This evening we’re going to be featured in a Current TV documentary that highlights some of our experiences in the TechStars program.

StartUP takes place in Boulder, Colorado which is becoming a hub for web startup companies.  This story is about Techstars, a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund, who selects 10 companies made up of young entrepreneurs to join a summer program where they are exposed to many mentors and investors.  We focus on two of the companies in this incredible program, Ignighter & Foodzie. They had the opportunity to meet people like Matt Mullenweg of WordPress to the founders of Photobucket. We hope this inspires any of you out there with an idea and a lot of passion.

We just returned from a week-long trip to San Francisco and as you may have noticed, I don’t quite have the whole blogging-while-traveling thing down. Since the Boulder Market is now officially closed, it was nice to head to California where the markets stay open all year long. Susie Wyshak, a fellow foodie who’s helping us discover new producers for Foodzie, gave us the grand tour of the Ferry Building Farmers Market. If you’ve been to San Francisco or flipped through a Food & Wine, Saveur or Bon Appetit magazine you’re probably familiar with a bunch of the producers we bumped into - many that could be considered celebrities in this town!

I’ve been a fan of June Taylor ever since I discovered her in the Silver Lake Cheese Shop in LA and fell in love with her apricot conserve. It was nice to meet her in person and I truly enjoyed my chat with her about cooking and the idea of expanding our jam horizon beyond just jam and toast. (why not duck, fish, cheese…) June’s a producer of artisan jams, syrups and occasionally, if you’re lucky, she’ll craft her famous shortbread or Christmas Cake. June still makes each flavor just one teeny tiny batch at a time (the jams are cooked on her stovetop). She hand labels each jar and even hand-dyed the tissue paper she wrapped her Christmas Cakes in this year. If you want to get a sense for artisan, just talk to June - she defines it in its purest form.

I just mentioned Steve Sando and Rancho Gordo heirloom beans in my recent post about the Obama Bean Art. I was able to pick up a few bags of his beans, the Mayacoba, Brown Tepary, and Christmas Lima, which will most likely accompany my Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving dinner this year. He was featured in Food & Wine this month and shares some sophisticated recipes that bring out the best in his beans. The Rancho Gordo brand embodies Steve’s colorful and fun personality that I was able to enjoy first-hand at the market. He’s got a basket of beans out on display that shows off the stunning color variations in the heirloom varieties. I couldn’t help but dig my hands in and play with the beans!

We also got to hang with the guys and gals at La Cocina and I fortunately (or unfortunately now that I am totally addicted…) got to try the famous Clare’s Squares. They are seriously sinful, starting with a buttery, crumbly shortbread cookie base and topped with silky caramel and a crisp layer of dark chocolate. I also got to meet the famous Christina from Kika’s Treats, munch on Gabrielle’s Delights and sip on Morning Glory Chai - all La Cocina producers.

Some like to rag on the Ferry Building Farmers Market, that it’s not a REAL farmers market. Although, yes I will admit - many of the producers are more sophisticated than those that fill other farmers markets at the end of the day, they are still real people, making really good food that they are really, really passionate about. 

It’s always a sad time of the year for me when the farmers market comes to a close. This past Saturday was the last day of the Boulder Farmers Market and in usual fashion, I strolled around to all my favorite vendors. I stocked up and filled my shopping tote until it was practically overflowing. So heavy in fact, that I had to alternate shoulders during my trek back to the car. I completely forgot that we would only be around for three days before taking off for San Francisco on Tuesday. So since then, the veggies have taken center stage to ensure we consume all this good stuff before we go. 

For lunch this afternoon, I whipped up some of the itty bitty brussel sprouts I picked up from the market from Oxford Gardens (also my favorite farm to get beets). If you’ve never enjoyed brussel sprouts, (I once was a brussel sprout hater too…) be sure to try really, really fresh ones before you write them off. They’re tender, slightly sweet and not a bit bitter. 

I started by parboiling the brussel sprouts for about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, I sauteed some fresh Lions Mane mushrooms (looks like cauliflower and taste like heaven) from Hazel Del Mushrooms in Fort Collins, CO. I sauteed them in Balzana Olive Oil, a light grassy olive oil from California that I absolutely adore. I then tossed in the brussel sprouts and sauteed them until they just started to brown on each side. I had just pulled out my last pack of Benton’s bacon this weekend from my first order back in early summer and I had a crispy piece of bacon leftover from Sunday brunch, just waiting to be used. So I added some crumbled, crispy bits of Benton’s bacon, which gave it that perfect subtle smokiness and just the right amount of salt. The recipe cleaned out a few more veggies out of the drawer and better yet, was so, so tasty.

The only produce I have left to put to good use is a bag of fresh salad greens and some of Oxford Farms beets. This evening I plan to do a light salad starting with the greens topped with the roasted beets, toasted pecans and some Chevre from Haystack Goat Dairy. Oh and possibly a honeycrisp apple from First Fruits. Delish!