Flavourful Saskatoon, May 20, 2019


Shopping 
River Layne Chocolate Couture recently opened a storefront at #39 – 1736 Quebec Avenue. The individual chocolates and bars are works of art and taste delicious too! (photo credit: River Layne)


The Saskatoon Co-op Liquor Store on 8th Street has a wide range of wine, both Canadian and international. I was thrilled to find a large assortment of Parés Baltà organic, biodynamic wines made by women winemakers. I was treated like royalty when I visited their vineyard near Barcelona several years ago.


NatureCity Festival 
May 21-26 is the 7th annual NatureCity Festival with over 60 events organized by 50 different organizations – what an achievement! Here are a couple of food-based events. I’ve listed a number of other interesting events on EcoFriendly Sask. See you at the Festival!

The Path to Wild Food – 1-2:30 pm, May 24 
Look for edible wild plants, from licorice to sarsaparilla, with Sandra Walker, an ethnobotanist.

NatureCity Beer Release – 8 pm, May 24
Enjoy a pint of beer brewed specially for this year’s Festival at 9 Mile Legacy Brewing and celebrate with Saskatoon’s own Parab Poet.


Food for Thought 
I’m really excited to read about the recycling initiatives at Culina to Go, a new takeout restaurant in Edmonton: reusable cutlery, meals served in returnable roasting pans, and minimal packaging. Time for Saskatoon restaurants to step up and eliminate single-use coffee cups, plastic cutlery, and Styrofoam containers.

In the past few years, vegan cheese options have grown exponentially. They’ll never replace cheese for me, but they do make a great sandwich spread or snack. If the only cheese alternative you’ve tried is fake cheese slices, try some of the newer ones such as Nuts for Cheese or Miyokos – they’re actually fermented and have great flavour and texture. The Guardian has an article about the challenges faced by vegan cheese companies – from catering to businesses to trying to meet differing requirements (melt, chunks, spread).

Cookbooks 
Two fermentation cookbooks:
Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz started the fermentation craze.

Ferment by Holly Davis is new and caters to both newbies and experienced fermenters.

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. 

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