Where to Eat in Saskatoon: Weczeria

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon, or not at all.
--Harriet Van Horne

I was so lucky to be able to celebrate my recent birthday with my dear family at Weczeria in Saskatoon. It was a fantastic night and I regret that the lighting was low so my photos can't do justice to the event. My partner and I fell in love with Weczeria many years ago when it opened off Broadway and it has now moved into a larger space due to popular demand.

I made sure to make the reservations weeks in advance. The place was already just short of absolutely full at 6 pm when we arrived. You can see here on the blackboard how they keep track of how many bunnies are left to serve. One of those was mine!

The back room is my favorite part of the restaurant with its cool bottle chandelier. I want my living room to look like that!

We had a bottle of Sumac Ridge Gewurtz and I also had a lovely festive sangria in a jar.

The menu is a la moment, written up on a blackboard as it is as ephemeral as seasonal ingredients. My sister had the pickeral with mushrooms, farrow and almond cherry crumble. I snatched a few bites and loved the chewy, nuttiness of the farrow and thought it went well with the fish. The cherry crumble added a brightness to the dish with what I assume is those local sour cherries again.

We also had this lovely green salad over roasted carrots with hazelnuts and raisin purée. I love the idea of having a green salad grounded with a base of roasted root vegetables.

I had the bunny braised in beer with caramelized onion puree and gnocchi. Sorry, I was into that rabbit so fast I forgot to take a photo. It became an instant all time favorite for me. And for my birthday dessert I had the creamy butterscotch pudding in a jam jar with brownies on the side. Oh yeah. Cooked with abandon and eaten with abandon.

Kudos to chef Daniel Walker and his team for a fabulous meal and for their well-deserved success.

Saskatoon Sweets at Calories on Broadway

Going to Calories on Broadway in Saskatoon makes me feel like I've returned home. This is because the restaurant was like a second home to me as I lived across the street, habituated it regularly and two of my best friends worked there. Many a fabulous calorie has been consumed here in my university days with a side order of gossip and giggles.

I can't believe the Saskatoon Soaps are still running. It must be the longest running live improvised soap opera on earth.

There's a new hat shop across the street, so mom bought a new cap to celebrate Spring. There's also a really cool new eco-shop called The Better Good.

My sister scored the best choice of the lunch menu which was this grapefruit salad with cubes of sweet potato topped with a little bit of lobster.

I went for my old favorite, the California club on wild rice bread. It wasn't quite as good as I remembered it, but we noticed the kitchen seemed to be in training mode and they were not having a good day. It happens. The waiter also seemed to be paying attention to tables with nubile young women to the detriment of other tables with women past a certain age. Ahem!

The best part of lunch at Calories is choosing the desserts. The ritual of perusing the case which is full of old favorites and some new sweets.

You can also take home their jams, chocolates, pickled mushrooms, and bread.

Here's a new one, with caramel sauce from the old favorite Schoo Torte.

Choices, choices!

This is what I went for. Sour cherries grown in Saskatchewan are a new source of inspiration for local chefs. We took home some sour cherry brownies which I can vouch for.


You know you want to say it ten times fast: Shmoo Torte Shmoo Torte.....

A classic cheesecake.

Another old fave: the turtle square.

Here's the dessert plated up. Angel food cake is very popular in Saskatchewan. They even have angel food cake buffets at square dancing events.

I ended with a green tea almond latte. I liked the concept, but it was entirely too sweet for my taste. I'm sure you could tell them to dial down the almond syrup. It looks very pretty though, doesn't it?

Spring Baking Experiments

I've been experimenting with some gluten free baking. I do love buckwheat brownies. The earthiness of the flour goes really well with chocolate.

Ules was assembling little ships off the coast of Florida on our vintage tablecloth.



I also made some matcha coconut moths and bergamot glazed lemon sugar cookies made with Beta 5 bergamot marmalade. I tried using that gluten free AP flour that Bob's Red Mill makes, but I don't like the crumb, the taste or the gaseous side effects, so I stuck with buckwheat flour for the sugar cookies.

Market Signs

Part of the fun of the winter market at Nat Bailey is the variety of colorful signs. Click on the photos if you want to enlarge to see the details.

Spring Color

Yes, you can regrow your beet tops!

Yes, you can start your snow peas!

I love my friend's Daniel Smith water colors. The names are fantastic, especially Lunar Violet. Visiting other people's studios is incredibly inspiring.

The Littlest Wood Shop at Blim Market

Julie Sawatsky is an artist, gardener and woodworking diva/instructor who has started her own business called The Littlest Wood Shop. This weekend she brought her lovely wares to the Blim Market.

Goddesses on the roll for the child who has everything! Julie now has an etsy shop so you can buy her products on line. They are made right here in a shop in east Vancouver. And yes, it is tiny, I've seen it!

I love this little vintage style rocking chair pin cushion and thread holder. Julie is also a fabulous quilter and fabric artist.

The toys are finished with beeswax and Julie is making a line of toys specifically for a form of art therapy. She also has a line of wooden moustaches.

We bought a jar of beeswax wood finish. Julie says you can even use it on your hands to help with dry skin. Or you can use it to condition your wooden moustache!

Michael from Open Sesame was at the Blim Market as well and he made three kinds of byriani and all these wonderful toppings including: tamarind chutney, onions and shallots, grated carrots, sliced almonds, cilantro and mango raita.

Kale Recipe Roundup

I've had a request on more recipes featuring kale, so here is a round up of recipes that look tasty to me.

The Tea Cup Chronicles currently features a good lookin' kale salad with apple, roasted beets and caraway.

How about this kale pesto with roasted walnuts at Taste Spotting?

I want to try his hearty kale and sausage soup from the Kitchn.

This looks like a classic: spaghetti with braised kale at Bon Appetit.

Here are kale chips and kale-dusted popcorn at Smitten Kitchen.

Now my favorite kale dish is Gomen wat (Ethiopian Greens). Here is a recipe for the spiced butter Niter Kibbeh and Berbere and Awaze--spice mix and spice paste at A Hungry Bear Won't Dance. I imagine you use the butter and spice paste with to make braised spicy kale. It's the butter that makes it UNCTchewous

Let me know if you try any of these recipes!

I also encourage you to listen to the podcast of Chef Bruce Wood talking to Sheryl on NXNW on CBC about his marmalade recipe and cooking with nettles. Charming!