Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Year's Eve Wishes

Best wishes for a happy and safe New Year's Eve here in Boulder. And batten down anything outside that could possibly move, with the winds we're expecting today. If you need to do any last minute Whole Foods shopping, you might consider the Baseline, Ideal, or Superior stores. I was at Pearl Street yesterday, where it was already getting real in the Whole Foods parking lot, with people madly angling for spaces, and I doubt it will be any better today. I'm all set for tonight's linguine with crab, lemon, chile and mint and think I made the right decision buying prepared crabmeat for it. Although Whole Foods has Alaskan king crabs on sale for $16.99 a pound this weekend, I opted to pay a whopping $34.99 a pound for Dungeness crabmeat that's ready for the skillet, and still think that was a smart move. The whole crabs are super handsome, but by the time I finished cooking and shelling them, I'd probably waste enough for the price to equal the prepared stuff, not to mention all the time that would go into the process. So I've given myself the gift of time for New Year's Eve! Happy, happy.

Friday, December 30, 2011

New Year's Celebration Guides

Are you looking for a little inspiration for festive food for New Year's Eve and Day? There are guides out there to help, including New Year's Eve Celebrations from Epicurious, Food and Wine magazine's New Year's Eve Recipes (including a New Year's Day brunch), and Bon Appetit's New Year's Day Party Menu. Those should get 2012 rolling.

Weekend Dinner Ideas

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day make for a pretty big weekend of dinner plans. But before we get to the holiday stuff, the really big shrimp that Sprouts has for $6.99 a pound are making me think of something fun and a little festive for tonight, smoky shrimp and grits from Food and Wine magazine. Although the recipe calls for medium shrimp, we'll make it special with those gigantic ones at Sprouts.

Moving on to New Year's Eve tomorrow, there are many temptations out there. Both Sprouts and Sunflower are pushing surf 'n turf, with lobster tail sales and a multitude of steak sales. Then there's the Alaskan golden king crab sale at Whole Foods, too. I've decided to bypass all that to try a new recipe in the January issue of Bon Appetit, linguine with crab, lemon, chile, and mint. Of course I could cook and shell those crabs on sale at Whole Foods myself, but I just don't think it's worth the effort when you can spend a little more to have it already done for you with prepared crab meat (provided it's very good quality). To start the evening off, I'm thinking about smoked salmon rolls with ricotta and chives. Together, that's plenty of effort for an evening that will also include champagne.

We have a tradition of eating something "lucky" on New Year's Day, and in this house, that's Mark Bittman's spin on Hoppin' John, black-eyed pea soup with ham and greens from the New York Times. I'll adjust the amounts to be sure there will be some left for later in the week. I'll also increase the greens, which will probably be a combo of spinach and collards, to make it more like a stew, as Bittman suggests. There will definitely have to be homemade cornbread to go with this, and one of my favorites is green onion corn bread from Bon Appetit. With a salad on the side, we'll hopefully get 2012 off to a great start!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Lucky Foods For The New Year

Are you starting to think about what to eat on New Year's Day, something "lucky" to get a good start for 2012? There are traditions around the world about foods to bring you good luck, and Epicurious has a nice roundup of them in the article, Lucky Foods for the New Year.

P.M. Update: here's a new list of lucky foods just out from Bon Appetit. This one includes the Hoppin' John I'll be doing a riff on Sunday. But you probably won't find me smashing pomegranates on the floor.

Crab Sale At Whole Foods

Whole Foods wants to spin your New Year's Eve plans towards an elegant crab dinner with their weekender sale that starts tomorrow, the 30th, and will run through Monday, the 2nd. Alaskan golden king crabs will be $16.99 a pound, $7 off their usual price during the sale. Here's how they describe it: "Caught in the depths of the Bering Sea off of Alaska's Aleutian Islands; Golden King Crab is delicate, tender, and nectar-sweet." Hmmmm.

Year End Sale At Cured

Since Boulder's wonderful cheese and wine shop Cured will be closed the first couple of weeks in January while its owners run off to enjoy getting married, they are having a very nice sale now to clear out their inventory before they leave. Here's what they say:

End of Year Sale: Owing to the perishable nature of much of our product, and the fact that a week from now we will be sipping margaritas on the beach while Cured takes a proper European siesta, we are blowing out our shelves and cooler case and getting them ready for new product in 2012. Wednesday and Thursday we will be offering 15% off all products (excluding meat and cheese) and 15% off wines over $30. If you’ve been waiting to try that one olive oil, or beautiful balsamic, or eyeing that gorgeous linen Deck Towel, now is the time to snatch it up before someone else does (i.e. Coral brings it to Mexico). Then on Friday and Saturday, we’ll be offering 15% off store-wide, that means meats, cheeses, all our booze, and just about anything else you can dream up. So come in and get your last indulgences for 2011 before your two-week forced ‘fast’ takes effect :).

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

No One-Day Sale Today

Whole Foods typically does some one-day specials every Wednesday, but this week they're deviating. There's no one-day sale today, but stay tuned for news of a special weekender sale coming up.

This Week's Hot Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods. Vitamin Cottage is taking a bit of a sale breather until January, and I have no idea what's happening at Alfalfa's; their website still has the sale flyer that expired on the 20th posted, and I haven't been in the store since then to check. Here's what looks good to me in the new sales.

Avocado wars. Avocado fans will enjoy the competing prices happening on conventional avocados this week, 49 cents each at Sprouts, three for $1 at Sunflower (both through January 4th), and $1.25 each at Whole Foods (through January 17th). Since the size of the avocados carried by each store seems to vary in a way that matches their relative prices, that's a lot of good choices.

At Sprouts through January 4th, in addition to the avocados, I'm liking flash frozen Copper River sockeye salmon for $7.99 a pound (Whole Foods is also offering a wild sockeye for $12.99 a pound). Very big 16/20 count raw shrimp, notably from the USA, are $6.99 a pound. It's a New Year's week for steak wars, and Sprouts has five varieties at $7.99 a pound. Chicken sausage is $2.99 a pound, and center-cut pork loin chops are $3.99 a pound, not their best price, but still okay. They aren't advertising much in organic produce this week, but organic Cameo apples are 99 cents a pound, and three-packs or romaine hearts are $2.50. Select party trays are 25% off, and Cascade Fresh sour cream looks good at 99 cents for 16 ounces.

Through the 4th at Sunflower, in addition to the avocados, steaks are looking good, with bone-in New York steaks for $4.99 a pound, boneless New York strip steaks for $6.99 a pound, and filet mignon for $12.99 a pound. Ground chicken breast is $3.99 a pound, and $2.99 for ground pork. Organic produce looks great, with broccoli $1.50 a pound, baby carrots $1.50 a one pound bag, romaine lettuce or bunched spinach both $1.50 each, green or red cabbage 99 cents a pound, russet or red rose potatoes 99 cents a pound, and blueberries $2.99 for six ounces. In non-organic produce, 20 ounces of super cherry tomatoes are $2 each, which I'm pretty sure would be the EuroFresh brand, which is pesticide-free. Their own hummus is $1.99 for eight ounces, or $2.99 for a new 12 ounce size. My favorite Cascade Fresh yogurt looks great at 59 cents each, Horizon Organic sour cream is $2.50 for 16 ounces, including the lowfat variety, Mozzarella Fresca fresh half pound mozzarella balls are $3.99, and the big 28 ounce size of Muir Glen organic tomatoes is $2 a can.

At Whole Foods through the 17th, in addition to the avocados, Stonyfield yogurts are great at 60 cents each. I'm also liking their own teriyaki wild salmon burgers for $7.99 a pound, and top round London broil at $3.99 a pound. Their own sourdough bread loaves are 2 for $6, but it says "you pick two," so maybe two are required for the sale price. Their own excellent fresh large pepperoni pizzas are great at $8.99 each, their 365 Everyday Value frozen veggies are on sale for $1.50 a one pound bag, and wild sockeye salmon, presumably previously frozen, is $12.99 a pound (but Copper River is $7.99 a pound at Sprouts). Also, I haven't tried it, but Castor & Pollux canned pet food is 50% off.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

No Post-Christmas Sale

Still not having a chance to get there, I called the Pearl Street Whole Foods to see if they might be doing their customary special post-Christmas sale, and the answer for this year is no. They're still expecting the usual one-day sale for tomorrow, but there's been no word yet as to what that will be.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Post-Christmas Sale?

I doubt I'll have a chance to get there today, but Whole Foods is renowned for throwing special sales, usually lasting three days, right after a big holiday. So if you happen to be there, keep your eyes peeled for the possibility of some temporary, very good deals. You'd also probably find a special sale flyer by the door.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Merry Christmas, everybody. On Sundays, I usually figure out what our dinners will be through Thursday, then the planning begins all over again on Friday. But for today, for Pete's sake (who is Pete?), it's Christmas! As for dinners all the way through Thursday, I just don't know yet! Well, I do know a couple of things. After tonight's feast of standing rib roast, we'll definitely want something vegetarian for tomorrow night, and Cooking Light's fettuccine Alfredo strikes me as perfect. Even though they have significantly lightened the recipe, it still tastes rich and creamy. Any leftovers would also make a great lunch with a slice of leftover rib roast.

And since Tuesday is our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, we'll certainly have plenty of standing rib roast to fit the bill. You don't want to mess with actually cooking to reheat a roast done to rare. A brief encounter with a bit of warm au jus will be the maximum heat it will get. To change things up, I'm going to try a recipe from the current issue of Bon Appetit that was a contender for today, potato and celery root mash. I love celery root under any circumstances, and the horseradish should give it the perfect kick to go with the leftover roast.

Beyond that, I just don't know, and I don't care! It's Christmas - maybe that's my present to myself! Merry Christmas to all!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Best Store-Bought Broth?

I use a lot of boxed broth in all my cooking, and it can be a godsend during the busy holiday season (although stock made from scratch is obviously preferable for those with an abundance of time). Frequent readers know my devotion to Imagine organic broths and stocks, which have no MSG, come in low sodium varieties, and taste fabulous. I'm therefore surprised by the results of a chicken broth taste test done by Bon Appetit, in which Swanson certified organic free range broth came out the winner. Since it's organic and they also like its low sodium content, I'll have to check it out (checking the label for the various disguises that MSG wears), but it will be hard to shake my devotion to Imagine, which appears to have been part of the taste test.

And by the way, a very merry Christmas Eve to all.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Weekend Dinner Ideas, Including Christmas

I'm in the mood for a very festive weekend, since we very certainly will have a white Christmas here in Boulder. To kick off a weekend of special dinners, I'll start with grilled sea scallops and tomatoes with olive vinaigrette from Gourmet magazine. No, I'm not planning on lighting the barbeque that's buried under a foot and a half of snow on my patio, as the grilling only refers to using a grill pan. Sunflower has jumbo sea scallops for $11.99 a pound, and they also have organic on-the-vine cluster tomatoes for $1.99 a pound, a very good price.

There are so many traditions for Christmas Eve, including tamales in New Mexico, and seven fish dishes in Italy. We tend to lean towards seafood, and I hope it doesn't sound like cheating, but rather than spending the whole evening by the stove, I'm going to have Whole Foods' fabulous premade Maryland style crab cakes, which are on sale for $9.99 a pound. For a veggie, I'll repeat a side that was a huge success at our Thanksgiving table, Swiss chard gratin, a recipe from Whole Foods. The light sauce made with Comte (available in Whole Foods' cheese department) wonderfully dresses up a favorite vegetable for a holiday table. One of Lundberg's special rice blends will also go on the side; I adore their Black Japonica, but I think they also make a Christmas red rice blend that would certainly be appropriate, as well.

For Christmas Day proper, we'll bring out a beautiful standing rib roast of beef. Recipes for this abound, and the current issue of Cooking Light has a tempting one, rosemary-Dijon crusted standing rib roast. I'm more likely to follow the directions in Mark Bittman's trusted book, How to Cook Everything, inserting a few garlic slivers and making a red wine au jus. In addition to the au jus, we'll have a simple horseradish sauce from Bon Appetit. Sides will include golden potatoes with caper brown butter crumbs, Brussels sprouts (probably just simply steamed, and served with the horseradish sauce), and possibly a repeat of the roasted beet salad recipe from a friend that was such a hit at Thanksgiving. A store-bought buche de Noel is the only dessert I'd consider, but desserts aren't much of a focus in this house.

Which will get us through a very celebratory, but hopefully not highly caloric, weekend.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Gluten-Free Hanukkah Recipes

Are you looking for gluten-free options as Hanukkah continues? Boulder's own elena's pantry has you covered with her Hanukkah Recipe Roundup.

January Hiatus At Cured

Fans of Boulder's wonderful cheese, wine, and other goodies shop Cured should be aware that the store will be closed for the first two weeks of January, reopening on the 14th, for a very good reason. In their newsletter, owners Coral and Will have very casually mentioned that they'll be taking the time off to get married. So congratulations to them, and plan accordingly to get your Cured fix around their celebration time.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

This Week's Hot New Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Sunflower, while the current sale continues through the 27th at Whole Foods (click that link for my prior report). Vitamin Cottage is taking a break on sales until next month, and Alfalfa's is unknown, as they still have their flyer that expired yesterday posted on their website. So here's what looks good to me at Sprouts and Sunflower.

"Good to me" usually means products I'd be inclined to buy, so I'm a little conflicted on mentioning the spiral cut ham that both Sprouts and Sunflower are both offering for $1.99 a pound this week (through the 28th). It's an excellent price, but when I checked at one of the stores a couple of days ago, it does contain nitrites in a list of non-natural-sounding ingredients, and I suspect that's true at the other store, too. As always, it's a matter of weighing your wallet against other considerations. In the best of all possible worlds, I'd only buy my chicken at Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage, but the reality is I buy the much cheaper variety all the time.

At Sprouts through December 28th, Presidential-cut standing rib roast looks good at $5.99 a pound (although $4.97 a pound at Sunflower), previously frozen sockeye salmon is $9.99 a pound (but Sunflower beats that again at $7.99 a pound), value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are great at $1.99 a pound, stew meat is $3.99 a pound (same at Sunflower), and their stuffed chicken breasts that I like are $3.99 a pound. In organic produce, broccoli looks good at $1.49 a pound, dry pints of grape tomatoes are $2.50 each, russet potatoes are $2.99 for a five pound bag, gala apples are $1.29 a pound, butternut squash is just 79 cents a pound (beating Sunflower's 99 cents), garnet yams are 99 cents a pound (matching Sunflower), and D'Anjou pears look great also at 99 cents a pound. If you buy conventional, you can pick up a whole pineapple for just 99 cents each. Select party trays are 25% off, select varieties of their own organic spices are $2.99 a bottle, and I'm enthused about Chobani Greek yogurts at $1 each.

At Sunflower through the 28th, beef standing rib roasts are $4.97 a pound, beating Sprouts, and sockeye salmon (presumably previously frozen) is $7.99 a pound, beating Sprouts again. Beef stew meat is $3.99 a pound, matching Sprouts, bone-in ribeye steaks are $6.99 a pound ($8.99 for boneless), and boneless pork loin chops are $3.99 a pound. Both organic and conventional avocados are 50 cents each for the avocado lovers out there. More organic produce deals look good, as usual, with on-the-vine cluster tomatoes $1.99 a pound, chard $1.50 a bunch, red or yellow onions 99 cents a pound, four types of winter squash 99 cents a pound (although Sprouts is cheaper for the butternut), and yams at 99 cents a pound, matching Sprouts. They're also doing an organic apple & pear-o-rama, with quite a few varieties for $1.77 a pound. Cascade Fresh sour cream looks low at 99 cents for 16 ounces, select variety of my favorite Ling Ling appetizers are $3.50 each, and some of my favorite Ezekiel breads are good at $3 a loaf. I also need some Tribe hummus at $2.99 for eight ounces.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow

Our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a quintet of special sales for tomorrow only, the 21st, including one I'd been hoping for: Boulder's own Chocolove Bars, at a fantastic price! (Just think - stocking stuffers, little office gifts? Perfect!) Here's what they say:

One-Day Sale
Wednesday December 21st only!

Chocolove
Chocolate Bars
4 for $5
(save $1.44/ea)

Whole Foods Market®
Mustard Dill Sauce
$1.99/ea
(save $2/ea)

Fresh
Norwegian Salmon
$11.99/lb
(save $5/lb)

Metropolitan
Triple-Cream Brie Rounds
$3.99/ea
(save $3/ea)

Brioche
2 for $6
(save $2.99/ea)

Health Challenge Coming Up

Just as you're priming yourself for the height of the season of indulgence, Whole Foods is encouraging you to start thinking about healthier living in the New Year. They'll give you a way to jumpstart 2012 with their 28-Day Health Challenge in January. Here's what they say:

"We are kicking off our 28-day Health Challenge on January 16th and we would love you to be a part of it. During the 28-days you will have the chance to go to:

· Plant-Strong Supper clubs
· Healthy Eating Store Tours
· Go to free dance classes at Alchemy of Movement
· Attend ANY class at the Boulder Rec Centers (28 days for $28)
· Check out lectures from Joel Furhman, MD and Marc David
· Learn about healthy fats at a Lunch’n’Learn
· Find out the best work-out you can do at home from the Physiotherapy Associates
· Receive free recipes
· Expand your whole foods and leafy greens cooking knowledge with cooking classes

And all for FREE! Everyone of ALL ages is welcome to attend. Sign up at Ideal Market, Baseline Whole Foods Market, or Westminster Whole Foods Market or online (see below). Orientations start the week of January 9th, and there is a meet-up each week following."

Eileen back here again. I think more stores are participating, as Superior already has it on its January calendar, too. Check with the customer service desks for sign-up, or you can register online at www.blacktie-colorado.com/RSVP and use the code HEALTH116.

Afternoon update: looks like they're now promoting registration via Eventbrite.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Sale Hiatus At Vitamin Cottage

Vitamin Cottage, aka Natural Grocers, usually does sales that last quite a long time, in the area of six weeks or so, with their latest one ending on December 14th. I just checked, and those fine folks are taking a little sale breather, with no new sale starting probably until January. But they also have some of the lowest everyday prices around, IMHO.

Publisher Beats Amazon

I'm a big fan of managing my cooking magazine subscriptions through Amazon.com. I generally expect to find the lowest price there, sometimes quite significantly lower than the publisher offers directly, and every subscription transition I've done through them so far has gone flawlessly. So I'm surprised to see that Cooking Light is offering me a better renewal price directly than I could currently get through Amazon. Moral of the story is it always pays to look around.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weekday Dinner Ideas

It's crunch time, the week before Christmas, so this will be quick. Today is the last day of Sprouts' special 72 hour sale, and I'm going to grab some of those gigantic 16/20 count raw shrimp they have at $6.99 a pound in order to do another risotto tomorrow. I'm burned out on risotto with butternut squash, so I'll hit the freezer to do something different, shrimp risotto with peas, a "Recipe for Health" from the New York Times. I might hybridize it by adding some baby organic spinach, a spin on another favorite recipe.

Tuesday will be our customary reheat of something big made over the weekend, which in this case is the potato and root vegetable chowder with bacon from Bon Appetit. It will be accompanied by another wonderful fresh baguette for only $1.50 from Whole Foods, plus a salad, of course.

By Wednesday, I'm thinking that a pizza will sound great. When you make it using the fresh dough from Whole Foods to fill a cookie sheet, it makes a ton of pizza, and the leftovers will be handy to have around for lunches and snacks for drop-in friends before the holidays. Cooking Light has some great ideas for ways to top that dough (adjusting of course for the large size of the dough base), and this time I might try the pepperoni, onion, and olive pizza, if I can tear myself away from my favorite pizza Margherita.

We can't have a week without pasta, so we'll return to seasonality for Thursday with pasta with butternut squash and rosemary from Bon Appetit. This is another recipe that fares well with a large handful of baby organic spinach added to the sauce to wilt at the end. Sunflower has organic butternut for 99 cents a pound through Wednesday, and their price on bulk organic spinach is low all the time. For the prosciutto, I favor the pieces Whole Foods sells for considerably less than the kind that's super-thinly sliced in from of you, since it's going into a sauce, not being wrapped around an asparagus spear.

And that will get us to Friday's planning, dangerously close to Christmas Eve!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Reminder Re Fun Events Today

Don't forget that you have the opportunity for holiday tastings at both the Pearl Street and Superior Whole Foods stores (and maybe others) this afternoon. If you're out at the Superior store, do also head across the street to Superior Liquor, which will be doing a wine tasting to benefit the Boulder Humane Society.

Friday, December 16, 2011

More Whole Foods Holiday Tastings

Yahoo. For those of us who missed last weekend's big round of holiday tastings, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a second chance tomorrow afternoon. Here's what's happening at the Pearl and Superior stores, and maybe the others are in the act, too (I can't check everywhere!). And don't forget, if you're out at the Superior store tomorrow afternoon, do also head across the street to Superior Liquor for their wine tasting and bottle signing to benefit our beloved Boulder Valley Humane Society. Here's what Whole Foods says.

Pearl Street Store

Saturday, December 17th

Holiday Entertaining Tasting
1-4pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of the season with our Holiday Entertaining tasting. Each of our teams will be samplilng some delicious dishes to help you plan your holiday meal.

Superior Store

Saturday, December 17th

Entertaining Appetizers
3:00pm-6:00pm Free

Join us throughout our store for samples of party favorites and entertaining appetizers. Order from our Holiday Menu for the perfect party!

Weekend Dinner Ideas

Since it's Friday, I'd best get going with dinner ideas for the weekend, starting with tonight. While I was hugely impressed by Cooking Coach Beth Pilar's performance at last night's French cooking and wine class at Whole Foods, creating such intricate dishes is something I'll leave to the Cordon Bleu-trained chefs like her. While I might take a little more time on my weekend than my weekday dinners, and like to make everything from scratch, there's no way I have the time, patience, or skill to create layer upon layer of complexity in a dish as she so capably did. So on to tonight's plan for a simple, but hopefully delicious meal. I've been wanting to try a recipe recently published in the New York Times, cod with sesame and ginger, and with cod $6.99 a pound this week at Sprouts, tonight will be the night. With the oven running, some baked yam spears will go with it, and Sunflower has organic ones for just 99 cents a pound.

I've been a little overwhelmed by all the rich holiday foods we encounter everywhere these days, so to counter them, for tomorrow we'll do a wintry and nearly vegetarian soup, potato and root vegetable chowder with bacon from Bon Appetit. Yes, it does have bacon, but it's only two slices in a whole big pot of chowder. One of the wonderful, fresh baguettes from Whole Foods that are half price at $1.50 will have to go on the side, along with a salad.

For Sunday, in perhaps a teeny nod to last night's French demo, we'll take advantage of the chicken tenders that Sprouts has on sale for $1.99 a pound (and Sunflower has boneless skinless breasts for $2.99 a pound) to do quick coq au vin from Bon Appetit. This is delicious served over wide noodles, or the savory broth could also be sopped up with another of those fantastic French baguettes from Whole Foods.

And that will get us through the weekend with some great food that's still pretty simple to prepare, just about my speed.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Recipe Guides

With just ten days remaining until Christmas, I guess it's time to get serious about planning what will be on the table. There are several excellent guides out there offering recipes, menu plans, videos, helpful tips, and the like. My favorites include Christmas Unwrapped from Epicurious, Bon Appetit's Christmas Food, Cooking Light's Ultimate Holiday Food, Saveur magazine's Holiday, and Holiday Recipes from Whole Foods. That's more than enough to get my planning started.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

This Week's Hot Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods, while Alfalfa's current sale continues through the 20th, and today is the last day of the current sale at Vitamin Cottage. Here's what looks particularly good to me in the new sales, IMHO as always.

Sprouts will have a special 72 hour sale this Friday through Sunday, the 16th to 18th, with avocados 50 cents each, very large 16/20 count shrimp $6.99 a pound, roasted almonds $2.99 a pound, whole cashews $5.99 a pound, and their own brand of frozen veggies just 99 cents each for one pound bags, among other deals. In their regular sale running through December 21st, chicken breast tenders or spiral-sliced ham (I wonder how it fares on the nitrates/nitrites front) are $1.99 a pound. Chicken sausage is $2.99 a pound, boneless ribeyes are $8.99 a pound, previously frozen wild caught cod is $6.99 a pound, and fresh farm-raised salmon is also $6.99 a pound. Their "Presidential-cut" standing rib roast is $5.99 a pound, with Sunflower countering with rib roasts at $4.97 a pound. Select party trays are 25% off. In organic produce, Fuji apples are just 99 cents a pound, celery is 99 cents a bunch, yellow onions are $2.49 for a three pound bag, and russet potatoes are good at $2.99 for a five pound bag (although today's the last day you can get five pounds for $1.69 at Vitamin Cottage). The big 28 ounce size of Muir Glen organic tomatoes look good at $2 each, and Annie's organic dressings are $3 for eight ounces.

At Sunflower through the 21st, I'm liking quite lean 93% lean grass fed ground beef for $3.97 a pound, ground chicken breast for $3.99 a pound (although Sprouts' sale ending today was better), and organic boneless skinless chicken breasts for $6.99 a pound. They're beating Sprouts' price in the standing rib roast wars, coming in at $4.97 a pound. Organic produce looks good as usual, with butternut squash, yams, and red or yellow onions all 99 cents a pound, broccoli $1.50 a pound, and one pound bags of baby carrots for $1.50 each. Noosa's yummy yoghurt is low at $1.50 for eight ounces, Robinson Dairy's sour cream is $1.50 for a 16 ounce container, bulk parmesan (presumably not from Italy) is $7.99 a pound, and 3 year extra sharp cheddar is $5.99 a pound.

Through the 27th, Whole Foods is trying to tempt me with a couple of my favorites: their Maryland style crab cakes for $9.99 a pound, and their Bakehouse French baguettes at $1.50 each. Organic cauliflower is $1.99 a pound (and the New York Times just published an appealing recipe for curried cauliflower soup), organic yellow onions are 99 cents a pound (same at Sunflower), and organic russets are also 99 cents a pound, if you aren't saving more by buying them by the bag. Their beautiful spiral sliced hams are $4.99 a pound, their own heirloom wheat bread is $2.99 a loaf, Farmhouse Barber's cheddar is $9.99 a pound, and beloved Cotswold cheese is $12.99 a pound (but $10.99 a pound at Alfalfa's).

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow

Our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a sextet of special sales tomorrow (at least I assume it's tomorrow - they uncharacteristically don't specify the date, but Wednesday is customary). Here's what they're offering:

The holidays are here! We have 6 amazing products for you to choose from in this week's one-day sale!

Satsuma Mandarin Oranges
$0.99/lb
(save $1.50/lb)

Diestel Turkeys
Antibiotic-Free
$1.99/lb
(save $1.50/lb)

Wild Caught Maine
Lobster Tails
$7.99/ea
(save $5/ea)

Odell's
Clarified Butter
$5.99/ea
(save $3/ea)

Olli Salumeria
Salame
$6.99/ea
(save $4/ea)


Whole Foods Market™
Pumpkin Pie
$3.99/ea
(save $4/ea)

Imbibe To Benefit Humane Society

I love the multiple ways that Superior Liquor (in Superior, where else) supports our Boulder Valley Humane Society, and this coming Saturday, the 17th, will represent a high point, with a tasting and bottle signing for its benefit. They're also offering customers an opportunity to donate their "points" to the Society, which will be tripled via two matching donations, a wonderful program. Here's what they say:

As most of you already know, Superior Liquor is deeply committed to supporting the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. We stand in awe of their tireless effort to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. On Saturday, December 17th from 3-6pm, we will host an in-store tasting of the wines of Loyal Companion and Cru Vin Dogs, a local company that shares our commitment to the Humane Society. For every bottle of Loyal Companion wine sold, they donate 50 cents directly to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. They also support numerous other animal directed charities nationwide.

Jay Snellgrove, the artist who creates all the labels for Cru Vin Dogs and Loyal Companion, will be here from 3-5pm signing bottles. Can you think of a better gift for the animal lovers on your shopping list? The Humane Society of Boulder Valley will also be here with some adorable, loving animals who are looking for a new best friend.

Don't forget that you may donate your frequent customer points to the Humane Society (or to Community Food Share) and your donation will be matched TWICE, by our friends at Pernod Ricard and Beam, Inc.

Layoffs At Alfalfa's

This is not the kind of news you like to read. Today's Daily Camera is reporting that Alfalfa's is laying off up to 35 workers in its corporate office, citing sales below expectations. You can read the entire article here.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Holiday Gifts From/For The Kitchen

Are you burned out after a weekend of commercialized holiday shopping, possibly with nothing even to show for it? Consider the personalized touch of making a gift from your kitchen instead. Whole Foods has a nice Gifts From The Kitchen recipe guide, complete with festive gift tags to go with each idea. Bon Appetit magazine also offers a Gifts From The Kitchen Slideshow. If you'd rather purchase a little something for the foodie on your list, check out the Foodie Stocking Stuffers from Epicurious. Our local Boulder natural grocery stores have also piled up tempting gift displays, or consider something from our wonderful local shops Cured or Peppercorn.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Three Day Heads Up Re Vitamin Cottage

(Or is it four days? If today counts, it's four.) Just a reminder that Vitamin Cottage's very long lasting sale will be coming to an end this Wednesday, the 14th, so if there's anything you still need to grab, time is running short. To me, highlights include the organic Colorado russet potatoes that they are practically giving away at $1.69 for a five pound bag, and my favorite MaraNatha organic no stir peanut butter at $3.49 for a 16 ounce jar. Given what's happened recently to peanut butter prices, that pretty darned good, especially for organic. I'm also a fan of the Lundberg gourmet rice blends that are $2.49 in one pound bags, and Nut-Thins at $1.99 a box. But who knows what Vitamin Cottage's next sale will bring?

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Quickly continuing the dinner planning during this busy time, for tomorrow, I'm wanting to do a pasta that will incorporate some of that asparagus that's just $1.88 a pound at Sunflower, but most recipes that feature it just seem too much like spring or summer. I'm therefore going to do an adaptation of a nicely seasonal dish, adding asparagus to cook in the sauce of pasta with winter squash and tomatoes from the New York Times. Sunflower also has organic tomatoes for $1.99 a pound, and their price on organic winter squash is usually good.

Tuesday will be our customary reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the smoky shrimp and halibut stew from Bon Appetit.

For Wednesday, all the ground meats that are on sale through that day are having me think of what has become the new fave dinner in this house, Thai beef cabbage cups from Cooking Light. It's a version of the Thai or Lao dish laab, and can be made with ground meats other than beef, too. Sprouts has fresh ground chicken, chicken breast or pork all at $2.99 a pound, and at Sunflower, it's ground turkey at that price, so you have quite a choice. Also, I prefer to serve it in organic lettuce leaves rather than the cabbage, and Sunflower has organic red or green leaf lettuce for $1.50 a head.

In the interest of simplicity, Thursday will be what's becoming our end of the week fallback option, sauteed pork chops, and Sprouts has their very good boneless center-cut pork loin chops at $2.99 a pound through Wednesday. The also have pints of Cascade Fresh sour cream for just 99 cents each, to go on top of microwaved "baked" organic potatoes on the side (organic russets are $3.99 for a three pound bag at Sunflower through Wednesday).

Which gets us through a busy week!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Hanukkah Recipe Guides

Looking for some ideas for sprucing up your Hanukkah treats? Check out some of these menu and recipe guides: Hanukkah Recipes, Menus, and Gifts from Epicurious, Bon Appetit's Hanukkah Food, Saveur magazine's Happy Hanukkah, the New York Times' Hanukkah Recipes, and the Hanukkah Recipes Guide from Food and Wine magazine.

Kids' Events At Pearl WFM

I don't usually cover stuff that's specifically for kids at our local natural grocery stores, but since the Pearl Street Whole Foods store is doing not one, but two events for them tomorrow, here you go:

Sunday, December 11th

Healthy Kid's Club
12-2pm FREE

Do your kids like playing with food? Do you want them to eat healthy snacks? Join us for our Christmas Kids Club where you kids get to play with their food and learn about nutrition! No RSVP necessary.

Sunday, December 11th

Crafty Kid's Club with The Makerie
2-5pm FREE

Join Ali from The Makerie for this month’s crafty kid’s club activity- Holiday potato prints! These beautiful prints can be used on gift tags or to create your own wrapping paper- the possibilities are endless! No reservation needed.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Weekend Dinner Ideas

In this busy, busy season, the dinner planning needs to be quick, and the dinners even quicker. For tonight, with ground turkey $2.99 a pound, it will be spicy turkey burgers from Bon Appetit (it gets a rare four forks out of four in its reviews). Sunflower will also be the source of asparagus at $1.88 a pound for the side, and it even has organic cilantro for the burgers at 99 cents a bunch.

For tomorrow, Sprouts' sale on both haddock and shrimp for $3.99 a pound is screaming one thing to me: smoky shrimp and halibut stew from Bon Appetit. Haddock or cod is a perfectly reasonable exchange for the halibut, which I love but think is a waste of a very pricey fish in such a stew. Fresh bread and salad on the side (Sunflower has good prices this week on both organic lettuce and tomatoes), and we're done.

For Sunday, I'm considering experimenting with a recipe that appeared on yesterday's Today Show, boneless roast loin of pork, since Sprouts has center-cut pork loin roast for just $1.99 a pound this week. They also have whole conventional pineapples for 99 cents each, tempting me to saute some slices as a kind of dessert.

So that quickly gets us through the weekend.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Saturday Is Holiday Tasting Day

This Saturday, the 10th, is shaping up to be our Boulder natural foods tasting day for holiday ideas. Here, at a minimum, is what is going on.

Alfalfa's

Alfa la la la Holiday Tasting Fair
Saturday, Dec. 10th
Alfalfa's Inside and Outside
11am-3pm
FREE

String the lights, bundle up, and come on down to Alfalfa’s for a bit of holiday cheer. We’re kicking off the season by sampling holiday foods both classic and new. Outside we’ll have piping hot chocolate and snowflake cookies. Inside there will be tastes of everything that makes the holidays, well, the holidays.

Oh, and come a little early if you can. At exactly 11 am, we'll unwrap and reveal Boulder’s newest and biggest citizen — Alfie! Our gift to Boulder, our gift to you.

Sunflower

"Holiday Tasting Fair! 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm. We will be sampling items from our holiday platters and delicious desserts. Yum!"

Whole Foods, Pearl Street

Saturday, December 10th

Holiday Entertaining Tasting
1-4pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of the season with our Holiday Entertaining tasting. Each of our teams will be samplilng some delicious dishes to help you plan your holiday meal.

Whole Foods, Superior (they're also doing a holiday kids club event that afternoon)

Saturday, December 10th

Holiday Tasting- Holiday Meals and Sides
3:00pm-6:00pm Free

Join us throughout our store for tasty samples of items from out Holiday menu and more. Let us do the cooking for you.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

This Week's Hot New Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Alfalfa's, Sprouts, and Sunflower, while current sales continue at Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods (click those links for prior reports). Here's what's looking good to me in the new deals, in my humble opinion only, of course.

The new sale running through December 20th at Alfalfa's strikes me as having more tempting deals than usual on their fine products, probably to lure in all that holiday food shopping. While there's no way to tell from the ad what size it is, the Alfalfa's housemade yule log cake on the cover for $21.99 each looks spectacular. Bouches de Noel are infamously hard to make, best left to the professionals in my opinion. Their excellent meat and seafood department is also offering some shall we say more sophisticated options, like pheasant or poussin (poussin? - evidently a very young chicken), in addition to the usual suspects (lobsters, too, with pre-order). Returning to the more everyday world, specials in their cheese and deli look especially appealing, with Somerdale Cotswold cheese $10.99 a pound, $4 off (and from the looks of the picture, it appears to be with the chives that I love), and Diestel natural turkey pastrami at $7.99 a pound, $3 off. Organic navel oranges are $1.09 a pound, quite good for organic. In seafood, gulf wild sustainably harvested shrimp are $9.99 a pound, $5 off, and I have great faith in Alfalfa's sustainable commitment. Also, Echo Falls wild Alaskan salmon packages are $2 off at $6.99 each, but I already stocked up at an even better, brief sale at Whole Foods. They have some good deals in the bulk department, with roasted and salted mixed nuts for the holidays at $6.49 a pound, and organic wild rice also $6.49 a pound. Select Mountain high low-fat all-natural yoghurts are stunning at 50 cents each, and some Rudi's organic breads are good at $3.29 a loaf. I haven't tried the Tree of Life brand of gluten-free cookies yet, but they look great at $2.50 a box. To go with them, there are a couple of good beverage deals from their coffee, tea and juice department: any juice is BOGO, and if you buy a bag of Stumptown coffee, you get a free 12 ounce latte.

Things are a little more down to earth at Sprouts through December 14th, where you can find center-cut pork loin roast for just $1.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild caught haddock or 41-50 count ez peel shrimp both for $3.99 a pound. They've brought back their fantastic bulk sale, with 25% off that entire department, including their excellent Fair Trade organic coffee, even in decaf. Chicken sausage is $2.99 a pound, as are center-cut pork loin chops. Also at $2.99 a pound are fresh ground chicken, chicken breast, or pork, and whole or cut up chickens are $1.49 a pound. There are some good deals in organic produce, with red or golden delicious apples or D'Anjou pears all just 99 cents a pound, and organic celery is 99 cents a bunch. For conventional, whole pineapples are stunning at 99 cents each. Cascade Fresh sour cream looks low at 99 cents for 16 ounces, and in these days of soaring peanut butter prices, $3.49 for 16 ounces of local Justin's peanut butter looks great, although Vitamin Cottage also has organic MaraNatha for the same price.

At Sunflower through the 14th, the big temptations are family packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts or conventional asparagus, both at $1.88 a pound. They match Sprouts with chicken sausage for $2.99 a pound, and add another ground meat into Sprouts' mix, with ground turkey at $2.99 a pound. Since their fresh turkey meatloaf is on sale at $2.99, I wonder if they'll have their great turkey meatballs (or if I'd make the equivalent by rolling their meatloaf). Beef stew meat is okay at $4.99 a pound, and boneless rib eye steaks look good at $8.99 a pound. There are good deals in organic produce as usual, with bunched chard, spinach, or green top carrots all at $1.50 each, hothouse tomatoes for $1.99 a pound, cilantro, green onions, and Hass avocados all 99 cents each, red or green leaf lettuce $1.50 a head, and three pound bags of russets for $3.99 each. Select Stonyfield organic yogurts are 79 cents each, and Cascadian Farm frozen veggies look good at $2 for the one pound bags. Finally, if you don't already have a stock of Muir Glen organic pasta sauces in your kitchen, go for it at $2.50 a jar.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 7th (an infamous day in history), our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a quintet of special sales. Here's what they say:

One-Day Sale
Tomorrow's one-day sale items. 5 to choose from!

Country Natural Beef
Sirloin Tip Roast
$3.99/lb (save $3/lb)

South of France
French Milled Soaps
8.8 oz.
$2.99/ea (save $3/ea)

South of France
Liquid Soap
12 oz.
$2.99/ea (save $4/ea)

Whole Trade™
Holiday Arrangement
with vase
$12.99/ea (save $7/ea)

Golden King Crab Legs
$14.99/lb (save $9/lb)

"Italian America" in Saveur

Saveur magazine always has thought-provoking, illuminating articles, and the feature one in the current December issue is no exception. "Italian America" engagingly relates the evolution of Italian food on this side of the ocean. No wonder it's well done, as the main component of it is written by John Mariani, author of How Italian Food Conquered the World. Unfortunately, I don't see it online in this issue at Saveur, probably because it is the feature and they can't give just everything away. A sidebar headed "Classic Combo" extols the virtues of sausage and peppers, giving me background on why that's in my menu plan for Thursday, having grown up in a rather Italian area in southern New England.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Hanukkah Tasting This Thursday

This Thursday, the 8th, the Pearl Street Whole Foods will offer Hanukkah ideas with tastings throughout the store from 4 to 6:30. Here's what they say:

Thursday, December 8th

Hanukkah Tasting
4-6:30pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of the Holidays with our Hanukkah tasting. Each of our teams will be sampling some delicious dishes to help you plan your holiday meal.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Weekday Dinner Ideas

With more snow expected to start this evening, on top of all that has already recently fallen in Boulder, it's time to get the rest of the week's dinners organized. I checked out the quite large 16/25 count "broken" shrimp that Sunflower has for $5.97 a pound, and they looked handsomely intact, which suggests to me the nicey seasonal butternut squash risotto with shrimp from Bon Appetit for tomorrow. Although I'll be pretty tired of it by March, I'm still in my pre-winter butternut nesting phase, can't get enough of it. Organic butternut is 99 cents a pound at Sunflower, and since it gets peeled, an even cheaper conventional might be a possibility.

Tuesday will be our customary reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week will be the cod, potato, and fennel casserole from Gourmet magazine. A comfort veggie like sauteed chard will go on the side.

We'll want some pasta on the menu by Wednesday, and looking back to those shrimp from Sunflower and wanting something quick and easy, it will be spicy shrimp and fettucine from Cooking Light. Rather than using plum tomatoes, I'll check out the organic hothouse tomatoes that Sunflower has for $1.99 a pound through that day.

I'll pick up some of the sale chicken sausage at Sprouts by Wednesday (although chicken sausage is always cheap anyway), to feature it in a quick dinner for Thursday, chicken sausage and polenta. I'll wing it, sauteing the sausage with some bell pepper and quality jarred pasta sauce, and making the easy polenta in a three to one ratio of liquid to polenta, with a bit of parmesan added at the end. If you want to complicate your life by following a recipe, mushroom and sausage ragu with polenta from Cooking Light is a good one.

And that will get us through a cold week with more snow on the way. Stay warm.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Supper Club At Pearl Whole Foods

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will offer a four course Health Starts Here Supper Club this coming Thursday, all for $20. Here's what they say:

Thursday, December 8th

Health Starts Here Supper Club
6:30pm $20 per person, plus tax

Have you wondered if healthy food can really taste good? Join us for a Holiday 4 course meal centered around our 4 Pillars of Healthy Eating and we'll prove to you that it can! Space is limited, so please RSVP to sarah.morgan@wholefoods.com or visit our customer service desk.

Holiday Tasting At Sunflower

According to the Boulder Sunflower calendar, from noon to 2 pm today, they'll be offering "Cheers to the holidays," for which they say, "While you are shopping, stop by for a special treat!"

Friday, December 2, 2011

Flatbread Cooking Class At Alfalfa's

Tomorrow from 1 to 3 pm, Alfalfa's will show you how to make pizzas using Udi's Italian flatbread. Plus, don't forget that they have free wine tastings in their Cellar from 5 to 7 pm every Friday, which is today (tonight will be dessert wines). Here's what they say about tomorrow:

Learn to Cook with Udi’s Italian Flatbread
Saturday, Dec. 3rd
Alfalfa's Pizza Oven
1-3 pm
FREE

Join us as 3rd and 4th generation artisan bakers from Italy, Maurizio Negrini of Udi's and his son Amedeo, teach you how to make 3 tasty pizzas using Udi's Italian Flatbread. You'll learn how to make:
• Prosciutto & Burrata pizza
• Prosciutto Pesto pizza
• Oven Roasted Peppers pizza

Weekender Sale At Whole Foods

For today through Sunday only, our local Whole Foods stores will be offering Celestial Seasonings' Kombucha Energy Shots for $1.99 each, nearly half price. I haven't tried them, but they sound like quite the interesting natural energy boost for this busy season.

Weekender Sale

Stay vibrant and focused with all-natural Kombucha Energy Shots from Celestial Seasonings. With the naturally revitalizing effects of live, raw Kombucha and the energizing boost of caffeine from guarana, plus B-vitamins and ginseng, you just shake and shoot – then feel the energy! Sale price valid Dec 2 - 4.

$1.99/ea (save $1.70/ea)

Weekend Dinner Ideas

After a week of turkey leftovers, in thinking about what to have for dinner this coming week, I seem to have fish and beef on the brain, basically anything but poultry. For tonight, I'm intrigued by the farm-raised salmon that Sprouts has for just $4.99 a pound. I usually don't bother with farm-raised, but if it looks good, there's a recipe from last month's Bon Appetit that I've really been wanting to try: pan-seared salmon with pumpkin seed-cilantro pesto. If I decide against the farm-raised, an alternative would be the presumably previously frozen wild Alaskan sockeye that Whole Foods has on sale for $12.99 a pound. One of Lundberg's beautiful rice blends, like their exotic black Japonica mix, will go on the side.

For tomorrow, while in poultry rebellion, beef will be what's for dinner. To still keep it on the lighter side, we'll try a new recipe from last month's Cooking Light, sesame beef stir-fry. Sunflower has stir fry beef on sale for $4.99 a pound, but I've also found these recipes work perfectly well with regular stew beef. Since we're having rice tonight, the stir-fry will go on top of buckwheat sobas tomorrow.

For Sunday, we still need to make something big that will also serve as a midweek reheat, and with cod $7.99 a pound at Sprouts, I'm thinking it will be cod, potato, and fennel casserole from Gourmet magazine. The reviews of this are a riot; people either absolutely love it or detest it. I'm in the love camp. One reviewer said it works well with sweet potatoes, which I think I'll try (what an antioxidant boost!). The alternative would be organic russets, which Vitamin Cottage is practically giving away at $1.69 for a five pound bag.

And that will be plenty of non-poultry comfort food for our first weekend of December, which looks to be very chilly and maybe a little snowy.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Boulder Farmers' Holiday Market This Weekend

This weekend will be the grand finale of the Boulder Farmers' Market season, with their special two-day holiday market out in Longmont. With chilly temperatures and possibly a little snow, note you will be doing your shopping in the comfort of being indoors for a change, as it will be held at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building. It's a chance to add unique gifts to your holiday shopping, as well as picking up some wonderful local food. Here's just a part of what they say:

The Boulder County Farmers' Markets 6th Annual Winter Market Is This Weekend!

The 2011 Winter Market is open Saturday and Sunday from
9am - 3pm.

Please join us for our final and largest market of the year - two full days in celebration of another fabulous season bringing together people who value and support local products.

Many of the farmers, ranchers, and food artisans from our Boulder and Longmont Farmers' Markets have everything you need for a FRESH & LOCAL holiday season... tender greens, vine-ripened tomatoes, fall produce, Colorado-raised beef, poultry, lamb, pork, award winning cheeses, eggs, apples, cider, preserves, baked goods, honey, Colorado wines, and much, much more.

This is also our best and biggest fine art and fine craft fair of the year, featuring over 40 Colorado artists. You will find everything from unique stocking-stuffers to one-of-a-kind museum quality gift items.

Olive Oil Class At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's will be doing an Olive Oil Connoisseur Class this coming Tuesday, December 6th, from 6:30 to 8 pm. The $5 price includes a bottle of one of their wonderful oils (I'm especially partial to their Tuscan herb). A friend attended their prior olive oil class and found it well worth the time. Here's what Alfalfa's says:

Olive Oil Connoisseur Class
Tuesday, Dec. 6th
Community Room
6:30-8pm
$5 per person

Neil's olive oil tasting party will walk you through the olive oil creation process, inspire you with olive oil uses, and share party tips & recipes. We will all eat cake (made with olive oil) and you will walk away a connoisseur with one FREE bottle of Alfalfa's fresh exclusive olive oils.

Seats are limited, so please pay at Guest Services to reserve your seat

• face to face

• give ‘em a ring at 720.420.8400

One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 2nd (happy December on this snowy day!), our local Whole Foods stores will be offering five pound boxes of satsumas for $4.99 each, and even cheaper by the case. As well as being something to enjoy yourself, these would make lovely hostess gifts, office munchies, etc. The gift of fruit is a welcome alternative in this season of overindulgence. Here's what they say:

One-Day Sale 12/2

No One Day Sale this Wednesday. Instead, join us this Friday 12/02 for our Satsuma Gift Box sale. Satsuma Mandarins are sweet, juicy and the easiest citrus to peel. Don't miss this opportunity to stock up on quite possibly the best piece of fruit in our stores right now!

$4.99/5 lb box (save $3/ea)

Buy 4 and save more: $15.99/case