Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Superior Egg Hunt Saturday

Today's expected high of 80 should put you in the mood for an Egg Hunt (guess Easter Egg Hunt has gone the way of wishing people a Merry Christmas), since Saturday should be beautiful again, once we get past some rain and snow Thursday and Friday. The Whole Foods store in Superior will host an egg hunt that includes a particularly golden one, worth $100. Here are the details from them:

Kids and parents join us for our Egg Hunt at the Superior Whole Foods Market on Saturday, 4/5 from 10am-12pm. Come hunt for the Golden Egg. $100.00 Gift Card is yours if you find it!

Local Food Shift Magazine

We have a new magazine on the horizon for lovers of local food in Colorado. Check out Local Food Shift, expected to launch May 1st. I don't know anything other than what they have on the website, but a magazine promoting local food production and consumption (the even better part) is looking good to me.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Seeds Cafe Getting Closer

As previously reported, the new cafe under construction at the Boulder Public Library is to be operated by the Boulder Farmers' Market, and therefore so appropriately to be named Seeds Library Cafe, the fortunate winner by public vote. They are looking to open sometime next month, and sponsored a kids' taste test focus group recently to ensure their farm-fresh offerings are also kid-friendly. How great a confluence is it when farmers' market meets library??? Here's the news from the Farmers' Market:

SEEDS LIBRARY CAFE UPDATE



Construction has started on the bridge of the Boulder Public Library, and we're so excited to watch the cafe space come to life in the next few weeks. Seeds has a brand-spankin'-new logo, designed by Anthem Branding in Boulder. 

The Seeds team hosted a kids menu tasting in the library yesterday and got some wonderful feedback from community members and library patrons. 

Seeds  will be participating in the Boulder Public Library's celebration weekend on Saturday, April 11, when they will show off the library's new renovations, including the cafe. You can stop by the bridge to meet the Seeds staff and enjoy refreshments. 

We're so excited to be working with Seeds and can't wait to partner with the cafe and library on a few very exciting events this summer. 

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cured Adds Fish

Let the halibut competition begin. The wonderful one and only local store Cured is getting into fish deliveries, in addition to offering charcuterie, fine cheeses, select wines, cooked dinners for pre-ordered pickup, and who knows what else. As previously noted, I was excited about the opening of the fresh halibut season with Whole Foods offering it this week at $19.99 a pound. Cured appears to be upping the ante by specifying the size and cut of halibut for $10 more, but please note I didn't get to this in time for Cured's delivery this past Friday. Best to check with them directly about the schedule for the next fish offering in a week and a half. Here's what they say (and can I ever second the lament about landlocked Colorado):

Fresh Fish Friday’sOne of Will and my biggest laments living here in Colorado is the relative lack of access to good quality, fresh fish. While meat and cheese always and forever hold a space at the center of our hearts, we miss the fish markets of Spain, and the light, bright freshness of a piece of fish caught earlier that day. Sadly living in a land locked state, fresh fish isn’t necessarily always on the menu. Until now that is! While working with the Chef’s Collaborative Summit last September, we had the honor of meeting Chad from Seattle Fish Co, one of the finest purveyors of fish across the good ol US of ASeattle Fish Co is on the forefront of the sustainable fish movement, focusing on fish that are fresh and seasonal, but also sustainably caught and sourced. Chances are that if you’ve had great fish at any of the finest halibut
restaurants in Boulder, Chad and his team had something to do with putting it to your plate. Starting Friday, every other Friday (Holden’s been searching for an alternative feast whenever we don’t have Rebecca making us a Cured Friday Night Dinner) we will be bringing in one fresh cut of fish, fresh off the boat, er, plane the day prior.  The fish will be brought in off the boat on Thursday, then shipped straight to us and into to your hands, and mouths, on FridayGiven our relative distance from the nearest ocean (Boulder Res just isn’t cutting it these days….) it doesn’t get much fresher than this! Many of you fellow fish loving friends may already know that Halibut season opened last week and we couldn’t be more excited to kick off our Fresh Fish Fridays with Wild Halibut from the icy cold waters of Alaska. We’re pulling out all the stops and bringing in fillets from the larger, 20-40# fish, giving you the richest and finest fillets that the ocean has to offer. These beautiful center cuts from the larger halibut we’ve selected are coming in at $30/lb.  All you have to do is let us know how many pounds you desire by 3 pm on Thursdayand we’ll have it iced and waiting for you by 5pm on Friday evening. It’ll be ready for you to take home and cook up, however your little heart desires. Plus, as always, you’ll find Will tucked in the wine shop with a suggested bottle of wine to pair with that week’s catch, all ready and chilled in the fridge. Does it get much better than that?!?

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Farmers' Market In One Week

Just a reminder to get psyched for the opening of the Boulder Farmers' Market, in both downtown Boulder and at the fairgrounds in Longmont one week from today. The weather this weekend should put you in the mood for it!

Friday, March 27, 2015

NYT Lauds Corison Wines

Thrilling to see that my classmate from so long ago, Cathy Corison, is continuing to garner accolades for her fine cabernet wines, this time from a New York Times article published in this week's food section. You can read the NYT blog post that preceded the article here. Nearly a full page in the New York Times to praise a particular vintner is mighty darned good. Major congrats to Cathy, although we've always known her wines deserved this.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

For the weekend, our Boulder Whole Foods stores will offer us a one-day sale for tomorrow only, plus a trio of sales lasting tomorrow through Sunday. For tomorrow only, all those Friday fish eaters will appreciate turbot (doesn't specify fresh or frozen) $6 off at $10.99 a pound. For tomorrow through Sunday, red field peppers are 50 cents each (I'd imagine those would be conventional), coho salmon fillets are $11.99 a pound (those would have to be previously frozen), $4 off, and a new line of Whole Foods Market cheese dips are $3.99 each, $2 off what will be their regular price.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

One Week Sale At Whole Foods

Here's a craze I have yet to join, but probably should try. For today through March 31st, Ataulfo mangos are $1 each, 50 cents off, at Whole Foods.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while the current one continues at Whole Foods through March 31st. I also tried stopping by Vitamin Cottage yesterday to see if their long term Hotlines might have returned, but parking there was a zoo and I was just too short on time. So here's what's looking good to me now, IMHO as always.

At Sprouts, first of all, there will be a 72 hour sale for this Friday through Sunday that includes "colossal" 13/15 count (that's indeed big) ez peel raw shrimp for $7.99 a pound, some 16 ounce packages of Sprouts' own frozen veggies just 99 cents each, pork baby back ribs $2.69 a pound, and Hass avocados three for $1. In Sprouts' regular sale through April 1st, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are as low as they go at $1.69 a pound, and boneless pork loin chops (roast too) are also great at $1.99 a pound. Three types of chicken sausage are $3.99 a pound, Rosie organic whole chickens are $2.99 a pound, grass-fed boneless ribeyes or New York steaks are $10.99 a pound, and stew beef is $4.99 a pound. In fish, previously frozen Alaskan cod fillets are $7.99 a pound and 30/40 count Peruvian sea scallops are $8.99 a pound (there's a good fish chowder in that combination), while fresh farmed Atlantic salmon fillets are $8.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, one pound containers of strawberries are stunning at $1.98 each, one pound bags of baby carrots are $1.48 each, leeks are $1.48 a pound if I'm reading the grouping correctly (very good for organic!), red beets are $1.48 a bunch, grape tomatoes are $2.50 a pint, and Valencia oranges or grapefruit are both $2.50 for a four pound bag. Elsewhere in the store, the emphasis is on sale prices for Sprouts' own brand, with a whole lot of Sprouts products listed.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Farmworker Awareness Week

I previously posted about the screening of Food Chains, supported by Red Wagon Organic Farm, and now I learn that today is the start of Farmworker Awareness Week, details here. It makes me feel even better to know that the Red Wagon CSA I enjoy so much is also coming from a farm that cares about its workers.

Easter Ideas

Easter is just around the corner on April 5th, so it's time to get planning how to bring the flavors of spring to the table. Check out these guides to help you out: Easter, Upgraded from Epicurious, Celebrate Easter from Cooking Light, and Easter Recipes from Food and Wine magazine.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Passover Ideas

Spring is upon us, with this absolutely gorgeous weather. That means Passover is coming up shortly, with Easter right behind it. If you are looking for new ideas for your Seder table, here are a few guides to help you out: a super-green menu from Epicurious, F&W's Ultimate Guide to Passover Recipes from Food and Wine magazine, and the always authoritative source, Passover Recipes from the New York Times, including lots of highlights from the archives.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Halibut Is Here!

Let the season begin. The good news is that Whole Foods has fresh halibut, first of the season. The bad news is that it's $19.99 a pound. To put that in a better-sounding perspective, at least that's less than Copper River salmon's usual price for its debut in a couple of months.

Skin Care At Whole Foods Monday

The Baseline Whole Foods will be doing a skin care event tomorrow, details here:
Demystifying Skin Care with Julie Levin
Monday, March 23 at 6:00pm
Whole Foods Market Baseline - 2584 Baseline Rd, Boulder, CO 80305

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Boulder Farmers' Market Countdown

On this beautiful first full day of spring, with the temps expected to reach the mid-70s, it's exciting to think that the Boulder Farmers' Market (both locations, downtown Boulder and the fairgrounds in Longmont) will open for the season exactly two weeks from today on April 4th, just in time for Easter. It will be Saturdays only for a bit, before the Wednesday markets also kick in. Here's what the Farmers' Market says to expect on opening day:

Vendors will bring cut tulips and daffodils, hanging baskets, garden starts, and succulents - all perfect to bring along to your Easter holiday. You can also expect to see spinach, turnips, herbs, mushrooms, eggs, honey, goat meat, beef, chicken, greenhouse tomatoes, fruit jams, applesauce, Colorado wine, and more at the first markets.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Bike Maintenance At Baseline WF Tomorrow

Happy first day of spring, and the Baseline Whole Foods is doing a perfect event tomorrow to get ready for spring biking. And the weekend's looking great for it, after a touch of rain yesterday to start everything greening up. Here are the details from Whole Foods, and note the suggested donation to a great cause:

Saturday, March 21st our friends from Community Cycles will be at Whole Foods Market Baseline (2584 Baseline Rd) to help get your bike Spring ready!

From 12N-2P they will conduct a short class on bike maintenance, as well as, provide mini bike tune-ups!

Suggested Donation: $10 which will benefit Whole Planet Foundation - or - sign-up onsite for a Community Cycles annual membership ($35 normally $50) and attend this session for free!

No RSVP needed, just come on down! First come, first served.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

Our local Whole Foods stores are offering us a slew of special sales for this weekend. For tomorrow only, there will be a one-day sale on coho salmon for $11.99 a pound. You can find sockeye, which I sort of prefer, for less elsewhere (look below), but how is it that Whole Foods always manages to have such sublime fish? For tomorrow through Sunday, there will be a sextet of special sales. Toms Coffee will be $9.99 each ($3 off), facial care products, excluding sun care, lip care and cosmetics, will be 25% off, Fage Greek yogurt will be $4.99 each for the 35 ounce size and $1 each for the five ounce cups, fresh tortilla chips will be $3.99 a pound, $2 off, and 10 stem daffodils will be three for $5, although that's only 50 cents off.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while the current one continues at Whole Foods through March 31st (look quite a ways below for that one). Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through March 25th, previously frozen wild Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets are $7.99 a pound, boneless New York steaks are also $7.99 a pound (but this week's corned beef is enough beef for us for quite a while), whole or split fresh chickens are $1.69 a pound (a little higher for cut up), fresh ground chicken is $2.99 a pound, and all chicken sausages are on sale for $3.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, green curly, Lacinato, and red Russian kale are all $1.50 a bunch, table carrots are $2.98 for a five pound bag, Valencia oranges and grapefruit are both $2.50 for a four pound bag, red delicious apples and Bartlett pears are both just 98 cents a pound, and one pound clamshells of strawberries or 5.6 ounce containers of blackberries are both $2.98 each. In conventional produce, avocado lovers will enjoy Hass avocados for 50 cents each.

Elsewhere in the store, there's a frozen frenzy sale, with 20% off all frozen items, and a probiotics sale with lots of products up to 25% off. Green Mountain Creamery Greek yogurts (which I really like, since most clock in at 110 calories, very low for a Greek yogurt with fruit) are just $1 each, boxes of Annie's homegrown mac & cheese are also just $1 each (add tuna and defrosted peas and you have an instant tuna casserole), all Spice Hunter products are a whopping 50% off, some Barbara's cereals are $3 a box, Cucina Antica pasta sauce is $4.99 a 25 ounce jar, and with spring arriving Friday, it's time to think about some Nature's Gate sunscreens 25% off (I'm using sunscreen by the fistful after a less than observant past).

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Hope you are wearing your green and avoiding any culinary catastrophies like green beer associated with the day. If you are still looking for something for your table, here's a reminder of the guides I previously posted.  On a very bummer note, I'd checked out a copy of the Irish Heritage Cookbook from my local library to find further inspiration, only to find that a vandal had sliced out the most salient pages I wanted, like the section on sauces for salmon, and of course the page for corned beef and cabbage. People, please don't do that.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Sprouts Thyroid Webinar

Sprouts will offer a Keep Your Thyroid Ticking Seminar on Tuesday, March 24th at 7:30 pm, details here.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Time For Corned Beef

With Saint Patrick's Day falling on a "school night" Tuesday, today's our day to do the lengthy simmering required for corned beef and cabbage, in this house fleshed out to what's classically called a New England boiled dinner that includes the addition of things like potatoes, onions, and carrots. I've always primarily followed the recipe for it in another classic, my old copy of The Joy of Cooking. For fun this morning, I compared that to the one in my favorite read, the 1896 edition of the Fannie Farmer Cook Book. Coming from the Boston Cooking School, I thought Fannie would be uniquely qualified to describe a true "boiled dinner," and it's interesting that the recipes between the two books are essentially the same, except Joy of Cooking also adds parsnips to the veggies that go into the pot. Ever entertaining, Fannie's commentary regarding corned beef opens with: "Corned beef has but little nutritive value. It is used to give variety to our diet in summer, when fresh meats prove too stimulating. It is eaten by the workingman to give bulk to his food." So fun to watch how historical foods morph into holiday traditions.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Happy Pi Day

Happy Pi Day on this 3/14/15. Enjoy some pie, preferably at 9:26 this morning, if you want to take it further. And don't forget Whole Foods' one-day sale on certain pies for $3.14 today, details a couple of posts below.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Saint Patrick's Day Coming Up Shortly

How March is flying by (happy Friday the 13th), and Saint Patrick's Day is almost upon us next Tuesday. Having had the great fun of visiting Ireland last spring, I'm viewing it through a different lens this year, but that probably won't change much from my standard menu based on the extraordinary corned beef brined in-house at the Pearl Street Whole Foods. You can't do better than a beef brined with the most basic of ingredients like peppercorns and mustard seeds clinging to it. If you need a degree in chemistry to decipher what you are cooking, you probably shouldn't be eating it. In any case, if you are looking for some ideas for the menu, here are a few guides to help you out: St. Patrick's Day Menu Inspiration from Whole Foods, Best Irish-Inspired Recipes from Epicurious, and St. Patrick's Day from Food and Wine magazine. It runs a tad counter to the Americanized Saint Patrick's Day customs, but my experience last spring was that the Irish have the finest dairy products, bacon (rashers), ham (bacon there), and the freshest fish in the world (maybe excluding New England for that fish). And potatoes. Everything I'd ever heard about the prevalence of potatoes was correct. So however you plan to do it, enjoy the wearing of the green.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

For tomorrow through Sunday (happy Friday the 13th tomorrow, one of several this year), all green supplements will be 25% off presumably in honor of upcoming Saint Patrick's Day (see store for details), and Cahill's whiskey cheddar will be $5 off at $13.99 a pound. Also, for "pi day" Saturday only, six inch cream pies will be $4.86 off at $3.14 each (looks like Whole Foods has a mathematician with a sense of humor in its sales department).

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Food Chains Film Tomorrow

Here's what I just received via Red Wagon Organic Farm about what looks to be a very compelling film that will be screened in Boulder tomorrow:

Red Wagon Organic Farm is co-sponsoring a movie event this week and we would love to have you attend.

Here are the details:

Food Chains (click to see the trailer)
Thursday, March 12, 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30) at
Boulder Jewish Community Center (3800 Kalmia Ave, Boulder)
Cost: $5 (Red Wagon will cover the cost of your ticket for CSA members if you request it at the door)

Discussion afterward with Amy Tisdale of Red Wagon Organic Farm and Rabbi Marc Soloway of Congregation Bonai Shalom.

From the Food Chains website:

There is more interest in food these days than ever, yet there is very little interest in the hands that pick it. Farmworkers, the foundation of our fresh food industry, are routinely abused and robbed of wages. In extreme cases they can be beaten, sexually harassed or even enslaved – all within the borders of the United States.
Food Chains reveals the human cost in our food supply and the complicity of large buyers of produce like fast food and supermarkets. Fast food is big, but supermarkets are bigger – earning $4 trillion globally. They have tremendous power over the agricultural system. Over the past 3 decades they have drained revenue from their supply chain leaving farmworkers in poverty and forced to work under subhuman conditions. Yet many take no responsibility for this.
The narrative of the film focuses on an intrepid and highly lauded group of tomato pickers from Southern Florida – the Coalition of Immokalee Workers or CIW – who are revolutionizing farm labor. Their story is one of hope and promise for the triumph of morality over corporate greed – to ensure a dignified life for farm workers and a more humane, transparent food chain.
Food Chains premiered at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival and screened subsequently at the Tribeca Film Festival and Guadalajara Film Festival. The film’s Executive Producers include Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods stores. Here's what's looking good to me now as we head into Saint Patrick's Day already.

At Sprouts through March 18th, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound, boneless sirloin tip roasts or steak are $3.99 a pound (something to chop up as your own stew beef), Sprouts' own quite good stuffed chicken breasts are $2.99 a pound ($1 less than their usual sale price these days), Rosie organic boneless skinless chicken breasts are $7.99 a pound ($2.79 for Rosie's drumsticks), grass-fed boneless ribeye or New York steaks are $10.99 a pound, fresh farmed Atlantic salmon fillets are $7.99 a pound, and farmed tilapia is $6.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, celery or green bell peppers are just 98 cents each (and those bell peppers are in the so-called dirty dozen, veggies you should never eat in conventional), grape tomatoes are just $1.98 a pint, green curly kale is $1.50 a bunch, baby peeled carrots are $1.50 a bag, red bell peppers are $1.50 each (ditto on the bell pepper comment), one pound clamshells of strawberries or 5.6 ounces of blackberries are $2.98 each, and red delicious apples are 98 cents a pound. In conventional produce, my eye is on asparagus at $1.98 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, bulk coffee is $7.77 a pound, some Amy's burritos are $2 each, the smaller size of Muir Glen organic tomatoes is good at $1.25 a can, and it's time to get Irish, with seven ounce Kerrygold cheeses $4.99 each and Celtic Vintage Irish cheddar with malt whiskey or porter beer $13.99 a pound. Nobody does dairy better than the Irish (or bacon or ham or fish - don't get me started...)

Whole Foods has a new sale through March 31st, but as of this writing, the pdf posted for the Pearl Street store is still the one for the sale that ended yesterday, so I'll do what I can scanning the boxes of sale items instead. Market Made or Wellshire corned beef or corned buffalo (!) brisket are $6.99 a pound (my Saint Patrick's Day corned beef is always that Market Made one, just perfect), teriyaki salmon burgers are $3.99 each, and wild coho salmon fillets (presumably previously frozen) are $13.99 a pound. Organic Bartlett pears are $1.48 a pound, but for conventional asparagus I'd prefer Sprouts' price over Whole Foods' sale of $2.48 a pound. Market Made grilled salmon chef super salads are convenient when there's no time to cook, and they're $1 off at $5.99 each, 11 ounce packages of Applegate Black Forest ham are $5.99 each, and four inch chocolate stout cakes are $8 each (and the Irish really don't put booze into everything, maybe just most things).

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Additional CSA Fair Coming Up

If you are considering joining a CSA this year and didn't make it to the CSA fair in Boulder to consider your options, you'll have another opportunity with a fair happening in Longmont. I committed weeks ago to Red Wagon Organic Farm's CSA, and we just loved their produce and pickup options last year. Here's the news from the Boulder Farmers' Market:

...we have decided to host a second CSA Fair in Longmont on Wednesday, March 18 from 5-7pm at Left Hand Brewing. Left Hand has an incredibly strong presence in the community, and has been a guest at the farmers markets. They are excited to partner with us in offering this event.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Intro To Gardening Workshop

As we continue to enjoy springlike weather, that's a reminder that it is time to start thinking about gardening, particularly if you are fortunate to live in an area where the deer and rabbits don't eat everything you plant. To help you out, Growing Gardens has a workshop coming up (not quite clear if it's in two parts or offered twice) to help you out. Here are the details from the Boulder Farmers' Market:

Saturday, March 14: 9-11:30am & Thursday, March 19 : 6-8:30pm
Intro to Gardening, Growing Gardens, Boulder
This workshop is designed to give gardeners the tools to plan their garden spaces for optimal production and enjoyment. participants will learn the basic building blocks of organic gardening. Topics will include: site selection, soil preparation, planting dates, crop choices, starting seeds, pest management, and season extension--all with an eye towards proper planning and execution. You will have discussion and practical, hands-on activities. 

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Daylight Savings Tomorrow

I can't quite make a culinary connection with this, but a reminder to set those clocks that need it ahead one hour tonight for daylight savings tomorrow. Maybe the connection is that one more hour of evening light means a little more time to light up the grill outdoors.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Parmesan Cracking Tomorrow

Just a reminder that tomorrow at 1 our mountain time, Whole Foods will be doing its big simultaneous cracking of those huge wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, with sampling and probably other festivities to accompany it. Whole Foods tells you everything Parmigiano here, including how to decode the rind.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

Our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a lovely sale for tomorrow only, plus a duo of special sales lasting through Sunday. In a nod towards spring as the temperatures rise and the snow begins to melt, for tomorrow only, tulip bunches will be three for $10, $6.66 off. At that price I might just put some out to enjoy for that brief moment before the family pets discover and eat them. For tomorrow through Sunday, Manitoba hemp hearts will be 40% off at $5.99 each, and 750 ml bottles of San Pellegrino water will be excellent at $1 each.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Today

For today only, cucumber avocado rolls will be half off at $2.99 each at our local Whole Foods stores. Sounds like a nice lunch.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while the current one continues at Whole Foods through March 10th. Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through March 11th, previously frozen wild Alaskan sockeye salmon is low at $7.99 a pound, pork loin chops (roast also) and chicken breast tenders are $2.99 a pound, three types of chicken sausage are $3.99 a pound, Rosie organic whole chickens are $2.99 a pound, previously frozen Alaskan cod fillets are $7.99 a pound, and it's a good week for fresh ground meats, with chicken, "super-lean" pork, and chicken breast all $2.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, green curly, Lacinato, and Red Russian kale are all just 98 cents a bunch, Gala and Fuji apples are both $1.50 a pound, broccoli and cauliflower are also $1.50 a pound, red yellow and orange bell peppers are al $1.50 each, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are $2.50 each. In conventional produce, asparagus is $1.98 a pound, and I'm a bit tempted by a five pound box of those cute Halos California mandarins for just $3.98 each.

Elsewhere in the store at Sprouts, the news is that this week's BOGO sale continues, with a whole lot of products buy one get one free. Items in the ad appealing to me include the 15 ounce size of Westbrae organic beans, Fage Greek yogurt cups, Earthbound Farm organic salads, Cascadian Farm cereals (granola and bars too), Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips, Silver Palate pasta sauce, and while I haven't tried them, I bet the Udi's gluten-free eight ounce entrees are pretty good for my gluten-free friends.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Sockeye Sale At Alfalfa's Tomorrow

Alfalfa's fish selections seem to be quite good, so this caught my eye. (It would be previously frozen but that's the way it goes with seasonal wild fish.)

Catch this feisty fish on sale again this Wednesday at only $9.99/lb! Last Wednesday we sold out, so don't dally. ‪#‎consciouscleanseapproved‬ ‪#‎sorrywesaiddally‬

Monday, March 2, 2015

More Fun From Mimi

I'm still making my way through Mimi Sheraton's epic tome, 1000 Foods to Eat before You Die. While I'm resisting the urge to quote from every page, now that I'm in the American and Canadian section (it's arranged geographically, which is instructive in its own right as you observe how some foods have evolved and traveled around the globe), there are some tidbits that are too cool to pass up. For instance, I didn't know that the slow cooking times of both Boston baked beans and Boston brown bread date back to the Puritans observing the Sabbath by preparing them the night before for slow simmering to avoid cooking the next day. Also that the beans were dried navy ones, the same as went into my slow cooking Tuscan pork and beans that sat all day yesterday in my crock pot. And eons ago I used to bake brown bread from scratch in coffee cans (do those still exist?). I bet my beloved original 1896 Fannie Farmer Cook Book has excellent guidance on this if I somehow got ambitious again.

Another revelation came in the entry for clams casino. I always thought they were everywhere, without any particular provenance. But from Mimi I learn that their name comes from its reported invention (or at least naming) at the Narragansett Pier Casino, a long-gone establishment on the shore of one of my favorite childhood haunts in Rhode Island. No wonder they always seemed to be everywhere, when you're sitting in the epicenter of their creation. Now on to more discoveries.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Parmesan Cracking Coming Up

One of the more fun grocery events of the year will be happening this Saturday at 1 pm our time, Whole Foods' big Parmigiano Reggiano wheel cracking event. I think they hold a Guinness record for most parms cracked simultaneously. Many stores participate - I'm sure Pearl Street will be among them, although they only seem to put Twitter chats on their calendar these days, and I saw a chalkboard at the Superior store announcing theirs. Yummy samples are included. Here's what Whole Foods says (note the time is East Coast):

LET'S GET CRACKIN'!

Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 3 pm EST, Whole Foods Market® stores in the US, Canada and the UK will be cracking and sampling wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano. Stop by your local store to get a taste of the wheel thing.