Wanderlust and Words

Crepe Bar Pop-Up, Nov. 3  Crossing Cultures Catering is hosting a pop-up crepe bar at Revolve Café from 11 am-2 pm , Nov. 3. Rosco’s Roti, Nov. 9 Rosco’s Roti is hosting a pop-up lunch at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from 11 am-2 pm , Nov. 9, with both vegan and meat curries. CHEP Good Food Box  The Saskatoon Farmers’ Market is now a depot for CHEP’s Good Food Box program offering good quality, fresh produce at affordable prices every two weeks. Kit Kat in Japan The New York Times offers an in-depth look at how Kit Kat chocolate bars became a booming business in Japan , changing expectations about what a candy bar should be. The flavour options are astonishing and are often only available in one particular city. What started out as the British workingman’s chocolate bar has achieved cult status with gift-wrapped packages of luxury varieties. Tea presented well at City Perks coffee shop - and don't miss the peanut butter and white chocolate cookies - yum!...

Spudtacular, Oct. 26  Frisk Market is hosting a Spudtacular from 6-9 pm , Oct. 26, so adults can dress up and enjoy some special spud-based vegan dishes. Locally Made Yogurt  Prairie Sun Orchard is now selling housemade yogurt, no gelatin and sweetened with honey, at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. They’re also offering yogurt sundaes with unsweetened cherries and blueberries. HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery  I had lunch at HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery across from the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market last week. It’s an open, light-filled space with additional seating on a second level. The Spicy Thai Soup was filling and flavourful. But, vegetarians beware! My egg salad sandwich, normally a safe bet, was stuffed with bacon – yuck! Ask before you order. Sal Pita  You can buy locally baked pita at Sal Pita on 51st Street. They plan to make naan bread as well in future. Saskatchewan Honey Jenn Sharp introduces some of Saskatchewan’s beeke...

I love the idea of big, bold vegetarian food, so I was pleased to be offered a preview copy of Root & Leaf: Big, Bold Vegetarian Food by English chef Rich Harris. I was even happier when I realized that the recipes live up to the title. Root & Leaf serves up a full seven courses of creative, flavourful recipes from around the world and Harris encourages readers to be flexible and not afraid to mix things up. Endless Variety of Flavours  Harris isn’t a vegetarian, but he does believe we should all be eating more fruits and vegetables. He wants people looking at his cookbook “to get excited about cooking with vegetables and the endless variety of flavours and textures that are at our disposal if we make them the main event.”  Licorice-scented fennel is a vegetable that we don’t see all that often in Canada, but recipes for Braised Fennel with Pangrattato and Fennel Tarte Fine are appealing. Some of the recipes are simple and straightforward but still add doll...

Bread & Berries, Oct. 28  Make bread and jam from scratch (you even get to grind the grain) from 12:30-3:30 pm , Oct. 28. Register in advance with stefanie@chep.org or (306) 655-4575 ($10 fee). Hallowe’en Spooktacular, Oct. 31  Little monsters, kittens, and mini-heroes are invited to attend a Hallowe’en Spooktacular at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market from 11 am-3 pm , Oct. 31. There will be age-appropriate activities, pumpkin painting, and trick or treating indoors from the market vendors. Prairie Pours, Nov. 3  The Glen at Crossmount is hosting Prairie Pours with alcoholic beverages from a variety of different local businesses from 6-11 pm , Nov. 3. Vegetarian Ukrainian, Nov. 8  Join Chef Jenni and learn how to make some Ukrainian classics on Nov. 8 at The Local Kitchen. Steep Hill Food Co-op Steep Hill Food Co-op has been in operation as a co-operative selling organic food for 40 years . That’s a remarkable achievement and well worth celeb...

“Simple donuts done really well”  Darkside Donuts , a new venture by Bryn Rawlyk of The Night Oven Bakery , will be opening its doors to the public at 9 am, Saturday, October 13, and Saskatoon is in for a treat. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the soft opening on Friday evening and the donuts are delicious! Each donut is big and thick with a generous layer of icing dripping down the sides and pooling at the base. The manager explained that their goal is to serve simple donuts done really well. The ingredients are all organic and they’ll be using as many local, seasonal ingredients as possible. There were 6-8 varieties available when I was there and I sampled the strawberry and chocolate. Both were excellent, but I’ll be going back for the Darkside chocolate donut as the icing was fabulous – dark, rich, and fruity. The other choices were very tempting – sourdough cake, filled pumpkin pie, Venn coffee, cranberry fritter, and animal cracker (vanilla icing sprinkled wi...

Citizenship Ceremony, Oct. 12  Welcome new Canadian citizens , including Jennifer and Adi from Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens , at 10:30 am , Oct. 12, at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Nosh Rummage Sale, Oct. 14  Nosh is holding a rummage sale with baked good, plants, and random wares at 5 pm , Oct. 14. Food Not Bombs, Oct. 21  Food Not Bombs is having their next cook on Oct. 21 if you want to help or are looking for a warm, healthy meal. Italian Wine Seminar & Tasting, Oct. 27  Doug Reichel Wine Marketing is hosting an Italian wine tasting with winemaker Antonio Antonelli from Cantine Galasso winery in D’Abruzzo, Italy, from 7-11 pm, Oct. 27. Three Farmers  Three Farmers Foods started selling camellina oil in 2011. They’ve come a long way in the past 7 years and are now 170th on a list of Canada’s top 500 fastest-growing companies . Congratulations! Best Food Writing 2017 I’m always fascinated by the different aspects of food that a...

Craft & Bake Sale, Oct. 6  Support Street Cat Rescue by attending their craft and bake sale from 9:30 am-6 pm , Oct. 6, at Market Mall (next to Safeway). Sask Craft Brewers Festival, Oct. 13  Enjoy a selection of Saskatchewan-made beer at the Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Festival from 3-8 pm , Oct. 13, at Winston’s English Pub. Frisk Market Here’s a review of Frisk Market, Saskatoon’s first vegan grocery store , for those of you like me who haven’t yet made the trip out there. You can pick up a sandwich or grain bowl in the bistro. Saskatoon Farmers’ Market  There was an excellent turnout at City Hall this week for the discussion about the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, and we’ve made some progress. Councillors now appreciate the difference between a public and a farmers’ market and have changed their RFP to include a 3-day-a-week farmers’ market. I wish they hadn’t attached that to somehow “animating” the space for the rest of the week. I was interviewed o...