Flavourful Saskatoon, August 10, 2020


Local News 
The Saskatchewan Environmental Society will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a riverside picnic from 12:30-2 pm, Aug. 30. Registration is required as participation is limited to 30 people.

Buy pasta, gnocchi, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sodas – straight from Italy – at Beppi’s Gelato.

I was sorry to learn that Little Bird Pâtisserie has closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What a shame! It is so important, now more than ever, to support small local businesses. There are a thousand reasons why you should shop and eat local, but one of the best is making new friends. 

Padrón Pepper Roulette 
 I’ve been enjoying padrón peppers (quick fried until they blister) from Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens. But you have to be prepared to take a risk, because “unos pican otros no” or “some are hot, some are not.” The spicy ones are in the minority, but it certainly wakes you up to what you’re eating when you bite into one of them.

Padrón peppers come from Padrón, Galicia, in northwestern Spain. “According to legend, these peppers made their way to Spain from South America via Spanish monks in the 16th century, who began growing them inside the walls of their monastery in the village of Herbón.” They are reputed to be an aphrodisiac and are very popular in Spain where they’re often served as tapas.


Recipes & Heritage 
Eating with the Seasons, Anishinaabeg, Great Lakes Region by Derek Nicholas combines recipes, history, and language of the Anishinaabeg people found in the Great Lakes region of Canada. “I think it is important because it’s our story,” Nicholas said. “If we lose our language, we lose our spirit.” The book is available for free on the University of Minnesota website. Print copies can be ordered at blurb.com for $16.

Wine & Beer 
New Belgium’s Fat Tire beer is certified carbon neutral #drinksustainably.

French wine harvest is almost 3 weeks early this year, adding to the existing challenges of a shortage of seasonal workers, stricter sanitary measures, a shortfall in domestic sales due to COVID, and a US tariff on imported wines.

Food for Thought 
In an interview with Alicia Kennedy, Anna Sulan Masing says that for her decolonizing means shifting the focus, the narrative, by de-centering and avoiding binary narratives. For me, that means actively looking for alternate voices, which I have found in the profusion of email newsletters that have emerged as a result of the pandemic. These are fresh new voices from people from a variety of backgrounds

One of my favorites is Vittles with recent articles about Nigerian yaji, Salvadorian pupusas, and East African mandazi. The articles are written from a personal perspective, be it hunting for ingredients, starting a small business as a newcomer to the UK, or attempting to recreate a family recipe. In Digestion provides a curated list of articles from sources I had never even heard of before. Alicia Kennedy is very knowledgeable about US food and wine professionals and has introduced me to different perspectives and interests.

Some of the others aren’t as regular, but I enjoy reading Shelf Offering from a woman living in India, as well as The Cleaver and the Butterfly (Szechuan food) and J’adore le plonk (wine and astrology!) All have free subscriptions with some offering additional content for a monthly fee.

An article from Taste contains even more newsletter options. I signed up for a couple.


Thank you for reading Flavourful Saskatoon. If you enjoyed it, please share it with someone – or many someones! 

 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. 

 You can follow Wanderlust and Words on Facebook, Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

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