Flavourful Saskatoon, November 9, 2020


Local News 
I love getting freebies! It was so much fun to find a free sample included in my online Saskatoon Farmers’ Market delivery. Thank you Mossbank Farms for the sprouts. They were excellent and I ordered more this week. I’m delighted to see more and more vendors signing up to deliver their products online. Both Grandora Gardens and Simpkins Market Garden, two of my favorite vendors, are now online as well as in-person at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market location on Koyl Avenue. Saskatoon is so fortunate to have a year-round farmers’ market! 

Tasty Habits is getting ready for Christmas with boxes of chocolates as well as bars. Sign up for their email newsletter to get a free chocolate bar and a one-time only 10% discount. It’s really good to know that the cocoa beans they are using come “directly from farmers participating in the Cocoa Horizons program.” By purchasing Tasty Habit products, “you are participating in training, financial incentives and community empowerment to create self-driven, prospering farmer communities.” 

Kapusta and Kake (Saskatoon Farmers’ Market Co-operative) makes really yummy vegetarian borscht – try it and see if you don’t agree. 

Now That’s Surprising! 
A couple has started harvesting saffron in Nova Scotia’s “banana belt.” They hope to grow tea next. 

Grapefruit are unusual, unexpected fruit – from their accidental hybridization in the West Indies to their interaction with many common medications – a fascinating account of the grapefruit. 


In the Kitchen 
Garlic – you either love it or hate it – and the reason why has deep roots in class, race, and geography. Ancient Romans left garlic to the lower classes, “while Alfonso King of Castile hated it so much he would punish anyone who appeared in his court with even a hint of it on his breath.” Northern Italians condemned southern Italians, who used plentiful amounts of garlic, as being “primitive, not completely evolved.” Italian immigrants to the United States were insultingly called “garlic eaters.” 

There were once more than a million varieties of rice in India, but they were narrowed down to a few high-yielding varieties in a drive towards greater productivity. A small handful of people are attempting to revive India’s rich cultural heritage by bringing a wide variety of crops back from the brink of extinction. 

Waste Not, Want Not 

Winter Fun
Looking for outdoor winter activities this winter? EcoFriendly Sask has lots of suggestions throughout Saskatchewan.

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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