Flavourful Saskatoon, January 20, 2020

Local Happenings 
Congratulations to Kathy Evans, department head secretary in the College of Medicine’s Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, who has received the 2019 Sydney Inskip Award. One of the many things Kathy does to establish a welcoming environment in the department and the community is to invite students into her home to cook and share a meal. I worked with Kathy for a short while and she went out of her way to make me feel welcome and to help me obtain contract work once I went freelance.

CHEP’s Collective Kitchens Partnership is hosting a Grub ‘n Gab starting at 5:30 pm, Jan. 23. Following supper, there will be a presentation by Slow Food Saskatoon explaining what slow food is and how it’s tied to culture. Pre-registration is required. Contact Janet at 306-655-4575 or janet@chep.org if you’re interested in attending.

Edible Landscapes Permaculture Design and Consulting, Regina, is offering a 3-day course covering edible and medicinal prairie plants and how to grow edible perennials from July 17-19. Register early; their courses fill up quickly.

Food for Thought 

“It’s hard to remember all the good restaurants, but a great restaurant is hard to forget.” 

(restaurant in Puerto Vallarta) 

I’m delighted to see that a list of health care food trends includes serving less meat and more local foods as well as prescribing fruit and vegetables. It’s an interesting article with lots of information about programs undertaken by individual hospitals across the US. Let’s hope Saskatoon’s hospitals are following these trends.

I’m intrigued by the concept behind Nowhere Kitchen in Edmonton. Chefs of colour host dinners “focusing on their cultural identity and food justice.” For example, on Jan. 24, Chef Chris Tom-Kee is “cooking Chinese cuisine while leading discussions around food, identity, and diaspora.”

“Choice works both ways; even as it expands your universe, it somehow shrinks it, too. . . . One trick when it comes to restoring the pleasure principle in the kitchen is to have weeks when you shop as little as possible, and really eke things out. Use what’s in your cupboard; try to think of less as more.”

“It is a hands-on, tongues-out experience. At the Museum of Disgusting Food in Malmö, in Sweden, all the world’s great cuisines are represented. Each exhibit is considered a delicacy somewhere, but strikes many unaccustomed palates as revolting.” It’s interesting to consider why some foods disgust us whereas other people savour them. This finding surprised me, although it makes sense: “people who are more easily disgusted are more likely to be socially conservative. . . People who are highly sensitive to disgust are especially likely to oppose immigration.” 

Recipes
I really need to become more adventurous, even with something simple like a sandwich. This recipe caught my attention. “A fried tofu cutlet slathered with curried ‘mayo’ and covered in an eye-opening slaw – this is how to make sandwiches exciting.” Although it also looks like a lot of work! I’m more likely to make a big batch of one of these soups. Lentil soup garnished with artichoke hearts sounds good to me. So does cauliflower soup with saffron, lime, and edamame.

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 nature/environmental initiatives and events. 

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