On Thursday night, I had a friend date in Boulder after work. Jillian and I had been trying to get together for one of these events for a few months. She lives in Boulder and stays on top of all the local foodie events. Even better, she invites me to them! Finally, the stars aligned and we were all available for the August event.
I was a little nervous we might get rained out when I saw this view on the way to Boulder… but there is NOTHING like view of Boulder as you’re driving in on 36 West. One of my favorite views, even with the rain.
The event we went to was held at the flagship Whole Foods Market on Pearl Street in Boulder. If you’ve never been to this store and you’re local to Colorado, you really should stop in. They have the most beautiful produce, amazing selection of prepared foods, and the most fantastic grocery offerings of any WFM I’ve ever been to.
I got there a little bit early and had a chance to browse and subsequently stumble upon these bad boys…
Pappardelle Beet Ravioli
I don’t know that all WFM’s have fresh pasta, but I’ll certainly be back for more of the pasta that I saw that day! WOW!
Whole Foods’ healthy eating specialists host a monthly cooking demonstration/dinner, and we were guests at this month’s Vegan event. Brigette, Jillian, and I used this as an opportunity to visit, and we also had a chance to make new friends at our table. Loved this event!
Now, I eat a lot of veggies, but I wasn’t so sure about the whole Vegan meal… but it was REALLY delicious! Here’s a peek at the menu that Dana and Steph (our lovely hostesses) put together… INCREDIBLE!
The appetizers were amongst my favorites: Cucumber stuffed with a beautifully flavorful puree, and my favorite (right) the roasted eggplant-olive tapanade crostini. Note: I need to eat more eggplant. I always love it when it’s in dishes like this… so flavorful! I can’t wait to get the recipe for this one!
Next course was a gorgeous salad with a peach vinaigrette, pine nuts, beautiful blackberries, and marinated onions.
The main course: Local Squash Ratatouille on Millet Cakes.
Right before dessert was delivered, the rain started up again. In true Colorado fashion, the sun stayed out the whole time… creating a beautiful rainbow for us to enjoy in the background.
Finally, dessert: Baked and Stuffed Palisade Peach with Coconut Milk Ice Cream – This was my first experience with coconut milk ice cream. It was REALLY good with a strong coconut flavor on the front end, and then mellowing out the more you ate. I’ll definitely be open to another bowl of this in the future!
After the plates had been cleared and we said our goodbyes, I had to run back into the store to get those beet ravioli and almost picked up the smoked mozzarella red pepper variety as well! In the end, I went with 6 of the beet pastas, planning to make them for dinner the next night. I wasn’t sure what type of sauce made sense… so I simply drizzled them with 1 tsp. of olive oil and sprinkled them with parmesan cheese. PERFECTION!
They were stuffed with Spring Vegetable Primavera… I’m not sure really what that means, but I know that they tasted amazing! And for those of you who fear beets, there wasn’t an overwhelming beet flavor… TRY THEM!
The next healthy dinner event is on Thursday, September 19. Hint, Hint to my local friends and bloggers… join me! They’re making healthy family fare… and you’re not going to want to miss it!
Have you ever been to a cooking demonstration at Whole Foods? Would you try beet ravioli?
[…] After the amazing Vegan dinner I attended a few months back, the fabulous hostesses Stephanie and Dana invited me to come back to this flagship location to do a private tour of the store. As the stores local healthy eating and green mission specialists, they have a ton of knowledge to share and I was eager to learn! I even invited some of my favorite gal pals to join me. […]