Flavourful Saskatoon, January 21, 2019

Bow Barley Showcase, Jan. 26 
Local craft brewers have been collaborating with crop scientists and farmers to grow a barley that meets all their needs. The brewers will be presenting their Bow Barley beers at a showcase on Jan. 26 at Winston’s English Pub.

Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Prairies, July 19-21 
Edible Landscapes Permaculture Designs & Consulting in Regina is offering an 18-hour course from July 19-21 in sourcing and growing local edible and medicinal plants.

Make Your Own Cream Cheese
You can make your own cream cheese with a Cultures for Health starter kit available at Dad’s Organic Market. My brother tried it out and said it isn’t too much work, tastes good, and spreads easily. You can choose whether you want a low- or high-fat version and whether or not you want to add flavourings.

Making a Difference 
Former City Councillor Tiffany Paulsen showed her kids how individuals could make a difference by buying groceries for people who looked like they could do with a helping hand.

Food Waste 
More than half of all food produced in Canada is lost or wasted. Here are the main causes:
• “Consumers buying food at the grocery store, particularly when there's a sale, and throwing the surplus away. 
• Consumers and retailers throwing out food near or past its best-before date, despite the fact product dating practices 'have no correlation to food safety' and the food can often still be eaten or donated. 
• Produce being left to rot in the field due to labour shortages, or low prices creating an environment in which it is no longer worth it for farmers to harvest. 
• Thousands of acres of produce being 'plowed under' due to cancelled orders. 
• Fish being caught and tossed back into the water to die if they don't match a quota.”

Healthy & Sustainable
A recently released report provides a simple recipe for a healthy diet and sustainable food production: fill half of each plate with fruit, nuts, and vegetables; eat whole grains; and consume less animal products. The Guardian newspaper published a a week's menu based on the guidelines. It certainly looks healthy, but despite being vegetarian, I would have to work hard to be successful.

Life, Death & Fermentation 
I highly recommend this long article about the philosophy and culture of fermented foods: “If you think about it this way, there’s something very political about fermentation. Our work life makes it difficult to form daily habits. The modern food system has atrophied our cultural knowledge and traditions of food preservation practices. It makes sense that so many people find it hard to integrate into everyday life. To create a world where fermentation is the norm, we’d need to change the world.” 

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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