Saskatoon Toodle

I would like to say that Saskatoon is not without it's interesting foodie places.  I just returned from a trip to look at new kitchen appliances and had a chance to indulge.

It is fiddlehead season so I went fiddlehead crazy and bought about 3 pounds.  They are all locally harvested.

A Fiddlehead is a fern so young and new that it hasn't yet "unfurled" and opened its leaves. The end is still curled in a tight spiral, ready to unroll as the sun warms it and it gathers strength and size. This spiral shape reminds many people of the end of a violin, hence the name "Fiddlehead." 

I had them in my morning omelet (above), beside my lamb chops in the evening.



I had them in a salad with smoked duck (see title picture above) with a light vinaigrette dressing.  I bought the smoked duck breast at Bulk Cheese.  I also bought more fiddleheads at Bulk Cheese!  They had an amazing three large baskets of fresh, local fiddleheads.

I made them in a pasta salad with smoked duck, feta and roma tomatoes.



This is a picture of a restaurant where I had lunch one day.  It is called Afghan Kebob & Donair and the food was really, really good.  They make their own pitas fresh every hour.  Lunch was under $10 including tip and beverage.  And the place is squeaky clean.



Another dinner was at The Golden Pagoda.  It is a Burmese restaurant.  It was raining cats and dogs and I totally forgot about my camera.



I had a traditional meal.  The salad was tea leaves with cabbage and crispy fried dried peas.  It was really different, in a good way.  The portions were too much for one person eating along.  Definitely go with someone and share.  My main course was a traditional beef curry and I had a #5 heat rating.  I enjoyed it immensely and had it with rice.  But I did take at least half of everything home.



The Farmer's Market was great.  They have a permanent site right in the downtown area.  There are inside stalls and outside stalls.  At this time of year, yes, more fiddleheads, lots of bedding out plants, home baking and jams, fish and meat.



One more stop was Souleio.  It is a very uptown specialty foods and eatery place.  It is situated in a wonderful heritage type building and they serve coffee, lunches and dinners.  There is an excellent selection of hard to find spices, flours and other ingredients along with ready made items to take home.  I spent a bit of time there, just reading every label.  I bought spelt flour.  I am looking for a good recipe to make spelt  crackers.