Flavourful Saskatoon, January 25, 2021


“Many people say they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it.” – Richard Adams 

Local News 
I was so sorry to hear that Chef Jenni had lost her sense of taste and smell due to Covid – I do hope it’s only temporary. Nic Miller, Tales from Topographic Kitchens, talks about the importance of taste and smell, moving beyond the realm of food to encompass, memory, imagination, and beauty. She provides a list of additional resources on the importance of taste and smell and what is often discounted until it is lost. 

Order a 3-course Valentine’s Day dinner from Trent at Scratch Provisions. Proceeds will support programming for student parents at Nutana Collegiate. 

Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization. In Saskatoon, they’ve partnered with the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation to distribute food to families in need. You can support their efforts by encouraging local food businesses to contribute their surplus food to Second Harvest. 

It's a little cool outside - why not shop at the Virtual Farmers' Market and have your order delivered to your door?

9 Mile Legacy Brewing now has a newsletter. Sign up for the latest beer and entertainment news from a company that has approached the pandemic with both care and flair. 

Here’s an interesting fundraising idea out of Edmonton – a bag of local treats: “We have curated 4 sizes of Celebrate Edmonton surprise gift bags filled with all new locally made products. . . . Show Edmonton some love, support local and let someone know they deserve the best that Edmonton has to offer.” 


Pizza x 2 
These are tough times for food businesses, so full credit to Sanjay Joshi and his partners for opening a second location of Wow Pizza on February 1 at 2209 Avenue C North. Their first location is on College Drive just off Cumberland Avenue and must have been hard hit when the university went virtual. I visited Wow Pizza at Sanjay’s invitation in July 2019 and appreciated the fact that they were offering housemade ingredients and some unexpected flavours (Achari Chicken with East Indian pickles, Butter Paneer, and a Fruity dessert pizza). They’ll be offering personal pizza and a lunch combo at their new location, which will be handy for people working nearby. 

Fine Dining 
ONA, a vegan restaurant near Bordeaux in southwest France, has been awarded a Michelin star. This is a first for restaurants serving only animal-free products in France. 

Sex in Sicily 
Do Italian cannoli remind you of something (hint, genitalia)? If so, you won’t be surprised to learn that erotic pastries have a long history. For example, “the Minne Di Sant'Agata or Minni di Virgini (a ricotta-filled half sphere topped with white icing and a candied cherry) was made to look like a breast in honour of St Agatha, a Roman-era martyr whose breasts were cut off for refusing the advances of a man,” while during Carnival Sicilian men give women tube-shaped cannoli to hint at their sexual desires. 

The Politics of Food 
Marcus Rashford has been doing an outstanding job at fighting child poverty in the UK. He speaks from the heart, having experienced hunger as a child and benefitted from community acts of kindness. “My story to get here is all too familiar: my mum worked full-time, earning minimum wage to make sure we always had a good evening meal on the table. But it was not enough. The system was not built for families like mine to succeed, regardless of how hard my mum worked. As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals… food banks and soup kitchens were not alien to us; I recall very clearly our visits to Northern Moor to collect our Christmas dinners every year.” We live in a very individualistic society where we expect people to make it on their own, but that’s not always possible. As Rashford says, “We must stop stigmatising, judging and pointing fingers. Our views are being clouded by political affiliation. This is not politics, this is humanity.” 

Lisa Elaine Held, in Peeled, her online newsletter, questions whether an American company selling “wellness” food to affluent eaters could benefit family farms in Africa. Happily, the answer appears to be yes - by showcasing traditional, climate-friendly crops, working with small-scale farmers, and keeping processing in Africa. 

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 centre).

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