Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Valentine's Day Menu Planning Help
With the excesses of Super Bowl food just behind us, it's time to start thinking of Valentine's Day. (One has to wonder if there isn't a primeval urge to have a surplus of holidays to get us through the dark days of winter.) If you're thinking that a romantic dinner at home beats eating out, there are plenty of guides to help your planning. Take a look at Bon Appetit's Valentine's Day Guide, Recipes for Romance from Epicurious, Cooking Light's Celebrate Valentine's Day, or Nourishing Love from Whole Foods. Personally, I'll be on the lookout for something special but light. A Valentine's dinner of ribeye, baked potato smothered in sour cream and bacon, with a veggie cheese gratin on the side says to me, "Honey, I've thoroughly checked the family finances, and am now working on dispatching you as quickly as possible."
Monday, February 6, 2012
Hypocritical Boulderites?
Today's Daily Camera has a thoughtful article about Boulder's wildly enthusiastic reaction to the likely arrival of a Trader Joe's. How quickly does the "buy local" mantra fly out the window? And why is a Trader Joe's welcomed with open arms while the thought of a WalMart is met with disdain? The Camera's article is posted here.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Weekday Dinner Ideas
Well it may be Super Bowl Sunday, but the planning of this rest of this week's dinners must go on (plans for tonight previously related here. Since it's a busy day, this will be quick.
For tomorrow, I'll have some extra butternut squash from the chili and we'll want some pasta by then, so it will be pasta with butternut squash and rosemary from Bon Appetit. I'll also toss in some chopped asparagus from Sprouts' $1.99 a pound sale, since that works well in this recipe.
Tuesday will be our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the fabulous black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard, with corn bread and salad on the side.
By Wednesday, we'll want something rice-based, and with Sprouts' asparagus sale plus organic broccoli at $1.69 a pound (even less at Sunflower at $1.50), that spells chicken, asparagus and broccoli stir-fry from Bon Appetit. Some steamed edamame pulled from the freezer will go on the side.
Thursday will be totally simple, sausage subs made with chicken sausage (on sale at both Sprouts and Sunflower through Wednesday) sauteed with onion, red and green bell peppers, a bit of jarred pasta sauce, then put in a fine piece of bread like the baguettes from Whole Foods.
And that very quickly gets us through the rest of the week. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
For tomorrow, I'll have some extra butternut squash from the chili and we'll want some pasta by then, so it will be pasta with butternut squash and rosemary from Bon Appetit. I'll also toss in some chopped asparagus from Sprouts' $1.99 a pound sale, since that works well in this recipe.
Tuesday will be our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the fabulous black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard, with corn bread and salad on the side.
By Wednesday, we'll want something rice-based, and with Sprouts' asparagus sale plus organic broccoli at $1.69 a pound (even less at Sunflower at $1.50), that spells chicken, asparagus and broccoli stir-fry from Bon Appetit. Some steamed edamame pulled from the freezer will go on the side.
Thursday will be totally simple, sausage subs made with chicken sausage (on sale at both Sprouts and Sunflower through Wednesday) sauteed with onion, red and green bell peppers, a bit of jarred pasta sauce, then put in a fine piece of bread like the baguettes from Whole Foods.
And that very quickly gets us through the rest of the week. Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Watch Your Wing Bucket Price
The buckets of chicken wings that are on sale through tomorrow at our local Whole Foods stores for $9.99 are ringing up at $14.99, at least at the Pearl Street store. They of course fixed my price in an instant, but I have to wonder how many people went through checkout oblivious to the sale price they missed. And my, this is a big bucket of wings. So glad the rest of my dinner plan for tomorrow is vegetarian.
Super Bowl Sampling At Sunflower
For those who have dug out from the storm, our Boulder Sunflower will be offering another Super Bowl sampling of "Big Game Bowl Party Ideas" today from noon to 2pm. Their calendar says to "try some samples and get great ideas for your party!"
Friday, February 3, 2012
Weekend Dinner Ideas, Including Super Bowl
Heavens, good morning Boulder. Do we have enough snow already? And this storm is supposed to continue all day? As I mentioned Wednesday, I got provisioned ahead of it, so the cooking continues (assuming the power stays on). For tonight, it will be spicy turkey burgers from Bon Appetit. I stocked up yesterday at Sunflower, getting ground turkey in their 40% off ground meat sale and organic yams at just 88 cents a pound to roast as "fries" on the side.
While at Sunflower, I also picked up very lean grass fed ground beef, also 40% off, to try a recipe from Cooking Light for tomorrow, Italian-style beef with polenta. Some of the $1.99 a pound asparagus from Sprouts will go on the side.
As for Super Bowl Sunday, that one has really been evolving. I was originally planning to do a meaty chicken chili, but that all changed when I heard that Whole Foods would be selling buckets of chicken wings for $9.99 from today (yeah, right, good luck getting there) through Sunday. So with a bucket of wings on the table, instead of a meaty chili, we'll do a favorite vegetarian one, black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard, from Bon Appetit. Homemade corn bread will go on the side (recipes abound), and I'm really psyched about trying a new appetizer I discovered yesterday in the new February issue of Bon Appetit, poor man's "shrimp" cocktail, using cauliflower instead of shrimp! What a way to get more veggies on the plate to counter all those wings. And organic cauliflower is just 99 cents a pound at Sprouts ($1.50 a pound at Sunflower and $1.99 a pound at Whole Foods). That should give us a suitable Super Bowl experience while still keeping it on the lighter side.
Best of luck to us all in this storm. Stay safe.
While at Sunflower, I also picked up very lean grass fed ground beef, also 40% off, to try a recipe from Cooking Light for tomorrow, Italian-style beef with polenta. Some of the $1.99 a pound asparagus from Sprouts will go on the side.
As for Super Bowl Sunday, that one has really been evolving. I was originally planning to do a meaty chicken chili, but that all changed when I heard that Whole Foods would be selling buckets of chicken wings for $9.99 from today (yeah, right, good luck getting there) through Sunday. So with a bucket of wings on the table, instead of a meaty chili, we'll do a favorite vegetarian one, black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard, from Bon Appetit. Homemade corn bread will go on the side (recipes abound), and I'm really psyched about trying a new appetizer I discovered yesterday in the new February issue of Bon Appetit, poor man's "shrimp" cocktail, using cauliflower instead of shrimp! What a way to get more veggies on the plate to counter all those wings. And organic cauliflower is just 99 cents a pound at Sprouts ($1.50 a pound at Sunflower and $1.99 a pound at Whole Foods). That should give us a suitable Super Bowl experience while still keeping it on the lighter side.
Best of luck to us all in this storm. Stay safe.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Organic Milk Prices On The Rise
As previously reported, there's been talk of organic milk prices going up here in Boulder as they've been doing elsewhere, and I'm afraid the effects are starting to be seen. At Sunflower today, half gallons of Horizon Organic and Organic Valley milk were $3.99, and unfortunately, both of those were sale prices (probably easing us towards further increases). The good news is that Whole Foods seems to be holding the line so far, at least at the Pearl Street store, with their own great brand of 365 organic milk still at $2.79 for a half gallon, and Horizon Organic still a respectable $2.99. Organic Valley was higher, in the $3.69 range, which may portend increases to come.
One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow
For tomorrow only, the 3rd, our local Whole Foods stores will have organic California navel oranges for 79 cents a pound. If our weather forecast turns out to be right (snow starting lightly this afternoon, with a whole bunch of it falling tonight and tomorrow), I doubt many people will be in such an organic orange emergency as to need to make the Whole Foods trip tomorrow. As a safer alternative, both Sprouts and Sunflower are offering four pound bags of organic oranges for $2.99 each all the way through next Wednesday. Since that works out to be 75 cents a pound, the bags are actually slightly cheaper per pound than Whole Foods' one-day sale. The type of orange isn't specified in Sunflower's ad, while they're Valencias at Sprouts. Stay safe out there.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Staying Well Fed On Friday
I usually don't even think about Friday through Sunday's dinners until Friday morning, but our Boulder forecast is suggesting planning ahead. With some significant snow expected starting tomorrow afternoon through Friday (here's 9 News weather forecast), I'm going to be sure to have provisions in the house to get us through the probable storm. Tomorrow's pasta is already planned and stocked, so I only have Friday to worry about. A quick Sunflower run before the storm should do me for spicy turkey burgers from Bon Appetit for Friday, with Sunflower's ground turkey breast 40% off. (I'll also grab a pound of the very lean grass fed ground beef from that same sale for a later idea.) They have organic yams at an excellent 88 cents a pound to roast in spear form as yam "fries," too.
This Week's Hot Deals (IMHO)
As we head into Super Bowl weekend, we have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods, while the one recently started at Vitamin Cottage continues (click there for my prior report). Here's what looks particularly appealing to me in the new sales.
Avocados are the name of the game at Sprouts through February 8th, with conventional ones three for $1 (I hope they're the same pretty good size they usually carry). While we're talking conventional produce, asparagus is also notable at $1.99 a pound ($2.99 a pound at Sunflower). Pretty small 41/50 count ez peel raw shrimp are $3.99 a pound, baby back ribs are $2.99 a pound ($4.99 a pound at Sunflower), ground pork is $2.99 a pound, and boneless ribeyes are $9.99 a pound. They have chicken sausage for $2.88 a pound, but Sunflower beats that with a very low $1.99 a pound, and Sprouts' previously frozen cod is $7.99 a pound, while it's $5.99 at Sunflower. There are some very good deals in organic produce, including red or green leaf lettuce for 99 cents a head, cauliflower 99 cents a pound, baby carrots $1.50 a one pound bag, six ounces of blueberries for $2.50, grape tomatoes $2.50 a pint, broccoli, $1.69 a pound (a little lower at Sunflower), and Braeburn or Cameo apples 99 cents a pound. Select deli party trays are 25% off to ease your gameday preparation, Oasis Naturals hummus is BOGO, some Frontera products are on sale, including their yummy salsa for just $2.50, and select varieties of my favorite Earth Balance buttery spread (no cholesterol!) are great at $2.99 each.
Chicken sausage and ground meats are hot items at Sunflower through the 8th, with all chicken sausage just $1.99 a pound ($2.88 at Sprouts), and six types of ground beef or poultry (including 93% lean grass fed ground beef) all 40% off. Cod is $5.99 a pound, and farm-raised Atlantic salmon is $8.99 a pound. In organic produce, select Organic Girl salad clamshells are $2.50, russet potatoes and red or yellow onions are all 99 cents a pound (russets a little cheaper by the bag at Sprouts), romaine or iceberg lettuce are $1.50 each, broccoli and cauliflower are $1.50 a pound (Sprouts has the cauliflower for 99 cents but is a little higher on the broccoli), avocados (organic or conventional) are 50 cents, several types of small tomatoes are $2.99 a package, and yewel or garnet yams are fantastic at 88 cents a pound. Their own hummus is $2.50 for eight ounces, while Ling Ling spring rolls and potstickers make impressive and easy appetizers at $3.50 a bag.
At Whole Foods through the 14th (Valentine's alert!), their own beer or cheddar brats are $3.99 a pound, and tequila lime salmon burgers are $7.99 a pound. Organic collard greens are good at $1.99 a bunch, and organic cauliflower is $1.99 a pound, but it's $1.50 at Sunflower and just 99 cents a pound at Sprouts through the 8th. My favorite Seeduction loaf is two for $6, but it says "pick two" which implies two are required? (If it's a "Health Starts Here" product, which I think it is, there's a $1 off coupon in The Whole Deal.) Their own Market Made guacamole is $2 off at $6.99 a pound, and Two-Bite cinnamon rolls look dangerous at $3 a tub.
Avocados are the name of the game at Sprouts through February 8th, with conventional ones three for $1 (I hope they're the same pretty good size they usually carry). While we're talking conventional produce, asparagus is also notable at $1.99 a pound ($2.99 a pound at Sunflower). Pretty small 41/50 count ez peel raw shrimp are $3.99 a pound, baby back ribs are $2.99 a pound ($4.99 a pound at Sunflower), ground pork is $2.99 a pound, and boneless ribeyes are $9.99 a pound. They have chicken sausage for $2.88 a pound, but Sunflower beats that with a very low $1.99 a pound, and Sprouts' previously frozen cod is $7.99 a pound, while it's $5.99 at Sunflower. There are some very good deals in organic produce, including red or green leaf lettuce for 99 cents a head, cauliflower 99 cents a pound, baby carrots $1.50 a one pound bag, six ounces of blueberries for $2.50, grape tomatoes $2.50 a pint, broccoli, $1.69 a pound (a little lower at Sunflower), and Braeburn or Cameo apples 99 cents a pound. Select deli party trays are 25% off to ease your gameday preparation, Oasis Naturals hummus is BOGO, some Frontera products are on sale, including their yummy salsa for just $2.50, and select varieties of my favorite Earth Balance buttery spread (no cholesterol!) are great at $2.99 each.
Chicken sausage and ground meats are hot items at Sunflower through the 8th, with all chicken sausage just $1.99 a pound ($2.88 at Sprouts), and six types of ground beef or poultry (including 93% lean grass fed ground beef) all 40% off. Cod is $5.99 a pound, and farm-raised Atlantic salmon is $8.99 a pound. In organic produce, select Organic Girl salad clamshells are $2.50, russet potatoes and red or yellow onions are all 99 cents a pound (russets a little cheaper by the bag at Sprouts), romaine or iceberg lettuce are $1.50 each, broccoli and cauliflower are $1.50 a pound (Sprouts has the cauliflower for 99 cents but is a little higher on the broccoli), avocados (organic or conventional) are 50 cents, several types of small tomatoes are $2.99 a package, and yewel or garnet yams are fantastic at 88 cents a pound. Their own hummus is $2.50 for eight ounces, while Ling Ling spring rolls and potstickers make impressive and easy appetizers at $3.50 a bag.
At Whole Foods through the 14th (Valentine's alert!), their own beer or cheddar brats are $3.99 a pound, and tequila lime salmon burgers are $7.99 a pound. Organic collard greens are good at $1.99 a bunch, and organic cauliflower is $1.99 a pound, but it's $1.50 at Sunflower and just 99 cents a pound at Sprouts through the 8th. My favorite Seeduction loaf is two for $6, but it says "pick two" which implies two are required? (If it's a "Health Starts Here" product, which I think it is, there's a $1 off coupon in The Whole Deal.) Their own Market Made guacamole is $2 off at $6.99 a pound, and Two-Bite cinnamon rolls look dangerous at $3 a tub.
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