Staying in Saskatoon for the Summer

In the past few years I've begun to realize how underrated not traveling in the summer is. For most of my life, both as a kid and an adult, I spent considerable lengths of time away from home in the summer - going to lakes, road trips all over the continent, catching a Blue Jays series or two, and attending conferences. I don't discount the fun and memorable experiences these trips have provided at all, but especially as an adult there's been an element of FOMO related to summer travel as well. Summers in Saskatoon are so short and so lovely, it's nice to stick around and experience them. Last year Brahm and I made the conscious decision to not plan a major trip during the summer like we had in previous years, and it was so nice to just be here and enjoy ourselves.

Long weekends this year in Saskatoon have seemed especially dead, and especially wonderful for those of us who stuck around. It seems? a larger number of people are spending more time at The Lake where it is debatably "safer", which means there is a noticeable decrease in traffic and people and noise. If you don't have plans yet for September long and are on the fence about traveling, I definitely recommend having a Saskatoon long weekend staycation!

Here are some of the highlights of August long 2020 in Saskatoon for me:

• Biking to Broadway for a patio supper at Ace Burger and also gelato from Beppi's
• Picking raspberries and blackcurrants at Rhodes, getting an amazing raspberry ice cream sandwich, and making delicious jam and squares with my harvest
• Finally doing a long-planned small yard project - cutting out a bit more of the lawn to increase the size of one of the pollinator gardens

• Watching the bees in the yard go absolutely nuts for every flower they could possibly find
• Beginning to harvest a small but wide variety of items from my gardens - cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, dill, mint, basil, carrots, lettuce, arugula, peas, hot peppers, and strawberries
• Getting too much fresh produce from Robertson Valley Farm and Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens
• Watching the videos in the Saskatoon Horticultural Society's Virtual Passport Garden Tour (which I am on the planning committee for) and getting inspired for next year
• Floating in my backyard kiddie pool (if I close my eyes I can't even tell I'm not in a lake!)

Admittedly, we do have a short trip planned for mid-August; just 3 nights in a provincial park that is new to us. It feels like a good balance of getting to enjoy the offerings of the province and also not dealing with trying to find someone to water the garden for a week. Otherwise Saskatoon is a great place to have socially distanced summer staycations!

Chappell Marsh

Last year I learned of the existence of the Chappell Marsh Conservation Area. It was a discovery of the "this seems to good to be true" variety - within a 15 minute drive of my house, birds and wildlife galore, hardly any other people around, and right next door to my new favourite U-Pick farm (which feels similarly too good to be true), Rhodes Raspberries and Blackcurrants.

In the age of physical distancing, Chappell Marsh is the perfect alternative to some of the potentially more crowded and well-known Meewasin sites. We went on a Sunday afternoon two weekends ago and were the only people in the area for the full hour we were there! We saw tons of birds, a wide variety of wildflowers being enjoyed by all sorts of bees and butterflies, and even a deer and a coyote. (Full disclosure, the wildlife encounters also included one tick that I found several hours later on my back.)

(My photos are quite bad because I just brought my point-and-shoot camera, but was kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR and telephoto lens because I missed out on some great photo opportunities. Above are the best I could get of an eastern kingbird and our coyote friend who unnervingly watched us for several minutes.)

There are a couple of hours' worth of trails to explore, plus sitting areas and a few little offshoots from the trails that would be great places to set up for the day for extended bird watching or photography. It is more of a wetland/grassland environment rather than deep woods, but there are plenty of trees to shade at least a portion of the trails.

I will be back to Chappell Marsh this summer, and look forward to experiencing fall migration there as well!

New Potatoes NOW

Legitimate new potatoes, i.e. freshly dug yesterday in Saskatchewan, are one of the true tastes of summer for me. They are a very fleeting seasonal pleasure, as they only taste the way they do for about a month until they mature and begin to taste more classically "potatoey". Actual new baby potatoes taste almost sweet and are a very different experience from a french fry or a large baked russet.

If you don't understand the big deal, and continue to buy last years' crop from the grocery store, I implore you to just buy one little bag and give it a shot. Perhaps $5 for a pound of potatoes seems a bit steep, but remember it is $5 for a once-a-year treat that won't exist in a few more weeks. I have been buying mine from Spring Creek Garden, through the Community Farmers Market of Saskatoon or the Robertson Valley Farm stand on Valley Road, but a lot of other market vendors will have them very soon.

My favourite way to prepare them is: boil (this is the only time I boil vegetables) and drain them. Then I put a generous amount of butter and salt into the pot, get the butter slightly bubbling, add copious amounts of dill and green onion, and add the potatoes back in to coat them in butter and greenery.

"Dilled potatoes" as I grew up calling them (and likely do many others, as it seems very common for markets to advertise fresh dill along with new potatoes) make a great side for a BBQ'd protein, and sometimes we just eat them as our full meal along with sour cream or cottage cheese (I know some people are grossed out by cottage cheese, but don't knock it until you try it - it's like an Eastern European poutine).

Time is of the essence here, people! Get your baby potatoes while they are still babies.

Catching Up

Oh wow, has it really been almost a month since I posted on here? I sat down a couple times to write posts, halfway drafted, and then abandoned them. It isn't that there hasn't been anything positive going on - I got a small work contract which was very welcome after being virtually unemployed for several weeks, and it's been really fun and rewarding, AND led to more of the same work. For the first time in a very long while I feel like I'm doing work where I can truly maximize my own value and expertise for my clients and it's a pretty great feeling.

To catch up on missed posting, I think I will just make a list of a few things that if I'd had more time and energy for writing lately, I would have probably written full posts on each.

Pelicans! I live in the boring suburbs but one thing that isn't boring is the retention pond a block away which attracts a huge variety of birds all summer long, including pelicans. They took a while to show up this year but I think they are so majestic and interesting, and I feel so fortunate that I can go watch them whenever I feel like it. We are really lucky to spend our summers with them here in SK - last summer my uncle from BC was visiting and he thought it such a novelty to be able to see the pelicans every day.

(Getting attacked by a red-winged blackbird for encroaching on his nest - I've been there too.)

Fresh produce from local farmers! We've been buying veggies from Kaleidoscope since the first week of May already. They've got an online store this year and offer weekly delivery in Saskatoon. I can't say enough great things about the consistently amazing quality of what they grow. Please throw your money at them (or other local producers of your choice). As a farmers' market junkie, it's now the point in the summer where I don't need to buy any imported produce from the grocery store anymore until well into the fall and I'm super excited about it. I also love that the Community Farmers' Market of Saskatoon is occupying the downtown outdoor market space every Saturday this summer!

The library is open again - at least for curbside pickup! I bought a few books and borrowed others from friends during the closure but it's so nice to once again have access to a much wider variety of free books! All of the library staff that I've talked to on the phone to set up appointments or while picking up books seem overjoyed to be back at work and it's just been such a positive experience to use this wonderful public service again.

Gelato for supper! My MSc conference schedule resulted in Italy trips the past two summers. This year that's very much not in the cards for a variety of obvious reasons, but having authentic Italian gelato at Beppi's has enabled the gelato addiction which started on my first trip. It has ruined us for pretty much all other ice cream vendors in Saskatoon (except perhaps Fable, which only loses our business for the unfortunate fact that it's not within as easy biking distance as Beppi's). It is not unusual for us to decide we don't feel like making supper and instead hop on our bikes and ride to Beppi's at 5:30pm. Frozen dairy and eggs is a perfectly acceptable summer dinner in my opinion.

Outdoor dining! I know restaurants are allowed to open, but my personal comfort level is not yet okay with spending extended periods of socialization time indoors. Thus I was super excited to get tickets for Farm One Forty's farm-to-table dinner on June 13. It was extremely windy but they pulled it off beautifully, and it was nice to be around other people again, but at a safe distance with outdoor ventilation. And the food by Odla of course was amazing - I'd highly recommend this experience if you can make it work this summer; the next one appears to be scheduled for July 12. We are looking forward to also checking out a Black Fox G&T night this Friday. I am hoping that there will be more opportunities created by the local government for restaurants to host similar outdoor dining experiences within the city limits - if they build it I will come!

Okay that's enough for now! Summer in Saskatoon is always incredibly lovely but also way too short, so hopefully being more limited in your travel options this summer will be a silver lining that allows you to discover some new ways to enjoy the season locally.

Recent First-Timer Birds

Do I pretty much only talk about birds, food, and gardening now? The answer is probably yes, but these simple pleasures are more than pulling their weight this year.

As a relatively new birder, I still have lots and lots of relatively common birds around me that I haven't noticed/ID'd yet. Pretty much every time I go out for a walk, especially to the retention pond, I see something new and it is a wonderful and exciting rush. Here are a few of my latest "first timers" (or at least the first photo evidence I've gotten of said birds).

I've been waiting a long time to see another American Avocet after noticing one at the side of the road a couple years ago. I know they are common and there are places I can go to find them in the city, but I've been stubborn and trying to stay birding at my own neighbourhood pond. Finally found this one just standing around last week on a very windy day! This is such a cool bird. Blue legs!

I have mixed up common grackles and Brewer's blackbirds in the past, but the blue head very clearly identifies this guy as a grackle!

Eared grebe! This bird was so far away in person that I assumed it was a red-necked grebe, and was pleasantly surprised to find out what it was through my telephoto lens!

I am pretty sure this is a Forster's tern due to the lighter outer wings, but correct me if this is a common tern! I think we've got both around and they are hard to tell apart.

I snapped a bunch of pictures of these two, assuming they were mallards from afar but upon looking closer realized they were gorgeous northern shovelers! Look at those giant bills!

Yesterday I was booking it home after the scary clouds rolled in, had put away my camera, and suddenly saw a yellow headed blackbird right in front of me in the grass! I had to take my camera back out to get this (admittedly terrible) photo, but still made it back home before the rain. I felt like a true Pokemon master after this, because I had seen five different types of blackbirds in a one-hour span (yellow headed, red winged, Brewer's, grackle, and brown-headed cowbird).

My favourite backyard birding experience lately! I saw a white throated sparrow (left) for the first time a couple weeks ago at the pond, and then the next day one was hanging around in my backyard! Then later, it had brought a white crowned sparrow (right) friend! They have not been back much but this was such a cool thing to see.

Pandemic Takeout Part 2

More suggestions for places to order takeout from, and a fun option for mixing it up a bit!

Since I last posted about ordering takeout during the era of social distancing, we have ordered food from a few more of our favourite restaurants. We have also been doing the pickups ourselves to ensure that the restaurants do not have to pay a commission to a delivery app, and had one especially bittersweet reaction to this which I'll describe in a bit.

We have ordered pickup beer from Shelter a couple of times, once for Brahm's birthday and another time when we were downtown anyway to pick up food from Number One Noodle House (call directly instead of using an app and get 10% off). If you have not tried Number One Noodle House yet, this is something you need to get on ASAP. My favourite shared meal for two consists of the smashed cucumber salad and the cumin egg noodles, but everything we've had here has been amazing.

Since the weather is finally not terrible, it's bike riding season once again! We don't live near a ton of independent restaurants but we have a couple favourites in the area. Angeethi Flame is close enough that we can bike over for pickup and get home in time to enjoy hot food.

My favourite takeout experience so far though was this Tuesday. We called October Asian Cuisine for an order, biked over to pick it up and then ate our food in the park across the street from the restaurant. This was such a fun "date night" type of activity! Picnics are highly underrated, and I plan to make them more of a habit this summer. (Normally I can't say no to October's dan dan ramen but didn't want to eat soup in a park, so we stuck to rolls and dumplings.)

I added a $10 tip over the phone to which the employee responded "Are you sure!?" When we picked up our food, we found an extra order of specialty sushi in the bag (a $10 value from the menu), with a note:

This was so lovely, but says a lot about how much the delivery apps take in commission, if a restaurant is willing to essentially comp our tip in free food as a thank you for ordering directly. So please if you have the time and ability to pick up your own order, skip Skip, and call restaurants directly.

On the note of riding bikes, it is SO nice to ride in minimal traffic lately. I hate a lot of things about what this pandemic is doing, but the traffic reduction is one silver lining. If you've been uneasy about riding your bike on the streets of Saskatoon, now is definitely the time to try it out. If you stick to residential side streets it's almost like the streets are totally closed to cars!

Our Lucky Last Week of Normalcy

It's Cinco de Mayo, and I'm going to write about our last "normal" week before Life with COVID - our 2020 Mexican vacation, and likely the last vacation we'll have for quite some time.

This was our fourth year going to Mexico and we have continued to return to the Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo area (yes, THAT Zihuatenejo). The previous three years we have stayed at all-inclusives through Sunwing vacation packages, and absolutely loved the Azul Grand at Playa Linda just outside of Ixtapa. During our first visit, we went on a countryside tour that stopped in the extremely charming fishing village of Barra de Potosi. Last year, we went on a walking tour of Zihuatenejo. Both tours made me want to spend more time in these areas, so we booked half a week in each this year and had the most wonderful time.

Barra de Potosi is part of the Playa Blanca area, on the opposite side of the airport as Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo. We stayed at a small resort about 15 minutes down the beach from the village, which meant before we sat at a seaside enramada to ingest copious amounts of camarones al coco and guacamole, we had to get a bit of exercise. Playa Blanca is without a doubt the most wonderful beach I've ever been to. We truly did not want to leave! The whole area was extremely quiet, a mix of Canadian, American, and Mexican tourists and locals, and had an insanely relaxing vibe.

A highlight was renting kayaks to go wildlife viewing in the saltwater lagoon, something I'd been dreaming about since we took a short boat tour of the lagoon during our visit four years ago.

We spent the second half of the week in Zihuatenejo, which was a totally different vibe - a little more interesting and lively, not super relaxing, but not overactive either. The Mercado Municipal was a lot of fun, a great place to buy consumable souvenirs like coffee and vanilla, and also to find a very cheap and delicious lunch. Our favourite activity in Zihua though was probably just wandering around, finding people to sell us snacks and agua fresca on the street (which just seems an impossible idea, not even two months later - we had a feeling this could be a last hurrah of the sort, and admit that we ate the street churros with a little extra gusto).

As you know if you've read this blog for a while, I've been working my way through the Duolingo Spanish tree, and when taking this vacation a bit more "off the beaten path" it was highly beneficial to know a bit of Spanish, especially in tiny Barra de Potosi. I did notice that most Canadian/American tourists in these areas appeared to know at least a small amount of Spanish. I have no idea when (if?? :*( ) we'll ever get to go back again, but I'm still working away at it so I can be ready.

The last day of our vacation wasn't exactly "ruined" but was definitely stressful as we were getting news of the COVID-19 shutdowns starting at home. We feel extremely lucky, and a little bit reckless, that we traveled during the last week it was somewhat acceptable to do so. Likely we never would have gone had we realized what was to come, which makes me a bit uneasy, but nonetheless we made it home safe and I sure hope that we'll be able to return to this beautiful area of the world again sometime, though I know it'll never quite be the same.

Look Up! Wayyy Up!

Yes, I am going to continue harping on everyone to get into birdwatching this summer! To help you get started, I'm going to talk a bit about the concept of a "spark bird" - i.e. a bird that is somewhat special to you and sparks your interest in learning more about birds. Spring migration (i.e. right now) is a great time to find your spark bird!

I'm not 100% on my spark bird, but I think it was a chipping sparrow. We'd put a feeder in our backyard shortly after moving into our house and were pleasantly surprised that it attracted tons of American Goldfinches. They were beautiful and fun to watch, but they weren't my spark bird.

One afternoon in spring I was digging some dandelions or something, and saw a tiny sparrow-like bird with an orange crown land near me, pick through the grass a bit, and then fly away. I didn't see it again for quite some time, but it inspired us to buy a bird book and the lovely staff at Wild Birds Unlimited helped identify it as a chipping sparrow. Now we get them regularly in our yard.

If you pay attention, it is pretty magical how many types of birds you might be able to see from your yard or balcony. Notice all the geese flying overhead right now? They are not all "just" Canada Geese - bust out some binoculars and take a closer look, or listen for different sounds. If the sound is less honking and more coo-like, those birds are likely sandhill cranes! If the birds are honking but you can see they are fairly white, they are likely snow geese! I had flocks of both flying over my yard all morning yesterday.

(flock of sandhill cranes)

Right now also is a great time for one of my favourite adorable birds, the dark eyed junco. We pretty much only see them during spring and fall migration, but if you put some feed out in the yard they will hang around for a few weeks. They are fun to watch because they come in a variety of shades and colours (ranging from black to gray to brown, haha). Here's the most interesting-coloured one I've had in my yard so far:

Bohemian waxwings are still around, feasting and getting drunk off old berries and crabapples! If you've got a tree with dried up apples or berries in your vicinity, watch it for flocks of visiting waxwings. These friends will soon be replaced with their summer cousins, cedar waxwings, who are a little more brown in colour but just as beautiful.

These are all birds I've been able to see right out the window. I know we are allowed to go out for walks and get exercise, but if you're sick, under quarantine, or even just need a quick work break, birding is a pretty great nature activity you can do without leaving home, no matter where you live, and a really easy one to get kids involved with too!

(As mentioned Wild Birds Unlimited is a wonderful store, and I also like to buy bulk feed from Early's - they have a great selection of feeders as well.)

Ordering Takeout During a Pandemic

Prior to this whole social distancing situation, we were not huge fans of takeout or delivery food. It usually showed up a bit cold, a bit soggy, and honestly there was nothing preventing us from going to the restaurant and eating freshly cooked food right there. We don't (didn't?) eat out that much in general, maybe on average twice a month, and usually consider restaurant food a treat rather than a fuel source - and soggy, cold takeout falls into the "fuel" category for me.

So far we have ordered delivery three times in the past month, and suddenly it is a very big treat! I look forward to the day when I can eat in a restaurant again, but I really like how some places have adapted to doing delivery without compromising product quality.

The first place we ordered from was Delight+, one of our favourite Chinese restaurants. It's always been a really lovely place to dine, with the chef visiting the tables to ask how you're enjoying the food. I noticed on their Facebook page that they were offering free delivery if you DON'T order through Sk*p the D*shes (it actually sounds like a lot of restaurants would really appreciate if you don't order through a third party right now). We ordered three vegetable-heavy dishes which were SUCH a treat, as easily perishable produce has somewhat fallen out of our cooking rotation due to only going to the grocery store every 10-14 days. The restaurant is fairly close to our house and the food arrived about 20 minutes after hanging up the phone. We will definitely order again when we need a fresh veggie fix!

Our other two takeout meals have been from Calories, and I LOVE how they have adapted their business to facilitate delivery. Their menu is limited, mainly offering a few cold items and family meal packages that can be made ahead and reheated like soup, chili, or pasta. They have a set menu and a rotating feature family meal package each week. I love that the meals are family-style, with a meal and a dessert included. They are also ridiculously affordable considering the quality and quantity of the food you get, and there is no delivery charge (though it is not "on-demand" delivery, just within two set windows of time each day). I was telling a friend that one could order 2L of soup, a loaf of bread, and a dozen cookies for $30 (!!). She responded "Thirty bucks? That's how much ordering Taco Time on Skip the Dishes cost us yesterday!"

(Calories Easter dinner - fiddleheads, turkey two ways with wild mushrooms, and the most buttery mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life; rhubarb pie not pictured)

I believe Calories was always doing farm to table ingredient sourcing well before it was trendy, and though they changed owners a couple years ago the food is still outstanding. I've never had a bad meal there, and we've been raving to whoever will listen about the two feature packages we've ordered in the past couple weeks. If you are thinking of having a slightly fancy isolation dinner, perhaps to celebrate a special occasion, I am a big fan of the Calories takeout menu! I love that it is made specifically for reheating so you don't end up with a bunch of soggy fries, or can get it delivered on Thursday and eat it on Friday. (I know other upscale and delicious restaurants like Hearth and Odla have similar reheatable offerings, which I'm sure we will also eventually try and rave about.)

About a year ago when one of my favourite restaurants that I admittedly did not patronize enough closed, I was talking to the server during my last meal there and she mentioned that many independent restaurants in Saskatoon are a bad week or two away from permanently closing. While this hasn't necessarily made me start eating out more (I really love cooking and saving money), I always try to go to independent restaurants if I'm going to go out. Right now I think this might be more important than ever, so if you do have a choice, please order from an independent business as opposed to a chain, and if there's an option to not use a delivery app, order directly from the restaurant/do curbside pickup. I promise Taco Bell will come out of this okay, but La Bamba might not, so please do what you can to support the businesses that make our city unique!

Isolation Hipster

As a freelance consultant, I was not expecting to remain employed throughout this pandemic, but I didn't expect the cutting off of my contract to hit me as hard as it did. I will admit that I had a couple of very, very rough days, perhaps wallowing in a bit of self-pity regarding how truly non-essential I am to society in a time of crisis. I felt like I'd been going along on a career path that put me in a good position to always have some sort of opportunity for work, and literally a month ago I was wondering if I might have to choose between several promising opportunities, which all abruptly disappeared in the span of about two weeks.

I am feeling better now though. I have come to terms with my "non-essential in a crisis" status - this is temporary. Eventually someone will need my skills again. And there are ways I can potentially be useful without working in a traditional type of job. Because I have a master's in population health, I was able to sign up for the federal volunteer database to do contact tracing or other support tasks if needed. My income was not fortunately not critical to paying our bills as long as my husband remains employed, and his job is secure.

Aside from that, things have been pretty okay. While I worry about my loved ones who live alone, or are elderly/high risk, mostly I have been able to keep my mental health in check so far. I joked to a former co-worker the other day that I'm sort of an isolation hipster because a lot of my hobbies and behaviours are becoming more mainstream. I had a sourdough starter BEFORE we ran out of yeast! Do you even know how to cook dried beans, bro?

(I just figured this post needed a cat picture)

If you haven't been reading this blog since the beginning, I thought I would do a flashback episode here to link several (pre-pandemic) posts that are about activities etc. that might be helpful in self-isolation. In chronological order, oldest to newest, here they are:

How I actually made daily exercise a real habit

Bird watching is the ultimate social distancing activity that you're all going to get really into this summer

Very glad I got into cycling the last couple summers

I am still going strong with Duolingo! It was so great to be able to communicate better on a recent trip to Mexico

Since we're all baking with sourdough and acting like pioneers, maybe now is the time to save and start cooking with animal fats?

The book clubs I'm in are giving me life right now. Any excuse for (virtual) human contact! (I believe the public libraries are still running book clubs online as well)

I am legitimately devastated that the library is closed, but here are some book recommendations

We are all grieving in different ways right now. Making soup from scratch is a comforting activity

Time to learn to make fancy coffee drinks at home!

Yoga is undoubtedly one of the things keeping me off the brink of depression/anxiety right now

It is DEFINITELY time to learn how to cook with pulses

Is your skin super dry from all the handwashing? Here are some alternatives to lotion (and I have also updated it to include pure shea butter)

Cabbage is the ultimate pandemic leafy green

Fermenting your own milk kefir will save you from making extra trips to the store to buy yogurt or buttermilk for baking and smoothies. While you're at it, might as well try making yogurt too


One other thing I have done recently is start a second (are you sick of me yet?) blog, because I am anticipating that this summer a lot of people will be getting into gardening for the first time. I have previously mentioned my great love of tomatoes and I wanted to focus it into a gardening blog. Feel free to follow along, and hopefully grow a couple plants with me! You can find it at toontowntomatoes.ca. Because I will be putting quite a bit of effort into the tomato blog I may not post as much here, but we'll see how bored I get...

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!