Cured Speaks On Artisanal Cheese And The FDA

Beloved local cheese, wine and everything else yummy shop Cured has a very interesting discussion of new regulations affecting raw milk cheeses in its newsletter this week. Take a look at what they say:

The Crackdown on Raw Milk Cheeses: Many of you have asked lately about the effects of the FDA and EU Health and Safety regulations on what cheeses we are going to be able to carry in the future.. The world of artisanal cheese is in an interesting place. The FDA has recently lowered the threshold for certain bacteria often found in raw milk cheese from 100MPN per gram to 10MPN per gram.  That’s a pretty big drop. From cheesemakers to scientists, almost everybody agrees that the basis for this change is flawed and lacking justification, but sadly the good ol FDA doesn’t always operate in the most logical of ways.Unfortunately, this is happening at the very same time that many of the best, small production, raw, artisanal European cheeses are becoming threatened by political pressure from a few giant dairy companies pushing for pasteurized milk versions of the classics. With price pressure coming from above and regulations cracking down on what they can sell, small producers in Europe are a dying breed. It’s worrying that this might be another case of the big guys beating up on the little ones.  It is going to be interesting to see where it all goes, and needless to say, we’re watching it all closely.  It’s not all bad news however. With our focus on artisanal American cheeses, we’re not seeing a big change on our counter (yet), and we couldn’t be more proud to champion the ‘little guys’ and what they do so well. The small farms here in the US fortunately operate at incredibly advanced levels of cleanliness and with technology available that few elsewhere have access to.  At least for now, this enables most of them to continue doing what they are doing and get their amazing offerings our way.  While cheese doesn’t need to be raw milk (and we’ve never been able to sell any under 60 days old, the FDA limit), the bacteria in raw milk cheeses does add a certain “je ne sais quoi” and complexity that would be horribly sad to not be able to enjoy. But for now, we have a shop full of incredible raw milk offerings, and we plan to eat as much as possible while we still can :-)

Whole Foods And Humane Society Today

Sorry for the short notice, but the Humane Society just posted on Facebook about a wonderful event this morning for those with pooches:

Good Deals At Lucky's

The differences between the Lucky's Markets in Boulder and Longmont never cease to amaze me, and I wish I had more time to do comparisons. The Longmont one falls more in my travel path than the Boulder one, so Longmont is the one I rely on. As I've said before, Longmont seems to emphasize special deals on meats that are antibiotic-free but without Lucky's "never ever" standards, while Boulder's fortes are organic produce and never ever meats.This week is a classic example, with boneless skinless chicken breasts a stunning $1.97 a pound for the "natural" ones at the Longmont store, while the Boulder store is advertising "never ever"ones on sale for $4.99 a pound. Fish prices usually differ, with wild caught tuna steaks (previously frozen ahi from Hawaii) $6.99 a pound in Longmont (very good -we had them last night), while wild caught tuna steaks that I'd assume are the same are advertised in Boulder at $9.99 a pound. Their yummy salmon burgers have pulled a price reversal, with Longmont jumping a dollar to $2.99 each this week, while they have dropped that dollar in Boulder to $1.99 each.

The front page of the Boulder flyer is awash in great deals on organic produce, including red, green or black grapes for a mere $1.69 a pound, while half the produce in the Longmont flyer is conventional. In a twist, new crop organic gala apples are actually lower in Longmont at a lovely $1.48 a pound, while they are 30 cents higher in Boulder, and local organic new crop acorn, butternut or spaghetti squash unfortunately make an appearance at both stores for $1.48 a pound (I am so not ready for winter).

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

As we emerge from our brief brush with winter, it's time for the Boulder Farmers' Market again today, both in downtown Boulder and at the fairgrounds in Longmont. Just hope none of the farmers were hit by frost last night. (My herb plants get to journey back outside today after sheltering indoors for the past two nights.) Here's the news for the week from the Farmers' Market:

We got a preview of winter last night, and some of us are wondering, "What does this mean for our farmers?" We talked to Mark with Ollin Farms this morning, who said the snow didn't hit Longmont and that all of his summer crops are still safe. We're hoping that runs true with everyone and are sending warm wishes to all of our farmers tonight. We hope to avoid a frost tomorrow morning, which would mean saying goodbye to tomatoes and a few other crops. 

This week at the markets: tomatoes, sweet and spicy peppers, arugula, garlic, onion, sweet corn, winter squash, eggplant, mushrooms, carrots, apples, peaches, plums and kale. 

Boulder Farmers' Market Saturday 9/13

• Art activity at BMoCA (all ages): Stop by the front steps of the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (right next to the tea house) for a fun family art activity. 
• On stage: Hotel Radio 

Longmont Farmers' Market Saturday 9/13

• On stage: Wallpaper House Band 
• Live chef demos: Above and Beyond Vegan

Boulder Farmers' Market Wednesday 9/17 

• In the beer garden: Asher Brewing Company 
• On stage:  Miles Perry Band 

Downtown Longmont Farmers' Market Wednesday 9/17

• Food court: Tacos and BBQ
• On Stage: Left Hand Market Boys 

Protect Those Plants?

Gads, tonight's forecast keeps getting worse for early September (plus so many bad memories for today, with last year's floods on the anniversary as it rains this evening, then back to 2001). Rumors started circulating Monday or Tuesday that a bit of snow might be possible for tonight/early tomorrow morning, then forecasters seemed to head to clarifying foothills areas only, but now it's sounding like a tiny bit might be possible for Boulder proper by tomorrow morning. Certainly not a big deal for a snow amount, but I'm bringing in or covering as many herb and flower pots as I can. Basil in particular hates a cold overnight, even if it doesn't come close to freezing. It's way too early to say goodbye to these herb pots, even if the perennials are destined for our newish herb garden to come back up again next year. Return to warm temperatures expected for the weekend and grilling in my plans!

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

For the weekend, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us several sales, including a one-day sale for tomorrow only on grass-fed beef at $4.99 a pound, $3 off. Stretching from tomorrow through Sunday will be new crop organic gala apples at $1.69 a pound (organic galas are $1.50 a pound at Sprouts all week, but I wonder if they are "new crop"), 9-count crispy cookies $2.50 each, and Jason bodywash half off at $7.49 each.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while the current sales continue at Whole Foods through September 16th and at Vitamin Cottage through the 27th. Here's what's looking good to me now, IMHO as always.

At Sprouts through September 17th, boneless pork loin chops (roast also) and chicken breast tenders are both $2.99 a pound, three types of chicken sausage are $3.99 a pound, Rosie organic chicken grill packs (mixed chicken parts) look very good at $2.99 a pound, and all varieties of grass-fed organic beef are 25% off. In fish, fresh wild Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets have returned to the ad at $9.99 a pound, previously frozen stuffed clams, crab or scallops (I especially like the clams) are $1.50 each, and fresh tilapia is very low at $4.99 a pound, but I'd want to see where it comes from.

In organic produce at Sprouts, pints of grape tomatoes are $1.98 each, red or yellow onions are just 88 cents a pound, Earthbound Farm organic salad blends are BOGO, baby carrots are $1.50 for a one pound bag, gala apples are $1.50 a pound (lower than Whole Foods' forthcoming weekend only sale), Bartlett pears are also $1.50 a pound, and red or green seedless grapes are very good at $1.98 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, the BOGO sale begun last week continues with some new items being advertised. Items looking good include Sprouts own hummus, Muir Glen pasta sauce, Annie's Homegrown mac and cheese, Wolfgang Puck organic soups, Pop Chips, Rustic pizza crusts, and Andalou Naturals shampoos or conditioners.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Today

It has been a while since we've seen a one-day sale advertised for a Wednesday, but for today only, spicy shrimp avocado sushi rolls will be half off at our local Whole Foods stores.

Management Shake Up At Alfalfa's

The Daily Camera is reporting today that Mark Retzloff, co-founder of Alfalfa's both times, is out as CEO and Chairman, and is calling himself "the fall guy." Sounds like interesting stuff going on. You can read the details from the Camera here.

Whole Foods Benefit Chef Competition

Whole Foods is sponsoring s chef cook-off competition called The Big Event 3, Here We Grow Again!, involving dinner, music and a silent auction this coming Saturday, September 13th in Lafayette, to benefit the Sister Carmen family resource center. They say you can buy tickets online at sistercarmen.org, but it's not easy to see where. If you wait long enough, the event will appear on the fly-in, or you can them at 303 665-4342.