Wanderlust and Words

A friend and I took a road trip out to Osler this week to visit FG Market Ltd . It’s a big, brand-new store stocking a wide range of fresh, frozen, and canned foods; wine and spirits; baked goods; beauty products; and candy. They specialize in local food so we found fruit wines, liqueurs, and spirits from all corners of the province as well as Koko Patisserie baked goods from Regina, home baking, and lots of home-canned jams and pickles. There’s a really large selection of flavoured oils and vinegars, a large freezer full of meat products, and lots of Homestead ice cream. The market offers a daily lunch special, but if you’re vegetarian you may want to head for the ice cream sandwiches (very tasty!). FG Market is definitely worth a visit. There’s lots to choose from and many products that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Tempest’s Gourmet Grub  Tempest Besse is a trained chef and holistic nutritionist. Tempest's Gourmet Grub is offering cooking classes and catering. Her menu includes a variety of vegan, gluten-free soups and baked goods. Let me know if you've sampled her wares. Mama G’s Authentic Nigerian Cuisine Crowdfunding Campaign  Grace Mbuekor grew up on her grandparents’ farm in Nigeria and is a strong supporter of local, chemical-free food. She’s undertaken a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to finance a restaurant in Saskatoon . You can learn more about Grace's story in this Saskatoon StarPhoenix article . Local Food Celebration, Aug. 15 The Saskatoon Food Council is hosting a Local Food Celebration showcasing local food producers in Osler on August 15. Dinner will be prepared by members of the Saskatoon Chefs' Association, and you'll have a chance to talk to local food producers. Prairie Cherry Dinner, Aug. 19  Prairie Ink Restaurant at McNally Robinson Bo...

Riversdale Deli  The Riversdale Delicatessen & Market , on the corner of Idylwyld and 20th Street, has a good selection of cheese, olives, and various other goodies as well as soups, salads, and sandwiches for lunch. I had a vegetarian sandwich – olive and white bean spread, marinated eggplant, goat cheese, and frisé lettuce. Messy but tasty on a freshly-baked bun made on the premises. Rozendal Vinegar  This is just the best vinegar I have ever tasted – and all that is needed to finish off a salad to perfection. Rozendal Vinegar is made at a South African winery where it is matured for up to 12 years in oak barrels and infused with local organic herbs (try the lavender – my absolute favorite). Rozendal Vinegar is available at the Riversdale Deli and the Prairie Pantry . Portuguese Wine & Olive Oil  The Riversdale Delicatessen sells a variety of vinegars and olive oils. I was particularly interested to see that they sell two Portuguese olive oils ...

Food news and events in and around Saskatoon – Soup on Broadway, Seabuckthorn Splash, Persian Lime Olive Oil, and Sweets in Paris  Soup on Broadway I wandered into Herbs ‘n’ Health on Broadway Avenue last week to see how their expansion was progressing. They’ve added a small kitchen and a lunch counter beside the window. You can order soup, salads and fresh muffins six days a week, either to eat in or take out. Borscht and quinoa salad were on offer when I was there, and the muffins looked like they had just come out of the oven. Speaking of soup, Herbs ‘n’ Health is selling frozen vegetarian soups from That Guy’s Soup . I first ran into these soups at a farmers’ market in Vancouver, and I’m delighted to see that at least some of them are now available in Saskatoon. A Taste of Mexico is chipotle corn chowder, while A Taste of India is golden curried lentil. Quench Your Thirst Northern Vigor Berries , who are at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, Sundays and Wed...