Time For A Fall Dinner

Even though we've had such glorious warm weather and today will get to the upper 70s as well, I'm feeling like it's time to concede to the arrival of fall with a classic Sunday night supper: roast chicken with roasted fall veggies like sliced acorn squash, sweet potato spears, parsnips, carrots, etc. This is partly driven by the changing seasons, but also by the fact that Whole Foods' current sale on a very fine whole chicken for just $1.89 a pound will end this Tuesday. Plus, with the chicken and veggies in the oven, I'll have a whole bunch of time available to make a second big batch of pesto from my prolific basil plants. Most will go in the freezer to join my first batch from a week ago, with one container reserved to do pasta with pesto tomorrow. Carpe diem!

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

Don't forget our Boulder Farmers' Markets, both downtown in Boulder and out at the Boulder fairgrounds in Longmont, both starting at 8 this morning. Here's what the Market says you can expect to find (oh, is it starting to look like fall, despite our temps in the high 80s and beautiful sunshine):

This week at the markets: plums, pears, apples, pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, tomatoes, spinach, arugula, wax beans, beets, fall raspberries, sunflowers, lilies, carrots, onions, garlic & mushrooms. 

Boulder Farmers' Market Saturday 9/27

• On stage: Intuit 
• Boulder Valley School District food truck breakfast 
• 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. 

Longmont Farmers' Market Saturday 9/27

• On stage: Heartwood

Make Someone's Day Shortly

Fun stuff from the Boulder Farmers' Market. Saw it yesterday afternoon but just didn't have time to put anything up then. If you can't make it to the event, make someone's day today some other way! Here's what the Farmers' Market says:

Make Someone's Day   Friday, 9/26: 9am, south corners of Broadway & Canyon

BCFM won one of City of Boulder's Public Displays of Affection grants, and we'll be making over 1,000 people's days with a locally-sourced surprise tomorrow beginning at 9am on the south corners of Broadway and Canyon. We need YOUR help. Come by Broadway and Canyon at 9am (until supplies last) and help spread the local love! More information on The Daily Camera and Boulderarts.org. Use the hashtag #makesomeonesday to share photos and stories throughout the day

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

Our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a duo of special sales this weekend (assuming Friday kind of counts as its start). For tomorrow only, their excellent cooked shrimp will be $9.99 a pound, $6 off its usual price. And for the whole weekend, tomorrow through Sunday, marinated chicken satays will be $5.99 a pound, $2 off. That presents a dilemma for me, as the Lucky's Market in Longmont is offering house-made chicken kabobs (purists would disagree, but satays and kabobs are all chicken on a stick to me, although a satay could be straight meat) for just $2.99 a pound all week. (The flyer for the Boulder Lucky's is offering Korean beef kabobs for $8.99 a pound instead.) The chicken at Whole Foods will have a fabulous pedigree, while that at the Longmont Lucky's is undoubtedly "natural," but still antibiotic-free. Tough choice.

Last Call For Current Vitamin Cottage Sale

Just a heads up that the current sale at Vitamin Cottage runs through this Saturday, September 27th. Items that particularly caught my eye include six ounce packages of Applegate organic sliced turkey breast for $4.69, Annie's organic salad dressings $2.89 each for the eight ounce bottle, a splendid price for the organic as opposed to the natural ones, and two cookie temptations: Newman's Own organic 13 ounce Newman-O's $2.99 each (those are usually $4.35) and Pamela's yummy gluten-free cookies $2.79 a seven-ish ounce box (usually $3.69). Stock of sale items does tend to run low/out at the end of a sale, but who know what the next sale will bring us.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while the current sale continues at Whole Foods through September 30th and at Vitamin Cottage just through this Saturday, the 27th. Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through October 1st (October already!), fresh wild Alaskan coho salmon fillets are still available for $9.99 a pound, bone-in New York steaks are $6.99 a pound, ground pork (good for Asian dishes) is $2.99 a pound, whole or split fresh chickens are $1.69 a pound (a little higher for fully cut up), all fresh sausage are $3.99 a pound (Octoberfest anyone?) and Rosie organic whole chickens are $2.99 a pound. In fish, they are also offering previously frozen swordfish steaks for an attractive $7.99 a pound, but I only buy that when it's domestic or Canadian, which it rarely is at Sprouts.

In organic produce at Sprouts, baby heirloom tomatoes look great aat $2.50 a pint (don't think I've ever seen a baby heirloom one), table carrots are $2.99 for a five pound bag, vine ripe tomatoes are $1.99 a pound, Bartlett, Bosc or red pears are all $1.50 a pound, yellow or white peaches and yellow nectarines are all $1.98 a pound, and red, green or black seedless grapes are all $2.50 a pound (although when I was last in the Pearl Whole Foods, they were doing an unadvertised sale on those three grapes for even better, I think $1.98 a pound). Elsewhere in the store, bulk coffee is $6.99 a pound (and they have some nice organic and decaf choices), Voskos Greek yogurts are 89 cents each, Crunchmaster yummy gluten-free crackers are $3 a bag, and some Newman's Own Organics cookies are $2.50 a bag.

More Re Last Downtown Longmont Market For The Season

More news about tonight's final Boulder Farmers' Market in downtown Longmont for the season. It will include a party as previously noted and will also close an hour earlier, probably since everybody will be heading to the party. Also news is that you can get a BOGO beer coupon from Left Hand Brewing at the market with proof of purchase. Here are the details:

This Wednesday will be the final Downtown Longmont Farmers' Market of the season. We hope you'll join us at the market from 4-7pm (we're ending an hour early) for fresh food, live music, DIY thank you cards for our vendors and a collaborative art project. 

A celebration will follow at Left Hand Brewing Company from 7 to 9pm. Don't forget to bring your 'buy one get one free' beer coupon that you can receive at the market info booth with proof of purchase from the market. The coupons have been given out all season and will expire on 9/24. We will raise a glass to the all of the hard work put into making this farmers' market happen this year and to the future of our local agriculture. Underage folks are welcome to the brewery as well! There are non-alcoholic drinks available, and there will be a food truck. 

We would like the chance to thank you all on Wednesday, and it would mean a great deal to see you there. Let's close out the season with the best market day yet! The Longmont Farmers' Market at the Fairgrounds on Saturdays will be continuing through November 1. We hope you will join us there! 

Fresh From The Fields This Week

Happy first full day of fall, but this week's list of veggies from Red Wagon Organic Farm's CSA is telling us that without having to look at the calendar. Fortunately tomatoes are still on the list, but it's now time for spaghetti squash and parsnips too. Maybe it's time to start planning Thanksgiving dinner. Here's what's up for this week, always a good indicator of what you'll find at the Boulder Farmers' Market as well.

Week 19!   We’re knocking on fall’s door, get ready to start enjoying winter squash for the season!


Regular Share
-Spaghetti Squash
-Parsnips
-Tomatoes
-Onions
-Peppers
-Choice: Arugula OR Lettuce
-Choice: Kale OR Bok Choi OR Collards

Large Share Additions
-Eggplant
-Cauliflower
-Beets


Fruit
-Pears & Apples

Season's Last Longmont Evening Market Tomorrow

Hard to believe things are drawing to a close already, but the final Wednesday market of its inaugural season in downtown Longmont will be tomorrow afternoon starting at 4. (The Saturday one at the Longmont fairgrounds continues for a bit, and everything lasts longer in Boulder proper.) To celebrate its success, it will also be followed by a party! Here's what the Boulder Farmers' Market says:

Downtown Longmont Farmers' Market Wednesday 9/24

• FINAL MARKET OF THE SEASON
• Downtown Longmont Farmers' Market after-party
  at Left Hand Brewing Co: Join BCFM and vendors just right down the street from the market at Left Hand from7pm to 9pm to raise a glass to the first Downtown Longmont Farmers' Market season. Thank you all for making this a great first season and for your support of local agriculture. We are excited to celebrate with you.

Welcom To Autumn

With the wind blowing the leaves in swirls and Munson's farmstand full of hard squash beautifully displayed (one looking totally like a swan), it's a lovely day to say goodbye to summer and welcome (?) fall this evening practically at bedtime. Realizing this means our fresh local corn season is growing short, and with cod just $4.99 a pound at Sprouts this week through Wednesday, I grabbed an armload of corn at Munson's today (forget the three ears called for in the recipe - go for at least six, maybe eight) to do corn and cod chowder from Food and Wine magazine. Love that they call it a classic New England dish. And the beginning of fall also signals time to have a pesto-making day with my basil plants, one of which has gotten so big, it has needed the support of a tomato cage. Looks like tomorrow will be devoted to pesto. Happy autumn!