Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Harlequin's Gardens Opening For Season
Harlequin's Gardens sustainable nursery is a great resource for local gardeners interested in organic and water-smart plants, veggies and flowers. They'll be opening for the season this Thursday, March 3rd, Thursday through Sunday for the month of March, then daily for April through October, 9 to 5. They are at 4795 N. 26th Street at the north end of town. In addition to seeds and the like, they have over-wintered plants that are ready to plant, books by local experts, beekeeping supplies and more. With the mild weather we've been having, and some of my chives already starting to come up, it's time to start thinking gardening!
Jax Oyster Fest Tomorrow
Happy March and happy Super Tuesday. February is oyster month for Jax Fish House in Boulder, but they'll wait until tomorrow to do their annual High West Oyster Fest, to be held at the Boulder Theater. Highlights include an oyster eating contest, oyster shucking championship, and music by a Denver DJ. You can read all the details and purchase tickets here.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Watch Those Sugary Drinks
Sugar lurks just about everywhere, and especially in drinks that I fortunately don't partake of. The Boulder County Health Department will host a panel discussion about the topic this Thursday, the 3rd, and free lunch will be included, hopefully with a minimum of added sugar (if you eat something not made from scratch, look at the label - the sugar is shocking in places you'd never expect it). Here's the news provided via the Boulder Farmers' Market:
Liquid Sugar: Drinking Ourselves to Disease
Mar. 3: 11am, Boulder eTown Hall
Boulder County Public Health will host a free lunch reception and panel discussion about the health risks and impact of sugary drinks. Lunch will be at 11am, with the panel discussion following from 12 to 2pm. Panelists include: Jim O'Hara, Director of Health Promotion Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest; Jorge De Santiago, Executive Director, El Centro AMISTAD; Eric J. Harker, M.D., Preventive Medicine Lead Physician, Kaiser Permanente Colorado; Wyatt Hornsby, Campaign Director, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation; and Robyn O'Brien, Food's Erin Brockovich, Boulder mother, author.
Liquid Sugar: Drinking Ourselves to Disease
Mar. 3: 11am, Boulder eTown Hall
Boulder County Public Health will host a free lunch reception and panel discussion about the health risks and impact of sugary drinks. Lunch will be at 11am, with the panel discussion following from 12 to 2pm. Panelists include: Jim O'Hara, Director of Health Promotion Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest; Jorge De Santiago, Executive Director, El Centro AMISTAD; Eric J. Harker, M.D., Preventive Medicine Lead Physician, Kaiser Permanente Colorado; Wyatt Hornsby, Campaign Director, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation; and Robyn O'Brien, Food's Erin Brockovich, Boulder mother, author.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Another Pearl Whole Foods Remodel
This seems minor compared to the huge expansion Whole Foods did on Pearl Street several years ago, but they'll be putting another almost three quarters of a million dollars into mixing things up in the prepared foods area for a remodel. You can read all about it (plus some things about downsizing for the company elsewhere) in the Daily Camera article here.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Big Parmesan Sale Tomorrow
In conjunction with Whole Foods' simultaneous cracking of huge wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano tomorrow (look a couple of posts below for that), I just heard from the TastyTown guy at the Pearl Street store that the cheese will be half off its regular price from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow only. Given they usually sell it in the $20 range, the sale should put it in the $10 range per pound. It doesn't get better than that for a very good cheese. I did hear this at Pearl so if going to another location for it, you might call ahead to check.
Special Sale At Alfalfa's
Alfalfa's is at it again, tormenting me with a special sale on their fine grass-fed boneless New York strip steaks for the incredible price of $9.99 a pound through Sunday. They're also offering a sustainable Norwegian salmon (supposedly the finest of the farmed) for $9.99 a pound too. Get thee to Alfalfa's by Sunday.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Weekend Sale At Whole Foods
Looks like Whole Foods will offer us a duo of very nice specials for this weekend, tomorrow through Sunday, and the prepared appetizer one sounds ready-made for the Oscars. Here's what they say (although the $4 off banner for the Dover sole unfortunately didn't come through):
Whole Foods' Parm Cracking Coming Up
One of the more ingenious events happening in the grocery world is Whole Foods' simultaneous cracking of a gazillion huge wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano at its many stores, with a tasting included. This year's will be this Saturday, Feb 27th, at 1 p.m. for our local stores. (It's 3 p.m. Eastern time, but this has to be simultaneous, right?) Celebrate a great cheese, and get some fresh off the wheel.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)
We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, plus what looks to be a new one at Whole Foods (they are really confusing me by this new thing of publishing something every week with specials that may or not be new). And the current sale at Vitamin Cottage continues through March 5th, so look down quite a few posts for that one. Here's what's looking good to me now.
At Sprouts through March 2nd, there are two bits of excellent news: the outrageous BOGO sale continues, and conventional asparagus is ridiculously low at 98 cents a pound. I eat almost exclusively organic produce, but somehow asparagus is one of the exceptions for me, and this price will make it more so.
In meat at Sprouts, value packs of chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, baby back pork ribs are $2.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken, chicken breast or pork are $2.99 a pound (looks like a good week for some Asian dishes), their very good stuffed chicken breasts are also $2.99 a pound, Italian chicken sausage (pork also) is $3.99 a pound, and filet mignon steaks are $14.99 a pound (sounds high but the steaks are by definition small and boneless, so the actual cost is reasonable). In fish, previously frozen 26/30 count wild Gulf shrimp from the USA look good at $7.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild sockeye salmon fillets are $6.99 a pound, but I'd wonder about those so long since the fresh season.
In organic produce at Sprouts, some Earthbound Farms salads are BOGO, five pound bags of either table carrots or russet potatoes are just $2.98 each, Gala or Granny Smith apples are $1.88 each, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are $2.98 each. Elsewhere in the store, the news is the continuation of the big BOGO sale. Items calling to me this week are my fave Blue Diamond Nut Thins, my new fave Home Run Inn pizzas, Stonyfield organic Greek yogurts, 15 ounce Westbrae organic canned beans, 16 ounce Garden of Eatin' tortilla chips, and Seventh Generation dish liquids ("select varieties" on all, but that usually means just about everything).
In what looks to be a new sale for Whole Foods this week through March 1st, organic on-the-vine tomatoes are $2.98 a pound (although Vitamin Cottage has organic tomatoes for $1.99 a pound through March 5th), 31/40 count easy to peel shrimp are $9.99 a pound (bigger ones are less at Sprouts, but not with the Whole Foods pedigree, although I'm so pleased those Sprouts ones are domestic), organic whole chickens look very good at $2.29 a pound, and their excellent made in house black and blue (for blackberries and blueberries) crostata are $7.99 each. Those can serve as dessert, breakfast, or even birthday cake in this house, where sweets aren't much in favor. Also, some Seventh Generation dish soaps are $2.99, but I'd check the BOGO sale at Sprouts on that one first.
At Sprouts through March 2nd, there are two bits of excellent news: the outrageous BOGO sale continues, and conventional asparagus is ridiculously low at 98 cents a pound. I eat almost exclusively organic produce, but somehow asparagus is one of the exceptions for me, and this price will make it more so.
In meat at Sprouts, value packs of chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, baby back pork ribs are $2.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken, chicken breast or pork are $2.99 a pound (looks like a good week for some Asian dishes), their very good stuffed chicken breasts are also $2.99 a pound, Italian chicken sausage (pork also) is $3.99 a pound, and filet mignon steaks are $14.99 a pound (sounds high but the steaks are by definition small and boneless, so the actual cost is reasonable). In fish, previously frozen 26/30 count wild Gulf shrimp from the USA look good at $7.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild sockeye salmon fillets are $6.99 a pound, but I'd wonder about those so long since the fresh season.
In organic produce at Sprouts, some Earthbound Farms salads are BOGO, five pound bags of either table carrots or russet potatoes are just $2.98 each, Gala or Granny Smith apples are $1.88 each, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are $2.98 each. Elsewhere in the store, the news is the continuation of the big BOGO sale. Items calling to me this week are my fave Blue Diamond Nut Thins, my new fave Home Run Inn pizzas, Stonyfield organic Greek yogurts, 15 ounce Westbrae organic canned beans, 16 ounce Garden of Eatin' tortilla chips, and Seventh Generation dish liquids ("select varieties" on all, but that usually means just about everything).
In what looks to be a new sale for Whole Foods this week through March 1st, organic on-the-vine tomatoes are $2.98 a pound (although Vitamin Cottage has organic tomatoes for $1.99 a pound through March 5th), 31/40 count easy to peel shrimp are $9.99 a pound (bigger ones are less at Sprouts, but not with the Whole Foods pedigree, although I'm so pleased those Sprouts ones are domestic), organic whole chickens look very good at $2.29 a pound, and their excellent made in house black and blue (for blackberries and blueberries) crostata are $7.99 each. Those can serve as dessert, breakfast, or even birthday cake in this house, where sweets aren't much in favor. Also, some Seventh Generation dish soaps are $2.99, but I'd check the BOGO sale at Sprouts on that one first.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Celebrating The Oscars
With the Academy Awards coming up so quickly next Sunday, I'd think my favorite sources would have more resources to offer by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe folks are getting tired of such things, as I am as well. In any case, here's a link to Your Dream Oscars Party from Bon Appetit last year, and a link to a prior post I did on food for the Oscars. Hope those links might still be good, but regardless, the advice re Trader Joe's for easy prepared finger foods still holds. Since the return of Harrison Ford in Star Wars was the only thing that drew me into a theatre this year, I'm not so concerned about the voting, but food is always good.
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