre, St. Andrew's Park, St. John's School Park, Broughton Park, and Optimist Park.

Earth Bound Bakery's garden is coming along nicely

From Food Bank to Food Centre
“Wow!’ is the first word out of my mouth, upon visiting the new Peter McKee Community Food Centre in Moncton this week. The freshly painted, bright and spacious building feels more like a modern coffee shop or neighbourhood market than what might normally come to mind when picturing a local “food bank’." There’s a community garden, a large food storage area, a children’s play area, and they plan to add a teaching kitchen and a thrift store. The Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre is interested in moving in this direction.

The Latest Crop in the Local Food Movement – Wheat
A California-based pasta company has started labelling its wheat with the exact varietal and the farm where it was grown. “Modern American farmers did not invent the notion that specific varietals of wheat from various geographic regions have different flavors; you can trace the concept back to Italy centuries ago, where each Italian region championed the quality, texture, and taste of their own wheat pasta over all others.” 

Treasure Life Flour Mills in the Creston Valley, BC, grows over 23 varieties of heirloom wheat.

Famous “Italian” Vegetables
Tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant – they’ve become synonymous with Italian cuisine, but these vegetables aren’t native to Italy. Three cheers for the immigrants!


Mesmerizing Diversity
Joseph Simcox travels the world searching for under-utilized and wild food. “Before the European colonialists came here, some 3,000 species of plants were used for food in North America, and this is excluding Mexico. . . . we need to re-examine those useful plants of old so that we can use them in the future. . . . I believe one way is to start by mesmerizing people with diversity. The strategy is to introduce the marvels of food plant diversity to the stores through photos and stories of food traditions past." 

Trick Your Brain into Healthy Eating
You can trick your brain into healthy eating: switch to smaller plates, turn off the television, eat mindfully.

 Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy EcoFriendly Sask profiling Saskatchewan environmental initiatives and events. 

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