There should be some particularly high-quality food...

There should be some particularly high-quality food to choose from at the Pierpont Inn on Sunday, when the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura hosts its second annual Garden Party at the Inn . . . by the Sea.

Tables to be set up on the back lawn will be laden with samplings from 26 local eating establishments and 20 wineries. Participants on the food end will include Cafe Zack, La Trattoria restaurant, Rosarito Beach Cafe, the Ranch House, Wheeler Hot Springs, Smokey’s restaurant, Nona’s Courtyard Cafe, the Pierpont Inn (of course) and Barbi’s Bakery.

The list of wineries includes the Ojai Vineyard, Gainey Vineyard, Leeward Winery, Santa Ynez Winery and Firestone Vineyard.

Guests will receive a wineglass and a plastic tray to carry with them as they proceed from tidbit to tidbit. The party will run from 3 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $35, with proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Club’s teen programs. Call 641-5585. Tickets will also be available at the door. The Pierpont is located at 550 Sanjon Road in Ventura.

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Being healthy can be time-consuming.

Joggers and iron pumpers know that. So do health-conscious cooks, like Donna Wilson, owner of the Natural Foods Cooking School and Ginkgo Leaf Bookstore in Woodland Hills.

Wilson will be at Ventura’s City Bakery on Sunday to teach a class, “Natural Cooking for Busy People.” It’s her attempt to show that healthy cooking can fit into a tight schedule.

“People want to eat low-fat. So the question is how to make it tasty and not be in the kitchen all day long,” she said. “We’ll be cooking a complete meal. Either one- or two-grain dishes, vegetables and a (miso-based) soup, with an eye for having leftovers for a meal the next day.”

Wilson will show students how to prepare a fermented condiment, too, probably what she calls a “quick pickle.” Fermentation, she said, is good for digestion and brings healthful bacteria into the body.

“I’m not a dreamer. I know people can’t stay home all day and cook. What happens in the modern world is that people wait too long to eat and then just eat whatever is in front of them,” she said. “You have to think about your food.”

The class will run from 2 to 5 p.m. Cost is $40. Class size is limited. Call the Empowerment Place, the class sponsor, at 648-7004.