Enjoy the Spirit of The Season!
December 8, 2025
Short days, long nights - it’s the time of year to gather together with family and friends and share the warmth! Story-telling, music, gift-giving, parties, lights, and sharing delicious food are part of all our traditions. Steep Hill has a great mix of old and new products - from turkey to lion’s mane, hot chocolate to kombucha - ready for you to explore, and enjoy. By shopping local, supporting local, organic, fairtrade, co-operative and Canadian suppliers we build up our community - a gift for all of us! Seasons Greetings from your Board and staff!
Holiday Store Hours
Pre-order Your Holiday Turkey!
Deadline for orders is December 17, 2026.
Our free-range, antibiotic-free turkeys have been sourced by Original Family Farm from a farmer in Southern Saskatchewan. Turkeys will weigh between 7.3 and 9.07 kgs (16 and 20 lbs) and cost $13/kg ($5.90/lb) and available for pick-up Dec. 22 at 1:00 PM.
Due to bird flu risks to outdoor flocks this year, the farmer decided to process the turkeys early as a safety precaution. For this reason, turkeys will be frozen. Original Family Farm has offered to thaw turkeys ahead of delivery, so you don’t have to. When you place your order, Steep Hill employees will ask whether you prefer your turkey to be thawed or frozen, and we’ll make sure you receive a bird of your preference at pickup. We understand that many of you prefer never-frozen turkey, but we hope everyone understands that the bird flu risk is out of our (and the farmers’) control.
Groceries at Your Doorstep!
Psst … did you know - we do delivery! Yes, if you need to restock your fridge or pantry but can’t make it to the store in person, simply call the store or send an email and we’ll get your order put together and delivered to your home as soon as we can for a low $5.00 delivery fee.
Pre-ordering Gluten Free Bread and Brioche
Casita Foods, our gluten-free bread and brioche buns supplier, will be delivering fresh bread and buns on Fridays only, instead of doing daily deliveries. If you would like fresh gluten-free bread or brioche, you need to pre-order. Place your order with a Steep Hill employee, either in person or by calling by Wednesday for Friday pick-up.
We are asking that folks pre-pay so that we can effectively have a pickup and go situation. To pick up on Friday Dec. 12, get your order in by Wednesday Dec. 10. We will continue carrying frozen bread/buns, but fresh will all be pre-order moving forward.
Mushrooms Galore!
In addition to the well-known white and brown button mushrooms and hefty portobellos, Steep Hill has branched out, thanks to local supplier, Makers Way Foraging and House Mushrooms. We now offer Lions Mane, Pink Oyster, and Cauliflower Mushrooms.
Kombucha Anyone?
We’re now stocking Jam’bucha Kombucha! Created by Carvil Richards with bold Caribbean-inspired flavours and brewed in Clavet, SK, this small-batch kombucha is made with real ingredients, is low on sugar, and has been a hit with the Steep Hill staff.
We’re currently stocking their Jam Rock (Hibiscus Ginger) and Cool Runnings (Apple Rhubarb) flavours, which can be found with our other cold beverages.
Hey Awesome Volunteers - Not Much to Say Besides Thank You!
Thank you to all of our volunteers who have stepped up to help with garbage, compost and recycling pick-up, store cleaning, and all the in-store tasks! For the first time in a very long while, we have no immediate volunteer needs (although a back-up person for garbage collection would be awesome).
Volunteers are an integral part of Steep Hill’s community – your work is crucial to the store’s continued success and vitality! If you’ve never volunteered before and are interested in learning about how you can take part, please email Amielle directly at hello@steephillfood.ca.
Two hours of volunteer work gives you working member status for the following month, which provides you with the working member discount (6% off the shelf price). For in-store volunteer work, sign up for a shift in the store or by calling or emailing to request a shift.
Simple, Historic Dessert for the Holidays
What was it like to celebrate the festive winter season in early Saskatoon? What did they eat and drink for the holidays? Saskatoon was founded as a temperance colony in 1882. Temperance means “no alcohol” so we can assume that was not part of the festivities. What did they cook?
By 1883, Saskatoon had six houses and a population of 70. Many of those residents still lived in “soddies” and in tents. (A “soddie” is a structure made with chunks of prairie sod.) The first street was Broadway Avenue. The homes overlooked the river, mostly in the vicinity of what is now 10th and 11th Streets just west of Broadway.
One of those first houses, and the only one still standing, was the Trounce House, home of Bessie and Harry Trounce and their two children. The house was small, just 5 x 6 metres (16 x 20 feet), with one large room and two small bedrooms. Though tiny by today’s standards, it was the social centre of the community.
The Trounces liked to entertain, as noted in an article published in Saskatchewan History in 1987: “This house was the scene of innumerable social activities, especially parties on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, and is referred to in several early memories and books.”
In a letter, now held at Saskatchewan Archives, Bessie recorded the menu for a community Christmas Eve gathering in 1884. The meal included beef steak pie, boiled and roasted potatoes, bread and butter, mince pie, apple tart, blanc mange (a custard), currant biscuits and jam tart. Note the lack of fresh vegetables, which would have been very hard to source in a prairie winter. Potatoes, stored in a cool cellar, were the most plentiful vegetable in wintertime. It’s no wonder they were served both boiled and roasted.
The Trounce family also ran a general store from their home, the first building to house a store in Saskatoon. Today, it sits at the back of the property at 512 10th Street E., just a 2-minute walk from the Steep Hill Food Co-op, bridging a long history of providing wholesome, organic, staple foods in Saskatoon.
Bessie did not record the flavour of her jam tart, but it might have been made with strawberry or raspberry jam, both of which grew wild on the prairie before the land was cultivated. There are just two ingredients: jam and pie pastry. Use a good quality jam made with natural fruit and real sugar for best results. It’s an old English recipe—simple, elegant and pretty!
Jam Tart Recipe
Dairy-Free Cappuccino Cups
(Adapted from a Chatelaine recipe circa 2000)
These look like teeny cups of cappuccino and are easy to make. Since the white chocolate isn’t tempered, it’s best to store them in the fridge, unless you and your friends devour the whole batch. As an added bonus, Steep Hill carries most, if not all, of the ingredients!
Makes about 21 small candy or baking cups.
View Dairy-Free Cappuccino Cups Recipe
Fairly Frosty Friday Was Full of Fun!
A great big “thank-you” to Nancy Allan for organizing the fairtrade event on November 21! Gopher Broke entertained, and attendees enjoyed music, dancing and learning more about the Fairtrade system from Kelly Storie, executive director of Camino/La Siemba Worker Co-op, our wonderful supplier of chocolate and sugar. In addition to the social event, Nancy also organized a “lunch and learn” session at the Centre for Co-operative Studies, and set up a meeting with Kelly with Steep Hill’s manager, Amielle and treasurer, Gary Wilson.
We Want to Hear From You!
For information about products and the store, email us at hello@steephillfood.ca or call 306-664-4455.
To contact the Board of Directors with ideas, feedback, concerns or questions, email board@steephillfood.ca or fill out a “How did we do today” card when you are in the store.
Thanks to Amielle Christopherson, Adam Douglas, Amy Jo Ehman, Cathy Holtslander, and Maryann Scott for contributing to this Newsletter! If you would like to join the newsletter crew, email board@steephillfood.ca.
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