2 cups saskatoon berries
1 cup beef broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup sugar

1. In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, bring the saskatoons with the beef broth to a boil.
2. Stir in the garlic, pepper, thyme and rosemary and simmer for several minutes.
3. Combine cornstarch, water and sugar. Gradually whisk into the sauce until fully incorporated.
4. Boil the sauce until it has thickened and is no longer foggy.
5. Spoon over meat of your choice.

Makes 6 servings

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups saskatoons
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine brown sugar, flour, salt and oats, then gradually mix in the butter until the whole mixture is a crumbly consistency.
3. Meanwhile, boil the water in a pot and stir in the sugar.
4. Reduce to medium heat and add saskatoons. Cook until tender and syrupy.
5. Pour the saskatoons into an oven-proof dish and top with the oatmeal crumble topping.
6. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

3 cups cauliflower flowerets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
19 ounces canned diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
salt and pepper
water

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the cauliflower, cooking until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, then the onion. Sauté for several minutes, then add the garlic. Continue cooking until tender.
3. Add the tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and marjoram and simmer until tomato liquid has reduced by half.
4. Meanwhile, melt butter in a separate skillet and add the flour. Stir for a minute until lightly brown, then whisk into the sauce.
5. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, mix in the cauliflower and serve.

Makes 4 servings

2 pound bison roast
8 scallions
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
water

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Slice a few inches into the center of the roast and pack with scallions.
3. Season roast with thyme, mustard, salt and pepper and place on a raised roasting rack or on top of vegetables in a roaster.
4. Pour about 1/2" of water into the bottom of the roaster, just below where the meat sits.
5. Place into the oven and roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 140° for rare. Allow meat to rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with Savory Saskatoon Sauce.

Makes 1 roast

One of Shannon's friends gave us a bison roast last week and since I love bison so much and Shannon has been picking berries lately, I figured I'd make a Mustard Thyme Bison Roast with Saskatoon Sauce. Part of me feels a little strange pairing fruit with meat, even though it's quite delicious. I mean, people put cranberries on turkey whether the occasion calls for it, so why not with red meat as well? The sauce was surprisingly tasty, but the roast was a little disappointing. This is solely because I didn't realize I was making a blade roast until after I pulled it out of the oven. Luckily I checked it while it was still quite rare, so I stewed the remaining meat and now have a fridge full of tenderized buffalo stew currently serving no real purpose whatsoever. I bet that if you combined the sauce with the stew and made a sort of savory tart that would be quite delicious.

I decided to go with a purple theme after picking up some purple cauliflower. Aside from turning the water an indigo blue, there really doesn't seem to be anything special with it flavor-wise. I'm not even sure what they crossbred with the cauliflower to make it look that way. Eggplant? Kale? Red Cabbage? Perhaps it's just dyed. Anyhow, my Cauliflower Provencal cut a few corners and still managed to be quite satisfying. I thought it would've been much better if it had a thicker sauce to it, so maybe next time I make this I will prepare an actual tomato sauce instead.

For dessert I baked up a Saskatoon Crisp, which was basically a variation of the Strawberry Rhubarb Pandowdy recipe I made a couple months ago. From what I've now learned I don't think what I made previously was a pandowdy at all, but that's part of the silliness that occurs when you're flying by the seat of your pants. Several people ate it and all enjoyed themselves. I did, too, so I reckon it's a winner. It's hard to screw up crumbled topping fruit though. For those that don't know, I suppose I should mention that saskatoons are a wild berry that grow up here in Alberta. Blueberries would likely be a perfectly acceptable substitute. Blueberries also happen to be in season right now and I've been eating a pound a day. My pee looks like purple cauliflower water. (Just kidding.)