Online Farmers' Markets in Saskatoon

I’m currently in mandatory post-travel self isolation, with a persistent chest cold (it’s not Covid! I was tested), so I’m not sure when I’ll get to the grocery store next. We’ve got family who can deliver essentials if needed but have also always been pretty good at keeping a decently stocked pantry, so are more than okay for now. And also I have to admit that I’m a little bit addicted to online farmers markets, where I can pretty much buy anything I need, food-wise. We may run out of toilet paper but will never be wanting for soup bones.

Overall it can be a bit of a myth that farmers' markets are more expensive than the grocery store. It’s definitely true that a pound of ground beef from a small farm will cost a bit more than sale-priced ground beef at Sobeys, but it may not be as much as you think. And local produce is almost always cheaper than grocery store non-sale prices. I remember being completely floored at how cheap a giant bundle of onions was from Spring Creek Gardens last summer. I asked the cashier “Is this SERIOUSLY only $3?” and he responded that other people had been complaining that their stuff was too expensive. I am not sure if many people who are financially stable actually pay attention to how much food costs, especially if they don’t factor in the amount they waste (such as panic buying a ton of rutabagas and then realizing there's still plenty of food to go around and you don't actually even like rutabaga). We work pretty hard in our household to be mindful about not wasting food, repurposing leftovers, and using up perishable items before buying more; as a result we throw out very little spoiled food, and even though we buy from a lot of farmers’ markets I really doubt we spend more than the average two-person household on food.

It was kind of big news this week that the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market went online. I think this is something they would have needed to do eventually, pandemic or not, because I can’t be the only former customer who doesn’t want to drive all the way to the airport to get eggs. It doesn’t look like all vendors are online, at least not as of today, but I’ll be keeping an eye on the list of available products – especially if this lasts into the summer.

I actually haven’t shopped at the SFM since they moved in December, but I’ve still been trying to support local farmers and makers when I can – because the SFM is not the only game in town. Here are a few online farmers’ markets (or similar) that deliver in Saskatoon, who I can vouch for:

The Little Market Box – I more or less switched from the SFM to these folks when the SFM moved. Lots of the same vendors and products, plus new ones (like Sunnyside Creamery) and a central location next to Darkside Donuts? Yes plz. Right now they are encouraging delivery only, $8 fee.

(Texting back and forth with The Little Market Box to determine whether the briskets they had would fit in our smoker; this will feed us for practically a week)

The Wandering Market – Tons of products from various farms and makers in SK, they previously came to Saskatoon once a month for scheduled pickups. They are switching to contact-free delivery going forward (with optional delivery fee if things are tighter than usual), and they are posting on their website the next date they’ll be in town. I’ve ordered meat, produce, and eggs through them. They have lots of dry goods available, and a pretty extensive cheese selection!

(A 10-pack of stewing hens I ordered through the Wandering Market - $40 for 10 chickens that will eventually become 10-30 meals of soups and stews. Disclaimer, I did have to pull them apart in my bathtub to separate and re-freeze! But what else do I have going on in my life right now?)

The Farmers' Table – Similar to the Wandering Market – the two markets actually shared a pickup point once a month in the city. I’ve ordered meat and flour from their vendors. Right now they mostly just have meat, dry goods, and eggs, but a few options for produce and canned items. They are still planning for in-person pickup in April, but with some social distancing restrictions in place.

SaskMade Marketplace – Tons of products including meat, dairy, coffee beans, dry goods, prepared foods, handcrafts, and even books. They also have gift baskets if you know someone who might need a pick-me-up. Delivery is free in Saskatoon over $100.

Lazy Plum Farm – This place is very cool as they only raise animals that are extremely hardy and well-suited to the harsh SK climate. I have ordered a variety pack and really loved their lamb and pork; I think I’d need to eat a bit more yak to make a final judgement but it did make a very good chili. They also have gorgeous eggs. As far as I know they are delivering to Saskatoon once a month. I have reserved a side of Icelandic lamb for the fall and am very excited about it.

(Once again, I'm obsessed with this stuff. You can buy Sunnyside products through The Wandering Market and The Little Market Box, to my current knowledge)

Farm One Forty/Odla Restaurant – Odla has gone takeout-only for the time being, and is offering “Hello Odla” meal kits plus a few farmers’ market-type pantry items. You can also order bulk meat separated out into monthly deliveries so you don’t have to find the freezer space for an entire side of pork.

Pine View Farms – so yeah, you can buy their stuff at several grocery stores, but if you want the meat without the side of TP hoarders, you can get your order delivered, and it’s free if you’re stocking up (>$150). They have meat, fish, prepared meat products, and even coffee.

This got a bit long, but I really like all these producers and markets! If I’ve missed any and you feel so inclined, please let me know and I’ll update. I love supporting farm to fork when I can.


*Note that there was originally another very popular meat producer on this list who offer monthly pickup. However I have since removed them, due to a couple of emails they sent that lead me to believe they are not taking the pandemic seriously, and I will not encourage anyone to buy from a producer who may not be taking the utmost precautions.

Working from Home

So we went from “make your own yogurt! It’s easy!” to... you know. While I’ve had a couple of personal situations in recent years where it felt like my entire life had turned upside down in an instant, that was only me and my world. We are all affected by our new reality! In a way, it feels at least somewhat heartening that we’re all in it together, but I also empathize with how much harder this is on some people's situations than my own for the time being.

I know the joke of “I’m an introvert and I’ve been training for self isolation my entire life” is getting old at this point, so I won’t make it, even though I want to. But as someone who has been working from home in some capacity for the past three-ish years, I thought I would share a little bit of what I’ve learned about how to make it through an at-home workday, if you’re suddenly having to work from a laptop at your kitchen table and the transition is proving a bit rough for you. (Note that I’m omitting the usual advice that you can find everywhere else, like keeping in touch with your coworkers over instant messenger.)

Personally - I really like working from home. I'm an introvert so I find that I don't get drained as fast if I'm not in an office around people all day, and I love wearing sweats to work. Sometimes I do miss being part of a bigger team, but that's just the nature of the job I've chosen for the time being, not inherent to working from home.

My husband was wondering how he’d be able to just go from breakfast to work – he mentioned his commute as being his prep time for the day ahead. My suggestion was to “walk to work” – go outside, walk around the block, and call it your commute. Come home slightly more energized and in a different state of mind. (Regardless of when you do this, going outside is extremely important – it’s all too easy to get through an entire day without leaving the house when you work from home. I try to make sure I get out for a walk or bike ride every day.)

If you can afford it (you’re probably about to start saving a significant amount of money if you used to drive to work, go to a lot of movies or sporting events, etc.), invest in some ergonomic upgrades. You don’t know how long this is going to last! You don’t want to ruin your back sitting on a kitchen stool for eight hours if you don’t have to. Standing desks have gotten extremely cheap in recent years – well worth the $100 to be able to change your position whenever you feel like it. I have this one from PrimeCables (26”) and it’s awesome. If you can’t afford any upgrades, try and at least swap out the chair you sit on every couple hours, or take a mini-exercise break every hour or so.  

(Our home office setup - yes those are TWO standing workstations, it's a long story)

Speaking of which – your coworkers can no longer judge you for exercising in your cube (and you don’t have to wear dress pants)! I have talked a lot about how much I love the classes on YogaDownload; browse the free offerings or get a very affordable yearly subscription to unlock a ton of office-break classes. My favourite short classes are linked in this post, and the last three listed are free, short, and require no mat. They also have guided meditations if that is more your thing. The Calm app also recently posted some pandemic-focused free resources, including stretches.

Take quick chore-breaks. I know that combining work with chores sounds actually terrible, but I have found that when I am losing focus, going and doing something productive yet mindless like folding a load of laundry or unloading the dishwasher actually makes me feel a lot better! And then when the “work day” is over, you have more time to do nice things, like call your grandma or play with your kids.

Enjoy the fact that you can eat whatever and whenever you want! Have a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and bacon, noisily blend up a smoothie, put a frozen lasagna in the oven at 3:30 so it’s ready in time for early supper, or take a slightly longer lunch break and cook your favourite meal from scratch. OR! make some cookie dough, freeze it, and have a fresh baked cookie for your afternoon coffee break.

Most importantly, you can't expect to be “on” every second of your 8 hour work-from-home period. Employers are going to have to adjust to the fact that they cannot police your time anymore, and have to trust that you are getting your work done to the best of your abilities during a difficult time. I’m not advocating slacking off, but when you’re in the office, you very likely spend a nonzero portion of your day BSing with your co-workers and if it’s not excessive, no one blinks an eye. So if you get distracted for half an hour playing with your dog – don’t feel guilty about it. Your dog is your coworker now, and playing with him was probably a lot better for your overall productivity than listening to your boss describe their recent basement renos anyway. If you truly feel like you didn’t get in a full day’s work during normal working hours, finish reading that report after supper or on Saturday morning. It’s a new reality for everyone, and it’s a learning curve for your employer too.

(Even though I work from home my coworkers are STILL always getting into my stuff!)

Fermenting Dairy at Home – Part 2: Yogurt

In Part 1, I talked about how kefir is a perfect, cheap substitute for yogurt in smoothies and baking, but it doesn’t quite mimic the real thing for fresh eating. If you want homemade yogurt... you have to make homemade yogurt.

I have been hearing for years how easy it is to make yogurt at home, but still it always sounded like more work than I was willing to do. Maybe the instructions I found seemed too wieldy, or maybe I didn’t have the right equipment and didn’t want to invest (which is a perfectly legitimate excuse). But eventually I realized that I did have all the right equipment at my disposal, and gave it a shot.

If you have never had homemade yogurt, and don’t have an easy opportunity to get your hands on some (in Saskatoon, Prairie Sun Orchard's homemade yogurt is available at Odla Market), go to the grocery store and buy a pack of French style yogurt. It is delicious and tastes similar to what you get in a home setup after 8-9 hours of culturing. It is also expensive and made in (locally non-recyclable) glass jars, so if you want to develop a habit of eating a lot of it, you may want to learn to make it at home.

While making yogurt has a few more steps than kefir, it’s still not very onerous. If you’re making small batches at a time (e.g. a 500 ml jar), it requires approximately 10 minutes of hands-on time.

During this 10 minutes, do the following (instructions for how to make it in a jar):

• Prep a tablespoon or so of starter culture – this can just be plain yogurt from the grocery store with no additives
• Pour milk into the jar you want to use to measure, and then pour it into a saucepan
• Heat the milk until 180F or just boiling (you don’t need to use a thermometer – just pull it off when it starts to boil)
• Cool the milk to about 110F – you can use a thermometer or a “finger test” – it should be warm, but not so warm that you can’t sustain touching it. To cool I put the pot in a bowl of ice water and whisk – 500 ml cools in about 1-2 mins
• Stir in the starter culture
• Pour the milk and culture into the jar

Culture for at least 8 hours. You can do this in an Instant Pot on the “yogurt” setting, or anywhere else you can maintain fairly constant warmth. I have heard an oven with the light on works well, likely any proofing setting your oven has, or even in a Thermos. Some websites say to just wrap the jar in a towel to hold in the heat, but I suspect those people aren't writing from somewhere that is -40. I use the Instant Pot for now but if I keep this up I’ll probably get a Thermos jar so I’m not working hidden electricity costs into my operation.

(Thick and creamy 10% yogurt! This picture is terrible! Sorry!)

If you use milk, your yogurt will be runnier than store bought. If you want it thicker you can strain the whey to make Greek style yogurt, or add a thickener like gelatin to the milk before you heat it, or follow any of the other ideas from that provided link. My method of choice is upping the fat content :D

Here are the notes on my personal experimentation over the past couple weeks of making yogurt:

• 500 mL whole milk only – 8 hours culturing – tastes good, barely tangy. Easy to eat plain. Quite runny
• 400 mL whole milk, 100 mL heavy cream – 9 hours culturing – these two dairy products are not homogenized, so the cream floated to the top during culturing and formed a skin that needed to be scraped off. Preferred the 9 hour taste, still very easy to eat plain, overall still very runny
• 400 mL whole milk, 100 mL heavy cream, ¼ tsp gelatin – same issues as above, gelatin did not make a noticeable difference
• 500 mL half and half (10% fat), ½ tsp gelatin – 9 hour culture – WINNER! It’s not quite Greek yogurt/Skyr thick, but definitely not runny, and much richer than straight milk. Will keep doing this!

Half and half isn’t cheap but goes on sale often enough that I should be able to get it for $3/L most of the time. For a higher-fat percentage yogurt, $3/L is comparable to sale prices at the grocery store (not counting the electricity costs of making it, though, which is why I’ll be looking for a Thermos).

Homemade yogurt requires more effort than milk kefir for sure, but it’s a different product altogether and definitely preferable if you like to eat yogurt for a snack or meal. Both are doable without specialty equipment, though with yogurt it might take some extra experimentation to find out what works if you aren’t using a yogurt maker or instant read thermometer. I think both are fun and rewarding, and taste a lot better than what you’ll buy from the store!