Happy New Year! - Organic Food/Garden at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa.

I spent New Years at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa in Carefree, AZ with the Pickle Family. What a wonderful way to ring in the New Year. I was excited to learn that The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa was the first organic garden on the West coast of America. (And Starting in 2006, The Boulders Resort Arizona has entered the "green tourism" market with its transition to becoming the first all-organic hotel in the United States.)

I enjoyed walking around the Organic Garden. Due to the winter there was not too much growing, but it was still beautiful and amazing to learn about. I bet it is wonderful during growing season with all the fresh tomatoes and vegetables.

The Boulders Resort harvests their own produce and serve only the freshest produce grown in the area and on their property. The Organic Garden includes design elements of eight elevated planter box areas separated by a flowing water feature down the middle. Each open-area plot will grow organic vegetables such as lettuce, carrots, celery, heirloom tomatoes, along with a variety of herbs and edible flowers. Five walls on the perimeter of the garden will be dedicated to a fragrant orchard of citrus trees that include grapefruit, orange, lemon, and lime trees.

I am also excited to cook from my new cookbook I bought while in AZ! So many great recipes. Chef Dean Rucker with The Golden Door has a beautiful cookbook with great recipes and photography. In 2010 I am going to eat healthy and this is a great way to start. I think I will cook the Egg White Omelet with Fresh Herbs, Roasted Asparagus and Baked Herbed Tomatoes for breakfast. Cookbook reads, "Baking tomatoes concentrates their sweet, tangy flavor. Here they take the place of fatty breakfast meats or greasy hash browns that might otherwise turn an innocent omelet into a calorie bomb. For an added treat, top each tomato with a little crumbled goat cheese or grated Parmesan, mozzarella, or Swiss cheese halfway through baking. Serve this dish with a slice of whole-grain toast." YUMMY and HEALTHY! I cannot wait to recreate the Pinto Bean and Vegetable Chile Tostada (with Salsa Fresca and Avocado-Cilantro Cream) I ate while in Arizona.