local goods to discover at the denver flea.

sometimes twitter is just the best.

While many of us have a love/hate relationship with social media, I find that outlets like twitter can be quite useful for finding out what's going on in the food world. I follow tons of local businesses, food news sites, and fellow food bloggers who are all posting the latest and greatest information on All Things Culinary. It was one of my favorite local preserves makers, Red Camper, who posted on twitter that they would be at The Denver Flea, and I was all like "What the heck is the Denver Flea? I want to go to there!"

And so we did.

hey look! local vendors as far as the eye can see. it's almost like heaven.

Even though the skies looked pretty threatening all evening, the rain clouds kept away from City Park as the crowds of Denverites milled around tent after tent of local food, beer, jewelry, clothing, furniture and more. Some of my favorite folks were there, reppin', like The Real Dill with their beautiful and delicious pickles, Svper Ordinary from The Source with their interesting and artful items, Corvus Coffee with their artisan coffee, and a newly-discovered favorite, the Bakin' Bakery truck.

donuts made with bacon fat? the answer is yes.

This magical black truck is pumping out the best donuts I've ever put in my face. Literally. I went for their Vanilla Bourbon donut, made with a cakey donut dough that's got the distinctively savory taste of bacon fat, then covered in a boozy vanilla bean glaze with little bits of bacon. We tempered our enthusiasm and got a large one to share, but I'm pretty sure I could have wolfed down an entire dozen all by myself. 

moments later, the three of us inhaled this thing like it was our last meal on earth. 

Another discovery at The Denver Flea was local jewelry maker, Native Clutter, who sells beautiful handmade and vintage jewelry (like those pretty gold earrings pictured below) which you can purchase online, or at my favorite Denver boutique, and one of the best places in town for locally made jewelry, Fancy Tiger Clothing. I also found a new preserves maker called Puff's Preserves, who makes boozy artisan jams using Colorado spirits. 

I purchased Puff's weirdly wonderful watermelon, rum & sea salt jam. Her blackberry lavender is the most popular, owner Kirsten Farabi told me, but I had to go with the watermelon because it sounded so unusual (and I'm a sucker for pretty, bright pink things). After just one taste I was already dreaming of how I wanted to eat through my jar this summer: whisked together with lime juice and tossed with fruit salad, spread onto cream cheese biscuits, melted down and mixed with a little minced jalapeño and poured over grilled chicken. And there are definitely some cocktail ideas floating around in the ol' noggin (but then again, aren't they always?).

still can't believe it didn't rain all over us. the denver flea was meant to be.

It just goes to show that Denver is a really neat place to live. After living in Colorado for over 16 years and working in the food biz for nearly 10, there are still so many cool new things to discover, and old favorites to fall in love with all over again. The Denver Flea was a great way to do that, and a fun way to spend an evening with friends! But next time I'm getting my own donut.

get your greens.

this is the story of a simple salad.

No endless chopping of vegetables.  No dressing.  Hell, you don't even need to bust out the whisk!  Because salad is awesome, and anybody who tells you different is a dirty liar who doesn't have a great simple salad recipe in their repertoire (promptly point them toward this one, please).

now that's a sexy salad.

Truth is, all you really need is a few great ingredients. In this case, I used some absolutely gorgeous, peppery mizuna from Oxford Gardens, a nearby farm run by geeky soil scientists who grow some of the most delicious vegetables I've ever put in my face. I also used my favorite local chèvre, made by my favorite local goat farmer slash cheese maker, Andrea, of Broken Shovels Farm. The other key ingredient is preserved lemons. These are not always easy to find (although if you happen to live in Denver you can get them at Marczyk Fine Foods) but they are, in fact, incredibly easy to make.  And boy, are they worth it with their bright, salty, lemony, almost otherworldly flavor that adds unbelievable depth to tons of different dishes. Lastly, some really good olive oil.  I always have the cheap stuff on the counter by the stove, to use for just about a million different things, but I keep the good stuff in the pantry and reserve it for pouring on a plate and dipping with bread, finishing soups and such, or for drizzling over sexy salads like this one.

These are all ingredients that are readily available to me, but you can use this recipe as inspiration to create something great that's easy for you, too. Another delicious combination would be arugula, roquefort, and salt-cured olives. Or maybe spinach, pecans and dried cherries.  Can you see the formula?  Greens + fat + concentrated flavor. All you need are three delicious things, a drizzle of good oil, salt and pepper if you like (although with this recipe, the preserved lemons already add the salt for you.  Score!) and you're riding the salad train all the way to Pleasuretown. Top it with a fried egg and you're officially my new best friend.

The best thing about a simple salad is that when you keep the right assortment of fresh vegetables, good quality fats, and flavorful pantry staples on hand, then you'll have the ability to throw one together in under five.  For reals. You can save the fancy crispy-fried shallots and julienned peppers and carrots for another day.  All of those things are delicious but they take time and effort that we cooks just don't always have.  And what's the really great news?  If you find some simple combinations that you really love, you can throw a salad together so fast you might just be tempted to... wait for it... eat more salad! So grab a big bowl and let's get started...

mizuna, chèvre and preserved lemon salad. 

4 oz mizuna, washed well and dried
2 T preserved lemon (about 1/4 lemon), finely chopped
2-3 T chèvre, kept cold until ready to use
Drizzle of olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)

In a large salad bowl, toss mizuna and preserved lemon together until combined, and the greens get a nice coating of salty, lemony goodness.  Crumble all but a couple of teaspoons of the chèvre over the salad and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Lightly toss and garnish with remaining chèvre.  Serve immediately.