Prepping For Green Chile

Knowing now that Whole Foods already has freshly roasted Hatch green chiles (it just seems so early this year!), I'm sure there will be a big pot of chile being made in my house this weekend.  That's classically done with pork, and I prefer to lighten it up with a lean, rather than a more typical fattier cut of pork.  The boneless center-cut pork loin chops on sale at Sprouts for a mere $1.99 a pound through tomorrow fit the bill perfectly for me, so some will go in the freezer in anticipation of a chile-fest this weekend.  And as for the spelling of chile/chili when referring to the soup, I most respectfully refer readers to my prior posts about variations in spelling, especially what's proper when making the soup with chiles from New Mexico, as Whole Foods' Hatch chiles are.  But then, I'm probably misspelling things everywhere else.

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Better late than never.  For tonight, Sprouts' sale through tomorrow on boneless center-cut pork chops for a super low $1.99 a pound, plus their sale on organic on-the-vine tomatoes for $1.48 a pound (the lowest I ever recall seeing) is just screaming at me to do garlic pork with tomato and basil from Cooking Light.  It also doesn't hurt that I can use a bunch of fresh basil from my own plants in this.

Tomorrow will be a reheat of something big previously made, which this week is corn and fingerling potato chowder with applewood smoked bacon, also from Cooking Light.  The corn is obviously from Munson Farm, and while it's nice to have fingerlings for the potatoes, others will certainly do.

Thursdays are always quick around here, so I've already grabbed more of those very low $1.99 a pound pork chops at Sprouts before the sale's end tomorrow to do a simple sauté of them.  With the exciting news that Whole Foods already has freshly roasted Hatch green chiles (see a post just below) and our local Munson corn in full swing, the side will be creamy stovetop corn with poblano chiles from the New York Times.  Anyone who would take the time to roast two chiles themselves for this dish would be out of their mind.  I also use Straus plain nonfat yogurt in this instead of the crème fraiche, but it requires care not to boil it, unlike those cream-heavy (but oh so delicious) products.

So that's a quick one for the week, and we'll see if we actually get the lower temperatures and rain possible for tomorrow.  Chowder would be lovely comfort food on a rainy evening.

Lab-Grown Burger Taste-Tested Today

The first lab-grown burger received its first taste test today.  Since this is a natural foods blog, I'll just leave it at letting you read some coverage from TheWorld.org here.  So many cons, and also pros, rise to the mind way too quickly.

Vitamin Deficiencies Talk At Alfalfa's

Wow, this one is coming up quickly.  My fault for not having enough time to look around anymore.  This Wednesday evening, Alfalfa's will host a free class on vitamin deficiencies.  Here's what they have to say, and I hope the registration is still open if you're interested:

Wellness Wednesday: Vitamin Deficiencies August 7th, 6:30 to 8:00pm Alfalfa's Market is proud to host Teresa from the Center for Integrative Botanical Studies in Boulder for this FREE class about vitamin deficiencies. Join us for this informative workshop to better understand what vitamins you should add to your diet to positively affect your overall health. We will discuss how determine the quality of the supplements you are currently taking, and learn about which superfoods you should eat in order to improve health and energy levels. You may be surprised at the amount of money you can save by taking this class! Register here: http://vitamindeficiencies.eventbrite.com

Whole Foods Has Hatch Green Chiles!

At least at the Pearl Street store, where I just saw chiles from Hatch, New Mexico, both in glorious piles of fresh ones, and also some already roasted in the fridge case on the east side of the produce department.  This is a bittersweet moment for me.  Much as I love cooking with roasted green chiles, their arrival has always signaled the close of summer for me.  I'll just keep reminding myself that I don't think I've ever seen them in Boulder so early.  Plenty more summer to go, so we can enjoy the best of it all!

Celebrate National Farmers' Market Week

I just heard on 9 News that this is National Farmers' Market Week.  Makes sense, at the height of the summer produce season, with abundance spilling out everywhere.  Celebrate by supporting our wonderful Boulder Farmers' Market, downtown on Wednesdays from 4 to 8, and Saturdays from 8 to 2!  And they're in Longmont, too, on Saturdays.  Go hug a farmer!

Local Gluten-Free Dinner

Here's an early heads up about a particularly nice sounding (and inexpensive!) local dinner without gluten that the Pearl Street Whole Foods will host on the 15th.  That's also Julia Child's birthday, but I doubt she'd be particularly gluten-free. Here are the details from Whole Foods, and note the registration requirement:

LOCAL Dinner with Steph & Dana         

Thursday, August 15th           

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
West Patio , $10 Donation 

Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7491038899

Join Healthy Eating Specialist Steph and Cooking Coach Dana on the West Patio for a four-course dinner, celebrating our favorite local items. All courses will be made without gluten ingredients. Register at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7491038899

Spa Night At Whole Foods

It's the first Friday of the month, which means it's time for Whole Foods' free spa night at the Pearl Street store.  Here are their details:

Whole Body Spa Night

 

Friday, August 2nd

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Whole Body, Free

Join us in the Whole Body department for our monthly spa night! Come get the ultimate pampered treatment while enjoying free snacks and beverages from our store team.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, our local Whole Foods stores will have their excellent coho salmon on sale (sockeye would be even better, but we seem to have moved past its season already, although Sprouts still has it).  Coho will go on my grill this weekend.  Here's what they say:

AUGUST 2ND (FRI ONLY!)

Wild Coho Salmon Fillet: 50% OFF
Sale Price: $9.99/lb

Craft Food And Beer Tasting

This being the first Thursday of the month (how did we get to August already?), Whole Foods' Wine & Spirits store will be doing their customary craft food and beer tasting this evening.  Here are the details from them:

First Thursday Craft Food & Beer Tasting        

 

Thursday, August 1st

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Whole Foods Wine & Spirits , Free

Join us every first Thursday of the month for a free craft food & beer tasting at our Wine & Spirits store.