Wanderlust and Words

Botte Chai Bar  I enjoyed a cold drink on an outdoor patio at Botte Chai Bar this week. They have various Persian desserts and 4 kinds of baklava – I recommend the small Persian rolls stuffed with pistachio. I plan to go back and try something from their lunch menu. Our Farm Our Farm will be back at Broadway & 8th (St. Joseph Church parking lot) on Saturday, June 30, and every Saturday in July, August, and September from 8 am to noon . Be sure to stop by for some of their lovely locally grown organic vegetables. Organic Cherries  Little Quail Ridge Orchards had a limited supply of organic cherries at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Saturday and you had to ask for them. They expect to have a more plentiful organic supply in two weeks’ time. Vegan Cheeses Gud Eats is stocking a wide range of vegan cheese, including Miyoko’s , which I got hooked on when I was in Victoria last summer. Traditional Plant Uses, July 7 Sandra Walker will be offering a works...

I seem to have been on a binge of reading mysteries that take place in foreign countries. If you enjoy mysteries and travel adventures, you may enjoy the following books. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions  Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano is a Felliniesque account of Auntie Poldi’s adventures when she retires to Sicily to drink herself to death. Auntie Poldi is larger than life (morning salutations in the nude on her roof-top patio, vodka for breakfast, photograph albums of traffic police – ah! men in uniform!) and so are her relatives and neighbours – the sad lady who owns the gelateria, the handsome police detective banished to Sicily for his misdeeds in Milan, the impoverished nobleman who quotes German poetry non-stop, and the businessman who may well be a member of the Mafia. I’ll be reading more of Giordano’s books. Death in Sunset Grove  If I’m even half as feisty when I’m 80 as these three old ladies in a Finnish retirement home, I’l...

Hearth Restaurant  Hearth Restaurant is now open on Melrose Avenue just off Ruth Street. I interviewed the owners , Beth Rogers and Thayne Robstad, a few years ago. Rosco’s Roti, June 23  Rosco’s Roti is bringing Caribbean roti to the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on June 23. Haskap Days, July 5 & 6  The University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program is offering a haskap school on July 5 and a field tour on July 6 for farmers and advanced gardeners. Eating Dinner with Canada’s Migrant Workers An interesting article about the daily lives of Canada’s migrant farm workers : “In 2017, about 43 percent of Canada’s 112,000 paid farmland workers were migrants. For the people we import to work our fields, food not only provides a livelihood but is also essential for maintaining their mental health, for surviving in isolation from their homes and families.” On the Bookshelf  I’ve just finished reading Godforsaken Wines: A Slightly Tipsy Journey through the Wo...

Market News: BC Cherries & Goat Cheese  Little Quail Ridge Orchards will be back at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on June 16 with cherries!! I’m also looking forward to trying the goat cheese from Hal Jadeske. Edible & Medicinal Plants in your Garden, June 27 LichenNature will be offering a workshop on edible and medicinal plants in your garden from 6-8 pm , June 27, at the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre's Garden Patch. Mission Hill Going Organic Mission Hill Winery is transitioning all its vineyards, a tenth of the Okanagan’s grape-producing land, to organic. The viticulture manager recognizes that this will take a shift in philosophy: “You can farm organically with a conventional mindset,” he says. “You can spray just as much using organic chemicals, but the way we are looking at it is not just about farming conventionally using organic products, it is about getting the land working healthily for us.”  Bridging the Summer Gap for Hungry Kids ...

Wine Tasting, June 6  Ingredients Artisan Market is hosting an impromptu (and free) wine tasting from 3-6 pm, June 6. Indigenous Food Sovereignty, June 7  Join Dr. Priscilla Settee and Ms. Jenni Schrenk for a shared meal and a talk on traditional Indigenous food systems at 7 pm , June 7. The meal includes fish. Snowy Village Saskatoon  Michelle Zimmer of Wild Serendipity Foods says the bingsoo at Snowy Village Saskatoon are delicious. Bingsoo (bingsu) is a Korean Shaved Ice that is loaded with sweetened condensed milk, fruit, chocolate, and other goodies. Tea Time Party Service  Michelle also told me about Tea Time Party Service . From china tea cups to fair trade tea, dainty sandwiches, scones and cakes, Shenuka, the owner, brings everything to your home. All you have to do is invite your friends, sit back, and relax. Shenuka’s family immigrated from Sri Lanka where tea and tea production are an important part of culture and industry. By sharing her l...