This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods, while the current one continues at Vitamin Cottage through August 10th (click for prior report).  Here's what looking good to me now.

My patience is being tested every way I turn this morning.  First, my Daily Camera hasn't been delivered, and the only reason I continue to bother with that hard copy is for the convenience of having the ads in hand.  So I turned to the web, and when I tried to open the pdf of the new Sprouts ad, I got a message that the file was damaged and wouldn't open.  I'll therefore be working from an even more inconvenient version, so this will be particularly quick.  Frustration, frustration.

Sprouts' new sale runs through August 7th.  Center cut boneless pork loin chops (also roast) are spectacular at just $1.99 a pound, although I'd also consider Whole Foods' one-day sale for today only on their excellent chops (bone not specified so I'd assume in) at $2.99. Boneless top sirloin is $4.99 a pound, all sausage (chicken or pork) is $2.99 a pound, and Sprouts continues to have fresh wild sockeye salmon for $12.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, on-the-vine tomatoes are great at $1.48 a pound.  Organic cucumbers are 88 cents each, and there's a big theme of $1.49 for baby carrot bags, pints of grape tomatoes, and celery (price for each) and broccoli, Italian squash (think zucchini), and pluots or black or red plums ($1.49 per pound).

At the new sale at Whole Foods through August 13th, I'm liking their raspberry chipotle salmon burgers at $7.99 a pound.  Wild salmon steaks are $3 off at $12.99 a pound, but fresh or frozen isn't specified.  Country Natural Beef London broil is good at $4.99 a pound.  Organic green, red, or romaine lettuce are all three for $5, and Fage Greek yogurts are an okay sale at $1.25 each, although Sprouts has them at just $1 each in the sale that ends today.  Whole Foods' own firehouse potato salad looks convenient for a picnic at $3.99 a pound, $2 off, and their own large fresh fruit tart, which I can attest is a delicious and very festive treat for birthdays or any other celebration, is a very good deal at $17 each, $9 off its usual stratospheric price.  Finally, I need to learn to make my own kale chips, when a lightweight bag of these things is $2 off at $5.99.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Today

For today only, the very last day of July, our local Whole Foods stores are offering us a duo of special sales.  The pork chops sound pretty darned good.  Here are the details:

JULY 31ST (WED ONLY!)

Pork Loin Chops: 50% OFF
Sale Price: $2.99/lb

Cantaloupes: 50% OFFSale Price: 2 for $4

No Word Yet Re A One-Day Sale At Whole Foods

Whole Foods pretty much always does a one-day sale on Wednesday for a handful of items, but I haven't heard yet about anything happening tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be one, and will post later if I hear something and if I have time to get back into the blog.

Cured Has A CMF Picnic Basket

I love both the Colorado Music Festival and our one-of-a-kind local store Cured, with its artisanal foods, so I'm particularly pleased to see that they've introduced a special CMF picnic basket, with $5 of each sale going to CMF.  Chautauqua is such a fabulous place to picnic prior to a concert.  Cured will also be participating in the free food and beverage tastings preceding this Friday's music mash-up concert (for ticketed concert-goers only, obviously) and also next Tuesday's.  I've seen Time for Three perform Friday's program previously, so I'll miss out on all those great tastings.  But ticket prices start really low in the general admission sections, so it's something you might want to consider (check the CMF website).  Here are the details from Cured:

Good Morning Friends of Cured, We hope you all enjoyed another beautiful weekend. We have been loving the past few days of mist and rain. After all the heat and dryness of the last several months, it has been quite a treat to feel cool. Plus, in good Colorado form, I have faith that the sun will pop back out, the grass and hills will green up beautifully, and parks will be prime for picnicking. Speaking of picnicking, with the Chautauqua concerts in full swing and the Colorado Music Festival launching their Music Mash Up Series, we are excited to release the Colorado Music Festival picnic, all of our favorite goodies to enjoy an evening of good food and good music.

The Colorado Music Festival is a one-of-a-kind not-for-profit organization that provides a spectrum of music education opportunities and world-class performances to citizens throughout Boulder County and beyond. Their mission is inspire and connect community members of all ages by providing access to the best of the world’s music through education and performance. During the summer, music education and performances are brought to the stage during Colorado Music Festival’s six-week concert season at Chautauqua.

Several months back, the CMF approached us and asked if we would be interested in donating our time and tasty bites to be a part of the first CMF Music Mash-up. Having been supporters of the CMF for the past several years, we were instantly intrigued. The Music Mash-up & Party concerts are hoping to bring something new to Boulder and Chautauqua, featuring “mash-ups” of different music genres, including rock, indie, jazz, and classical in unique and beautiful arrangements, all with orchestra. Each concert will be preceded by a happy hour “Taste of Boulder,” where guests will get to indulge in various foods and drinks from local restaurants, breweries, and coffee shops, including yours truly. These events happen this Friday, August 2ndat 6 pm and next Tuesday, the 6th, at 7:30. They will be fun, innovative, and utterly delicious, and we would love to see you there.

While we were scheming food ideas for the Music Mash-up events, we started thinking about how well good food and good music go together. The Colorado Music Festival and Chautauqua. Chautauqua and Picnics. Picnics and Cured. Like peanut butter and jelly, bread and butter, or wine and cheese, it seems only fitting to enjoy them together.

In support of the Colorado Music Festival and what they do, we decided to create the CMF picnic. This is a collection of the goodies we find ourselves packing time and time again when we head to Chautauqua to enjoy a CMF event. Whether you’re heading to a CMF concert or any number of the amazing evenings hosted by Chautauqua, stop on by and grab the Cured CMF Picnic. Not only will your belly and friends thank you, but $5 from each picnic goes to support the ongoing efforts of the CMF, so they can continue to bring great music and events to all of us here in Boulder.

The $50 CMF Picnic Includes:
3 cheeses, 2 chunks of salami, Cured’s house fig jam, 34 degree crackers, 2 house made salads and a bar of Poco Dolce Chocolate. Pretty much all you need for a perfect evening under the stars.

Hopefully we didn’t loose your interest with so much talk of music rather than a newsletter filled with mouthwatering descriptions of food. We are just so excited when somebody, especially an inspiring organization like the CMF, aims to bring introduce something new and different to our little Boulder bubble. Plus, as you all know by now, we’ll take any excuse we can get to pack up and enjoy a picnic :-)

Sprouts' Vitamin & Body Care Extravaganza

Just a heads up that you only have through Wednesday to take advantage of 25% off everything in our local Sprouts' vitamin and body care department.  Stock up on those items you love that you know never otherwise go on sale.  And some food items like flax or chia seeds are also located in that department as supplements.

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Goodness, possible rain and a high today around 73 in Boulder - what a refreshing change.  Regardless, this needs to be quick.

For tomorrow, I'll adapt chicken burritos with poblano chiles and corn from Bon Appetit, using ground poultry instead, either chicken breast or turkey breast that are both on sale at Sprouts through Wednesday for $3.99 a pound.  It could also be done with the turkey or chicken breast tenders that are just $2.99 a pound there, but it's easier to not have to cut things up.  We're a ways from this year's Hatch chile season, but I really need to use up the remainder of roasted ones still in my freezer from last year.  And obviously, the corn has to be our local Munson's, available at their farm stand at 75th and Valmont, at the Boulder Farmers' Market, and most conveniently, at our local Whole Foods.

Tuesday is our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, and continuing the Munson's corn theme, this week it's tonight's corn and cod chowder from Food and Wine magazine.

We'll want something vegetarian by Wednesday, and this time my thinking is being driven by my overflowing herb garden, rather than the sales.  It will be tomato and mozzarella risotto from Cooking Light, enhanced with a bunch of fresh herbs from my garden.  Hopefully Sprouts is continuing to have the good prices they've recently had on organic tomatoes.

For Thursday, we'll grab more of that ground turkey or chicken breast from Sprouts by the end of the sale Wednesday for my recent fave, any version of the Thai dish variously called laab, larb, or larp.  I have several variations of it saved, but they're all pretty close, and the one I've been going to recently is spicy Thai basil chicken from Cooking Light.  The basic idea of the Thai dish is wonderfully light - a spiced ground meat wrapped in lettuce leaves, but our western recipes almost never refer to it by any of its original names, so it's hard to gather them up for a comparison.

Which quickly gets us through the week.  Enjoy a cool, cloudy day here in Boulder!

Boulder Farmers' Market Plus Mini Dinner Plans

Just a reminder to head on out for some fine local, and often organic, produce at today's Farmers' Market from 8 to 2 today.  If the crowds or the road construction on that stretch of Arapahoe put you off, also consider the fine farm stands at 75th and Valmont, where you'll find Munson Farm on the northwest corner and Cure Organic Farm on the southwest one.

No real time to say much about dinner plans for the weekend, and they're kind of in flux because of the weather anyhow.  So good to see our afternoon rain pattern finally develop, but it causes havoc with dinner grilling plans.  I'm hoping we'll be able to grill the fine piece of harpoon-caught (I don't want to picture that admirable, sustainable method too closely) swordfish I picked up yesterday at Whole Foods for $18.99 a pound.  A recipe that I don't have time to look up for sautéed zucchini, cherry tomatoes and olives will keep the veggie side indoors in case of rain.

Tomorrow we'll head back to Munson's for more of their fabulous corn for corn and cod chowder from Food and Wine magazine.  The confluence of Munson's new local corn season plus previously frozen wild Alaskan cod fillets at Sprouts for $7.99 a pound speaks to me for this one.

No time for more!

Flash Ice Cream Sale Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 27th, our local Whole Foods stores will have a flash sale from noon to 5 on two kinds of ice cream, both BOGO.  Here's their pretty graphic:

Weekender Sale At Whole Foods

From tomorrow through Sunday, Whole Foods will offer us a trio of special deals.  All sound really appealing to me, although I'm sure our family pets would have a field day with the flower arrangement.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

JULY 26TH-28TH (FRI -SUN)

Flower Arrangement: $5 OFF
Sale Price: $9.99 EA (Large Mason Jar)

Lattebusche Piave Vecchio: $5 OFF
Sale Price: $13.99/lb

Asian Potsticker 12-Pack: 50% OFF
Sale Price: 2 for $5

Ice Cream Social Saturday

This Saturday will be the last of the July "local throwdowns" that the Pearl Street Whole Foods has been hosting, and it promises to be a good one.  In these throwdowns, you get to taste local products and vote for your favorite, so what could be better for the end of July than an ice cream social?  Here are the details from them:

Local Throwdown           

Saturday, July 27th           

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Store-Wide, Free

This summer, we are celebrating our commitment to LOCAL. Every Saturday, we will host a competition amongst some of our favorite local vendors. You be the judge - come taste and vote for your favorite!

July Themes 
6 - Popcorn
13 - Bakery
20 - Salsa
27 - Ice Cream Social 

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder and Longmont Sprouts stores, while the current ones continue at Vitamin Cottage through August 10th, and Whole Foods through July 30th (click for prior reports).  Here's what's appealing to me now.

At Sprouts' new sale through July 31st, the big news is the return of the Vitamin & Body Care Extravaganza, with everything in that department 25% off.  A good time to grab those products you like that you know never otherwise go on sale.  In meat, turkey breast tenders are particularly low at $2.99 a pound.  Chicken breast tenders are also that price, although we've seen the chicken ones lower.  Ground chicken breast or turkey breast are both $3.99 a pound, and boneless ribeyes are $11.99 a pound.  In fish, being presumably near the end of the fresh wild salmon season, farm-raised is coming back into the spotlight at a particularly low price of $4.99 a pound.  Previously frozen cod fillets are $7.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, one pound bags of baby carrots remain great at $1.48 each, cucumbers are 99 cents each, celery is $1.49 a bunch, one pound clamshells of strawberries are $2.98 each, and red or green grapes and yellow or white peaches are all $2.49 a pound.  If what I read that a pint of blueberries weighs 12 ounces is correct, Whole Foods still beats Sprouts on organic blueberries, since a pint of them is $3.99 there through Tuesday, while a six ounce container is $2.99 at Sprouts.

Elsewhere in the store at Sprouts, Fage Greek yogurt looks great at $1 each, select Brown Cow yogurts are 69 cents each, bulk hot pepper jack cheese is just $2.99 a pound, half pound balls of Galbani fresh mozzarella are $2.99 each, and there's evidently a coupon in the store that will save you $3 on fresh fruit when you buy any three Kashi products, some of which are 33% off to boot.

One-Day Sale Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 24th, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a duo of special sales.  I've never tried it, but paiche is evidently one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, and also the name of a hot new restaurant in Marina del Rey.  Here's what Whole Foods says:

JULY 24 (WED ONLY!)

Function Drinks: 10 for $10
Paiche Fillet: $5 OFF
Sale Price: $12.99/lb

Current Sale At Vitamin Cottage

The current sale at Vitamin Cottage runs through August 10th (how can we be talking about August already?), and has some great deals as always.  Looking best to me is my very favorite Crunchmaster gluten free multi-seed crackers at $2.29 a bag.  I'll definitely be stocking up on those.  I'm also liking Chobani Greek yogurts at 99 cents each, Annie's organic mustard just $2.49 for the 9 ounce package, and the big 28 ounce size of Muir Glen organic canned tomatoes just $1.79 each.  I usually carry just plain old water from the tap, but when it gets as hot as it has been, Metromint mint flavored waters are very refreshing and just 99 cents each (16.9 ounces).  I haven't tried them, but RW Knudsen spritzer four-packs look good at $2.69 each, and there's a zero calorie one.  I like to cook from scratch, but I've sampled yummy Tasty Bite Indian entrees, and the 10 ounce ones are a steal at $2.19 each, regularly $3.15.  Saffron Road 11 ounce frozen entrees also look like a good deal at $2.39 each, since they're usually $4.89, and their 7 ounce simmer sauces are just $1.29 each.

Current Sale At Whole Foods

Whole Foods didn't have its full sale flyer posted when the new sale started last Wednesday, so I'm only just now getting around to looking at the paper copy.  The current sale runs through July 30th, and I'm intrigued that you can get American Homestead center cut pork loin chops that are already brined for $4.99 a pound (non-brined also).  Having never had a brined piece of meat, I just might have to try that.  I'm also liking the garden fresh salmon burger at $7.99 a pound, Country Natural Beef shoulder ranch steak $4.99 a pound, and four ounce packages of Icelandic smoked salmon $5 each.  Organic kale is $2 a bunch (green, red, or lacinato), and organic zucchini is $1.99 a pound.  Organic blueberries are $3.99 a pint, and if what I'm reading elsewhere is correct that a pint of blueberries weighs 12 ounces, that's a really good deal, considerably beating Sprouts' six ounces for $2.49.

Elsewhere in the store, bulk whole cashews look good at $5.99 a pound, their own rosemary sourdough boules are $2.99 each, their fettucini with roasted tomatoes and pine nuts is $3 off at $6.99 a pound, their fried green tomato BLT wrap sounds tempting for a picnic at $5.99 each (and prior experience is that those wraps are big enough to serve two), and Avalon Organics shampoo or conditioner are $5.99 each for the 11 ounce bottles.

Free Solar Seminar At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's will be offering a solar seminar this Thursday evening.  Here are the details from them:

Free Solar Seminar with Clean Energy Collective

July 25th, 6:00 to 7:30pm

Join us at Alfalfa's as the folks from Clean Energy Collective teach attendees about these topics:

• What is community-owned solar?
• Purchasing vs. leasing
• How can I save money by going solar?
• Details of environmental impacts at the Boulder Cowdery Meadows array project

Local Tour At Pearl WFM

This Wednesday, the Pearl Street Whole Foods will host a Local Tour with Steph at noon.  Here are the details from them:

Local Tour with Steph

Wednesday, July 24th

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Store-Wide , Free

Our Healthy Eating Specialist Steph hosts a tour showcasing our healthy, local producers and ingredients. Email boulderevents@wholefoods.com to sign up!

Weekday Dinner Ideas - A Corn Fiesta!

Heading into our second week of having our local Munson Farm corn available, I'm looking at a corn-filled week.  We've already enjoyed it a couple of times; the kernels are still small (but oh so tender), although I think I've detected them already getting bigger into that luscious size.  Just something to keep in mind when purchasing a number of ears for a recipe - this week you may need a few more to get the volume of corn required.

Tomorrow will be a corn chowder, the sweet corn chowder with hot-smoked salmon from Cooking Light.  Whole Foods has beautiful chunks of smoked salmon that I believe is locally produced, at a reasonable price, and even sold on cute little cedar planks.  I doubt those planks are large enough to actually cook on for future use, but could make attractive servers.  Whole Foods also has Icelandic smoked salmon on sale this week, but that's the more delicate lox type that you probably wouldn't want to use in this dish.

We'll want pasta by Tuesday, so it will be linguine with summer succotash from Bon Appetit, with Munson's corn of course.  It can either be left vegetarian as written, or naughtied by sautéing a bit of pancetta or bacon to start, or adding ribbons of prosciutto at the end.

By Wednesday, we'll want an easy reheat, which this week will be the corn chowder above.

Thursdays are also always easy in this house, so I'm thinking about grabbing that grass-fed organic ground beef that's $4.99 a pound at Sprouts through Wednesday to do a rare burger (rare in the sense of unusual for our menus, more like medium rare in terms of cooking).  This occurs not only because the organic beef is a good price, but what goes better with a burger than an ear of corn?

Which quickly gets us through a corn-centric week.

Local Cocktails Today

Whole Foods on Pearl is really cranking it up today, with the salsa throwdown (see just below), and the adjacent wine and spirits store will get into the action too with a summer cocktailing lesson.  Here are the details from them:

Local Cocktails          

  

Saturday, July 20th

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Wine & Spirits , Free

Join our cooking coach Dana and our Wine & Spirits team for a free summer cocktailing lesson - using local, seasonal ingredients!

Salsa Throwdown Today

If you happen to be at the Pearl Street Whole Foods today between 11 and 2, you'll get to taste and vote on a variety of salsas from local companies.

Local Throwdown          
   

Saturday, July 20th

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Store-Wide, Free

This summer, we are celebrating our commitment to LOCAL. Every Saturday, we will host a competition amongst some of our favorite local vendors. You be the judge - come taste and vote for your favorite!

July Themes 
6 - Popcorn
13 - Bakery
20 - Salsa
27 - Ice Cream Social 

Reminder Re The Weekend And Dinner Plans

Just a reminder that Whole Foods issued a big correction regarding their sales from today through Sunday, which I relayed here.  I'm afraid our weekend plans are still in flux, as I was thinking of actually doing a pizza at home tonight, since prior forecasts were in the lower temperatures and "soaking rains" mode, but things seem to be backing off from that a bit.  Heck, maybe we'll do takeout from a fine place like Carelli's or Pizzeria Basta.

Unless more storms move in tomorrow, it will be fish on the grill, either from Sprouts or Whole Foods (options detailed in the sales a few posts below, no time to check).  With the most ever wonderful advent of our new season of fresh corn from Munson Farm, the side has to be summer corn sauté with tons of herbs (what a perfect name), using a bunch of herbs from my garden.

Temperatures are supposed to head way back up Sunday, and since that will be the last day of Whole Foods' revised weekend sale, we'll check out the shrimp gazpacho previously reported ($4.99 for 24 ounces).  Seems like a cheat for a Sunday night, but hey, a shrimp gazpacho should only be eaten very fresh.

Local Road Show Sunday In Superior

The Whole Foods in Superior will host a Local Road Show this Sunday starting at noon.  Probably a good time to use that BOGO coupon for local products (see the post below).  Here are the details from them:

Local Road Show         

Sunday, July 21st

12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Superior Whole Foods Market -Front of store and Outdoor patio, Lunch $5.00

Join us for our annual Local Road Show. Come meet and chat with our Local vendors, enjoy their samples. We will be offering a smoked beef brisket [smoked by Local restaurant Waterloo], grilled corn and grilled peaches with ice cream and a drink all for only $5.00. Enjoy great food, listening to a Local band, kids’ activities, watermelon eating contest and more!

Great Local Coupons From Clipper

I should probably pay more attention to Clipper Magazine.  Mine arrived recently in the mail (you should also be able to find our local edition at http://clippermagazine.com/), and the cover really caught my attention.  Not only was the cover advertising a Farmers & Food Artisans Road Tour at the Superior Whole Foods this Sunday starting at noon, but there's also a great coupon right on the cover for buy one local product, get the 2nd free up to $10 at the Superior store.  Flipping further into the magazine, I also found a coupon for Munson's fabulous corn at four ears for $1 at the farm stand.  Good deals.

Whole Foods Issues Big Sale Correction

I thought yesterday's email from Whole Foods was looking a little off, and sure enough, they're correcting themselves today about what's happening with their special quick sales.  Here's what they're saying now:

This Week's Sales
   

We got so excited for our 3 Day Sale this week that we gave you the wrong dates for it. Our sincerest apologies for this oversight. The correct information is below:

July 17th (Today Only):

4" Potted Orchids: 50% OFF
Sale Price: $9.99 Each

Celestial Seasonings Cool Brew Iced Teas: 45% OFF
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00

July 19th (Friday Only):

Organic Strawberries: 50% OFFSale Price: $1.99 for a 1 lb package

July 19th-21st (Friday Through Sunday):

Frozen Novelties: 20% OFF
From popsicles to ice cream sandwiches!*

ICU Sunglasses & Readers: 40% OFF

Shrimp Gazpacho: $4.99 for 24 oz

Cheers,
The Whole Foods Market Team

Raw Dinner Tomorrow

I'm a little late on this one, but I just don't have much time anymore to stay on top of these things.  The Pearl Street Whole Foods will host a four course raw dinner tomorrow evening for just $10.  Here are the details from them:

RAWdiculously Good Food Dinner             

 

  

Thursday, July 18th

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
West Patio , $10

Join Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Specialist Steph outside on our West Patio for a four-course healthy dinner featuring seasonal RAWdiculously good raw food. Menu will be vegan with no gluten ingredients. Ticket sales for the evening will be donated to GROWE foundation.

Register at: http://rawdiculouslygoodfood.eventbrite.com/

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods, while Vitamin Cottage should also have just started a new one that I'll need to check out.  Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through July 24th (where is this summer going?), I'm intrigued by fresh wild Baja halibut fillets for $9.99 a pound.  I'll definitely check them out to see if it's the nice, thick, white halibut that I know and love, as Sprouts on occasion has carried a darker variety.  (I imagine these are the same as the fresh central Pacific halibut fillets that Safeway is advertising at $11.99 a pound with card.)  Sprouts continues to have fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets for $12.99 a pound, flash-frozen swordfish steaks are just $6.99 a pound (although I always check the country of origin and only buy those from the US or Canada), and in meat, even though we aren't particularly burger eaters, 100% grass-fed organic ground beef looks great at $4.99 a pound.  Their very good stuffed chicken breasts are $3.99 a pound, country-style ribs are $2.49 a pound, and Rosie's Organic chicken grill pack is a great value at $2.79 a pound (it contains a combo of drumsticks and split breasts, ready for the grill).

In organic produce at Sprouts, broccoli is $1.49 a pound, red or green leaf or romaine lettuce are all $1.29 a head, celery is $1.29 a bunch, red or Yukon gold potatoes are $3.99 for a five pound bag, cucumbers are 88 cents each, bulk spring mix or spinach remain great at $3.99 a pound (nearly twice that elsewhere), blueberries are just $2.49 for a six ounce container, and red or black plums are $1.25 a pound.  Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking select Delallo whole wheat pastas at $2.50 a one pound package, bulk coffee at $7.99 a pound (go for the Whole Trade organic at that incredible price), Stonyfield Greek yogurts at $1 each, and Horizon Organic DHA omega-3 milk at $3.49 a half gallon.

Once again, the link for the sales flyer on the Pearl Whole Foods website goes to a few features instead of the full flyer, so I'm pretty stuck until I get into the store to know about the new sale that runs through July 30th.  Of the few items I can see, I'm liking garden fresh salmon burgers at $7.99 a pound, Icelandic smoked salmon at $5 a package (same as last sale), Country Natural Beef shoulder ranch steak at $4.99 a pound, and Whole Foods' own six inch Best Ever cheesecake at $17.99 each.  Organic blueberries are $3.99 a pint, but it looks like Sprouts has the better deal there, if a pint is close to six ounces.  *Update* I've looked it up, and a dry pint of blueberries is 12 ounces, making Whole Foods definitely the better deal.

Another Quickie Sale

Elsewhere, Whole Foods is reporting a tantalizing three-day sale on shrimp gazpacho, which sounds perfect with our temperatures heading back up.  Here's what they additionally say, although I wonder why they didn't include it in their primary list for the three-day sale:

Shrimp Gazpacho:
Catch the Sale!

Capture summertime with a bowl of regionally produced shrimp gazpacho, made with sustainably raised shrimp. Learn more about our aquaculture standards here.

Sale: $4.99 24 oz | July 17-19

Whole Foods Quickie Sales

Whole Foods is mixing up its special sales pattern this week, having the customary one-day sale for tomorrow only, plus a Wednesday through Friday sale as well.  Here's what they say:

On Sale This Week!

JULY 17 (Wednesday Only) 4" Potted Orchid: 50% OFF Sale Price: $9.99 Each Celestial Seasonings Cool Brew Iced Teas: 45% OFF Sale Price: 2 for $6.00 JULY 17-19 (Wednesday Through Friday) Frozen Novelties: 20% OFF From popsicles to ice cream sandwiches!* ICU Sunglasses & Readers: 40% OFF

Munson's Has Corn!!!!!

I haven't been out to the stand yet, but per Munson's website, the stand at 75th and Valmont is now open because the corn is coming in!  Prior experience has been that the ears have quite small kernels in the first week of availability, then just burst out into lusciousness.  Regardless, I'm going for them immediately.  Details from Munson's here.

Skin Care Webinar From Sprouts

Sprouts will hold a webinar this Wednesday, the 17th, with advice from a nutritionist and a beauty expert on how to address problem skin and get a healthy glow.  Details here:

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/894930334

No Corn Yet From Munsons

I was at the Boulder Farmers' Market this morning, and in visiting the Munson's booth, wasn't surprised that there's no corn yet.  The lady there said one to two weeks, although when I told her the Munson website was predicting Monday, the 15th, she revised down to one week.  We'll see.

Weekend Dinner Ideas

I'm not giving up on posting all of our dinner plans; I've only decided to give myself a little more latitude about when I post, rather than feeling like a slave to that drumbeat of posting.  That said, I'm sort of in the mood for sharing, so here goes.

We're looking at continuing mid-90s temperatures this weekend, which is really starting to get old, so to combat it, we'll go with refreshing picnic-type food for tonight's dinner.  The centerpiece will be quinoa tabbouleh from Bon Appetit.  The quinoa is a protein-rich grain, and the tabbouleh is heavy on veggies (plus I increased the amount of parsley per what I've read previously from Mark Bittman), so this is basically dinner in a bowl.  I find regular organic cucumbers are just fine in this, and Whole Foods has them for $1.99 a pound through Tuesday and they're 88 cents each at Sprouts through Wednesday, so you're a winner at either place.  I did find an unadvertised sale on organic grape tomatoes at Sprouts, though, which might tip the balance.  This really could be dinner on its own, but I have my lovely Creminelli Fine Meats salamis from last week's incredible one-day sale at Whole Foods, and I think I might just have to break out the Tartufo for our little pseudo-picnic.  Made with black summer truffles, it was $9 off at that great Whole Foods sale, being given away at just $6.99 each.  Unfortunately, while most people swoon over truffles, I've read that about 20% are unable to taste them, and I've suspected on several occasions that I fall into that latter unhappy category.  It's certainly worth another try.

Much less to say about Saturday's dinner, since some sort of fish will go on the grill, probably with some diced potatoes in foil packages also.  I'll check out the fresh wild sockeye fillets Sprouts has for $9.99 a pound this week, and talking with the fish guy at the Arapahoe store yesterday, they're getting it delivered four times a week, with one expected today.  If for some reason I find it's not my liking, there's that great fresh swordfish that's still on sale for $17.99 a pound at Whole Foods (at least at the Pearl Street store), and fresh sockeye fillets were also $17.99 a pound there yesterday.

For Sunday, I'm grabbing some of the lobster tails Whole Foods has for $7.50 each through Tuesday to do another round of a new favorite, creamy lobster pappardelle from Cooking Light.  It only needs two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream to get that creamy effect, but then I finish off the rest of the cream container in my coffee the next few mornings, so I'm overindulging anyway.

So welcome to another sizzling weekend!  At least this starts to make autumn beginning to sound good, when we can go back to putting pizzas and comfy casseroles in the oven.

Whole Foods Has Figs!

Long-time readers (thank you!) know that I border on fanatical about fresh organic figs, and I've just gotten my hands on the first I've seen of the season at the Pearl Street Whole Foods.  At $4.99 for an eight ounce container, they're a little pricey, but wrapped in thin pancetta and skewered on the grill, they're worth every penny.  Those little pleasures in life - gotta grab them!

Three-Day Sale At Whole Foods Starts Tomorrow

Our local Whole Foods stores will have blueberries tomorrow through Sunday for essentially $3 a pound.  But be advised that the notice doesn't say organic, so I'd assume these are conventional.  Blueberries are something I really prefer in organic (I'm pretty sure they're on the Dirty Dozen list for conventional), and if you're going for the conventional, Sprouts has Northwest blueberries at $1.48 for an 11 ounce pint all week, which works out to a better deal.  Here's the pretty graphic from Whole Foods:

Heads Up Re Vitamin Cottage Sale

Just a reminder that the current sale at our Boulder Vitamin Cottage (aka Natural Grocers) runs through this Saturday, the 13th.  You can find my prior rundown on it here.  There are good stock up opportunities on things like Annie's organic dressings at an exceptionally low price, but who knows what the next sale will bring us.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Today

Our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a duo of special sales for today only, the 10th.  The math is a bit tricky, but this sale on the convenient 11 ounce size of Avalon Organics shampoo and conditioner beats out Sprouts' weeklong sale on the huge 32 ounce size.  Whole Foods' $3.99 price for the 11 ounce size works out to 36.27 cents per ounce, while Sprouts' $12.99 price for the gigantic bottle comes in at 40.59 cents per ounce.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

1 Day Sale |:July 10

Wednesday Only! Runa Tea 50% OFF 10 For $10 (14oz Bottles) Avalon Organics 60% OFFShampoo/Conditioner $3.99 Each (11oz Varieties)

Munson's Corn Is Coming!

The one good thing about seeing summer progress so quickly is that it gets us closer to our local sweet corn from Munson Farm.  Their website is currently projecting its arrival for July 15th, which is just days away.  When the corn is ready, they'll open their fine farm stand at 75th and Valmont, in addition to having it at the Boulder Farmers' Market.  I'm for sure going to catch some of the Icelandic smoked salmon that Whole Foods has for $5 for a four ounce package through the 16th to inaugurate the corn season with a corn and smoked salmon chowder.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our local Sprouts stores, while the current one continues only through Saturday at Vitamin Cottage, and the current one at Whole Foods runs through next Tuesday, the 16th (click for prior reports).  Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through the 17th, the thing that's calling me is fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets for $9.99 a pound.  In mid-July, we must be heading toward the end of the fresh season, so I'm in get it while we can mode.  The quality can be a bit variable at Sprouts; I once saw their salmon chopped up in little pieces and looking like it had been there a while, while another time I saw glistening whole fillets in the style of Whole Foods.  Also looking good to me are center-cut boneless pork loin chops for $2.99 a pound, three types of chicken sausage also $2.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken, pork or chicken breast again $2.99 a pound, boneless ribeyes $10.99 a pound, and Rosie's organic chicken drumsticks stunning at $1.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, green or red leaf or romaine lettuce are all $1.29 a head, celery is $1.29 a bunch, one pound bags of baby carrots are $1.49 each, five pound bags of red or Yukon gold potatoes are $3.99 each, cucumbers are 88 cents each, bulk spring mix or spinach remains great at $3.99 a pound, red, green or black seedless grapes are $2.49 a pound, and cantaloupes are 88 cents a pound.  Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking Chobani Greek yogurts at $1 each, and gigantic 32 ounce bottles of Avalon Organics hair care products at $12.99 each.

New Alfalfa's Okayed For Louisville

Here's another item I wanted to post but was prevented by my aged laptop problems.  The Boulder Daily Camera has reported that the Louisville City Council has approved development that will include an Alfalfa's store as its anchor, possibly opening as early as spring of next year.  A pretty cool option for me, living on the east side of Boulder, since fighting my way the length of Arapahoe to get to the original store on the west side generally isn't feasible.

Crave Brothers Frere Cheese Recall

Crave Brothers, makers of my favorite fresh mozzarella, has issued a recall of its three Frere cheeses, and Whole Foods is participating.  The story from the Milwaukee Sentinel is here.  Sad to say, a death and a miscarriage are involved.

Computer Problems Imperil The Blog

So my aging laptop has been becoming increasingly dysfunctional, and yesterday hit a new low when the blogger software I use to write this would no longer work with it.  I'm on a temporary alternative right now, but my dilemma will be when to replace the laptop.  Is this blog that I write totally for free the thing that throws me over the edge into replacement, when other applications are working, albeit slowly, on the ancient laptop?  Apologies in advance for intermittent posts as this mini-drama plays out.

Benefits Of A Balanced Life At Alfalfa's

On Wednesday the 17th, Alfalfa's will host Chanel Helgason, MD talking about the Benefits of a Balanced Life: Health, Happiness, and Harmony.  Note that you need to preregister (paste that link into your browser).  Here are the details from Alfalfa's:

The Benefits of a Balanced Life: Health, Happiness, and Harmony


Are you overwhelmed, stressed or feeling like your life is out-of-control? Have you achieved the success you hoped for, only to feel like something is missing? Join Chanel Helgason, MD for an interactive presentation which will guide you through the stages of self-assessment, self-acceptance and self-change. Participants will receive a free copy of her book The 7 Foundations of Health and Happiness: First Steps.

Sign up here: http://benefitsofbalancedlife.eventbrite.com

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

Just a reminder that our wonderful Boulder Farmers' Market runs from 8 am to 2 pm today (and also Wednesday afternoons).  A fine day to get out and check the fresh produce.  I just wish they were able to post their weekly crop list as they have in years past, but I realize that must have been really time-consuming.  And if you want to avoid the crowds, there's the Cure Organic Farm store at 75th and Valmont, and their link does includes what's in store this week!

Popcorn Throwdown Tomorrow

The Pearl Street Whole Foods is highlighting local vendors with a throwdown every Saturday this summer.  Here's what's up for this tomorrow, along with a list of themes for the rest of the month. 
Local Throwdown

Saturday, July 6th
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Store-Wide, Free

This summer, we are celebrating our commitment to LOCAL. Every Saturday, we will host a competition amongst some of our favorite local vendors. You be the judge - come taste and vote for your favorite!

July Themes

6 - Popcorn
13 - Bakery
20 - Salsa
27 - Ice Cream Social

Happy 4th Today

Best wishes for a great 4th of July, hopefully with great grilling as part of it.  If you're still looking for inspiration, here's a reminder of a post I did a ways back on recipe guides for the 4th.  I've also subsequently encountered a guide from Food and Wine magazine for the 4th as well.  Have a great day!

BBQ Ribs At Sprouts

If you're not in the mood for doing your own grilling, Sprouts can take care of that for you.  They'll be grilling baby back ribs over mesquite tomorrow (happy 4th!) and Friday, from 11 am to 6 pm, while they last.  A full rack of ribs is $10.99 each plus tax.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our local Sprouts stores, while the current ones continue at Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods (click for prior reports).  Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through July 10th, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound, top sirloin steak is $6.99 a pound, Rosie's organic boneless skinless chicken breasts are $7.99 a pound (but Vitamin Cottage has a non-organic version that's also very good at $5.99 a pound), stuffed chicken breasts are $3.99 a pound, and they're doing a pork rib festival, with a whole bunch of cuts all 30% off.  In fish, fresh wild Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets are $12.99 a pound (Safeway takes the prize for them this week at $11.99 a pound with card, but I sure wouldn't make a special trip for $1 less).

In organic produce at Sprouts, on-the-vine tomatoes are bumping up just a bit from this week's incredibly low price to a still excellent $1.49 a pound.  Organic broccoli is $1.49 a pound, green or red leaf or romaine lettuce are all $1.49 a head (also good at Whole Foods at $1.67 for the leaf ones), celery is $1.49 a bunch, one pound bags of baby carrots are $1.49, kale is $1.49 a bunch, peaches or black plums are $1.49 a pound (quite a $1.49 theme going here), and bulk spinach or spring mix remain great at $3.99 a pound, although I had to do quite a bit of editing of the two bags I brought home earlier this week.  Elsewhere in the store, my fave Blue Diamond nut thins are $2 a box, Annie's organic bbq sauce is $3 for a 12 ounce bottle, Galbani fresh mozzarella half pound balls are $2.50 each, and the big 25 ounce can of Westbrae organic beans is great at $1.50.

Five-Day Sale At Whole Foods

Instead of its customary one-day sale on Wednesdays, this week Whole Foods is setting off the fireworks with a five item sale for five days, starting today.  $6.99 is a great price for their salmon burgers (although we've never tried them on a grill - I suspect they'd need a good spray of canola oil to fare well there).  And the salami is very tempting, even though we try to stay away from fats.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Five Day Sale


July 3-7

Guacamole & Salsa Platters: 25% off
All Varieties

Market Made Beef Burgers: $3.99/lb
Save $2/lb

Wild Sockeye Salmon Burgers: $6.99/lb
Save $3/lb

5-Stem Sunflowers: 2 Bunches for $10
Save $2.99 Each

Handcrafted Italian Salami: 50% off
Americano & Soppressata

Current Sale At Whole Foods

Whole Foods didn't have its flyer posted on the Pearl Street website at the time I was doing sales last week, so now that I have the flyer in hand, here's a quick rundown on what I'm liking from the sale that runs through July 16th.  Organic green and red leaf lettuce are both three for $5, pretty good, organic grape tomatoes are $2.99 a pint, and organic cucumbers are $1.99 a pound.  I used those organic cucumbers for the great side dish I made from my new fave 1896 Fannie Farmer cookbook, detailed a few posts below, to go with my swordfish.

Icelandic smoked salmon is $5 for a four ounce package, and I'll definitely pick some up for a chowder once our local Munson's corn crop arrives.  I'm intrigued by split lobster tails at $7.50 each.  The ad says they are five to six ounces, making them comparable to a deal they've had a couple of times before on (I think) four ounce ones for $6, and these generally are from Maine (haven't looked yet this time).  Air chilled split chicken breasts are $3.99 a pound and very good on the grill, but if you're looking for boneless skinless, look below to last Wednesday's post, since Vitamin Cottage has natural and Sprouts has organic on sale.  I love Whole Foods' salmon burgers for a quick and easy meal, and this time it's the raspberry chipotle ones on sale for $7.99 a pound.  Bloody Mary brats are also $2 off at $3.99 a pound.  Excellent Frontera salsa look good at $3 each, 365 Greek yogurts are $1 each, and Santa Cruz lemonades are practically being given away at $1 for a 32 ounce bottle.

Craft Food And Beer Tasting Thursday

Whole Foods' Wine and Spirits store will hold its customary craft food and beer tasting this Thursday, which happens to be the 4th of July.  Here's what they say:

First Thursday Craft Food & Beer Tasting

Thursday, July 4th
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Whole Foods Wine & Spirits , Free

Join us every first Thursday of the month for a free craft beer & food tasting at our Wine & Spirits store.

Whole Foods' Beer Sale Wednesday

The Wine & Spirits store at the Pearl Street Whole Foods will have all beer 20% off this Wednesday, just in time for the 4th of July Thursday.  Here's what they say:

Fourth of July Beer Sale!


On Wednesday, July 3rd, we hosting a one day holiday sale: 20% off ALL BEER!

Also, join us on July 4th for a free craft beer tasting from 5:30-7pm.

July 4th Celebration At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's will host a Hometown Throwdown July 4th, which is already this Thursday (with a seed spitting contest, no less!).  Their blurb says it goes until 4 pm but the graphic that accompanies it says until 3, so keep that in mind.  Here's what they say:

Hometown Throwdown

July 4th, 11am to 4pm

Come celebrate the 4th at Alfalfa's with these awesome activities!

-Burgers and other goodies from the Grill

-Seed spitting contest

-Mural painting

-Kids' Crafts

-LIVE music

-Local food tasting

-Raffles for awesome prizes