Cinco De Mayo Celebration Ideas

With Cinco de Mayo falling on a Saturday this year, there will be all the more reason to throw a fiesta for it.  To help your planning, check out these guides:  Cinco de Mayo from Epicurious, Saveur magazine's Authentic Mexican Guide, and the trove of recipes provided by the inimitable Rick Bayless.

Weekday Dinner Ideas

With very little time available, here's a quick rundown on dinner plans for the rest of the week.  We'll want something vegetarian for tomorrow, and with asparagus $1.47 a pound at Sunflower, it will be pasta with sugar snap peas, asparagus, and parmesan from Bon Appetit.  It's a little early to have local sugar snaps, but the ones I just picked up at Whole Foods are beautiful.

Tuesday is our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the enlarged version I made of mushroom and sausage ragu with polenta, from Cooking Light.

Wednesday will be another last vestige of cold weather cooking, stir-fried beef with broccoli and yams from Bon Appetit, served over brown rice.  Sunflower has the organic yams for 88 cents a pound and organic broccoli is $1.29 a pound at Sprouts, both through Wednesday (although you obviously have to figure your own list and shopping route - nobody is going to drive to a second store to save a few cents a pound).

Thursday will be so simple, our frequent end of the week fall back of sauteed pork chops with microwaved baked potatoes and a quick side veggie.  My pork chops will be pulled from the freezer from last week's incredible $1.79 a pound sale at Sprouts, but they have the same for $3.99 a pound through Wednesday (unless Wednesday's new sale offers a lower price, which is possible).

Which gets us through to Friday's planning.

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

I so love this time of year when the local spring produce just starts arriving at the Boulder Farmers' Market.  Get thee down there sometime between 8 and 2 pm this morning to enjoy early spring bounty, plus probably some hothouse items.  You can see the complete list of expected produce here.  I'm getting hyper about pea shoots and Egyptian walking onions.

Fish Monger Face-Off Continues

Whole Foods' competition to find the very best fish monger continues with round two tomorrow.  Let those fish fly!  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Saturday, April 28th


Fish Monger Face-Off Round 2

12:30PM - 1:30PM
FREE

Whole Foods Market Pearl Street Seafood Department

Come see who made the cut in the first round and cheer on your favorite monger!

Weekend Dinner Ideas

In a bit of a rush, here's a quick list of what's on deck.  Tonight will be salmon, the Norwegian I grabbed at Whole Foods' one-day sale on Wednesday, but if you missed that, Sunflower has Atlantic salmon fillets for $8.99 a pound, although their ad doesn't specify fresh/frozen.  I'm not sure if the weather will permit grilling the fish, but we'll take advantage of Sprouts' conventional artichokes at 88 cents each to have steamed artichokes with herb-caper mayonaise from Bon Appetit on the side.

I'm fantasizing about early pea tendrils from the Farmers' Market tomorrow, and with boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.99 a pound for the value pack at Sunflower, that calls for chicken and shiitake stir-fry with peas and pea tendrils from Bon Appetit.

The chicken sausage for just $1.97 a pound at Sunflower is making me think of  mushroom and sausage ragu with polenta from Cooking Light.  Sunflower also sells cremini mushrooms for just $2.99 a pound, same as their regular white shrooms, which is a pretty good deal.

Which wraps up the weekend plans!

Farmers' Market To Ban Dogs

Starting June 2nd, your faithful companion won't be welcome at the Boulder Farmers' Market.  While this will mostly affect dogs, I guess you also can't bring your pet hissing cockroach along for your shopping.  It might be heresy, but I think this change will make navigating the crush of people a little more pleasant, although there will still be the gigantic strollers to contend with.  You can read the Daily Camera's story here.

Orchid Sale Tomorrow At Whole Foods

Our local Whole Foods stores will have a special sale on orchids for tomorrow only, the 27th.  Here are the details from them:

Now is your chance to bring spring into your home with beautiful potted orchids that won’t break the bank.   On Friday, April 27, phalaenopsis orchids will be on sale at Whole Foods Market for only $9.99. These elegant orchids have a long lasting bloom, come in a variety of colors, and grow well near bright windows with no direct sun light.

5 reasons we love phalaenopsis orchids:
Add a pop of springtime color into your office or home
Potted plants can last for months and years, and at this price, they’re a great deal too!
They make great end-of-the-year teacher’s gifts
Housewarming gift for your next spring celebration
Low-maintenance. They only need water once a week!

This Week's Hot New Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Sunflower, while current sales continue at Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods (click those links for prior reports).  Here's what's looking good to me in the new sales.

At Sprouts through May 2nd, the big news is the return of the Vitamin & Body Care Extravaganza, with all supplements and care products 25% off.  In meat, boneless skinless chicken breasts look good at $1.99 a pound for the value pack, and pork tenderloin is $3.99 a pound.  Fish lovers take note that fresh wild caught halibut is $12.99 a pound.  In organic produce, grape tomatoes are $1.99 a pint (looking like a little more at Sunflower), cauliflower or broccoli are $1.29 a pound, baby carrots are $1.50 for a one pound bag (same at Sunflower), celery is 99 cents a bunch, and Valencia oranges are $2.50 for a four pound bag.  The entire line of Kashi products is 25% off, and conventional artichokes are cheap at 88 cents each.

At Sunflower through the 2nd, natural grass-fed ground beef looks good at $3.99 a pound, and chicken sausage is great at $1.97 a pound.  Farmed Atlantic salmon is $8.99 a pound, but I'd catch Whole Foods' one-day sale today on Norwegian instead.  In organic produce, yams, Valencia oranges, and yellow onions are all 88 cents a pound, while baby carrots are $1.50 for a one pound bag, and grape or cherry tomatoes are $2.50 a container (pint or 10 ounces).  Conventional asparagus is looking good at $1.47 a pound, and Brown Cow Greek yogurts are $1 each.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 25th, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a tempting quartet of special sales, including a handsome farmed salmon as we wait for the start of this year's fresh wild season.  Here are their details:

One Day Sale

This Wednesday, April 25th Only:

Fresh Norwegian Salmon $9.99/lb (save $7.00/lb)

Applegate Farms - 10oz. Family Pack (Black Forest Ham, Slow Cooked Ham Roasted Turkey Breast & Smoked Turkey Breast) $4.99/ea (save $3.00/ea)

Strawberry & Pineapple Chocolate Trays $6.99/ea (save $3.00/ea)

Whole Foods Market Mustard Dill Sauce $1.99/ea (save $2.00/ea)

Nutrition And Performance At Alfalfa's

Here's an early heads up on a nutrition and performance seminar coming up on May 11th at Alfalfa's.  It sounds pretty good, and since space is limited and preregistration is required, I'd give it some consideration right now.  Here's what they say:

Free Nutrition and Performance Seminar

Friday, May 11th
Alfalfa's Community Room
Friday, May 11th ~ 6:00-9:00pm FREE ~

Space is limited, reserve your spot @ brendaninboulder.eventbrite.com

Join us for a free seminar on stress and nutrition where Brendan Brazier will be speaking on the topic of nutrient density and how it helps:

fight stress
battle fatigue
increase energy
support adrenals
improve sleep
lose weight
improve mental clarity
balance hormone levels

Brendan Brazier is a best-selling author and renowned speaker on plant-based nutrition, vegan pro-Ironman triathlete and formulator of Vega, an award-winning line of clean, plant-based nutritional products. For more information see myvega.com.

Space is limited ~ reserve your spot @ brendaninboulder.eventbrite.com