Last March, when I was alone and jobless, I began to journal what life during the ‘rona was like. Despite the restrictions, I was still able to dine out, travel, and adapt to my circumstances (as safe as possible, of course.) When the pandemic is over, I will be submitting this blog in print form to History Colorado to add to their archives.
I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to start a food blog, but here it is! I actually kicked off the @mtngirleats Instagram in 2020 and then created a real website a year later. This is where I’m eating in Colorado with a focus on Denver.
My latest project has been blogging for my first business ever: Mountain Girl Company! It has all the items you need for your first trip into the mountains. My online boutique encompasses everything I love such as community and sustainability, as well as helpful tips on what to do in Colorado.
Enjoy Postcard Foods’ New American fare for now and later.
There’s a new reason to pull off on Exit 234 on your way to the slopes this weekend. As of January, Postcard Foods is open for business in Dumont and here to cure your mountainside munchies.
Postcard Foods isn’t a restaurant or a food truck, but a food trailer that owners Jim Abraham and Bridget Bagel use to serve hot and frozen meals prepared from a commissary kitchen in Genesee Park. Based in Denver, the two originally hail from New Jersey, where they were surrounded by diverse Peruvian, Turkish, and Italian neighborhoods and cuisine.
Bridget and Jim didn’t meet in New Jersey though. They met in Black Rock Desert, Nevada (home of Burning Man) more than two years ago while making ice cream with liquid nitrogen. They were long distance for awhile so when Bridget visited Denver, she would make freezer-friendly meals for Jim so they could eat them during FaceTime dates together.
Last year, after Bridget graduated from Boston University with a degree in gastronomy, Jim left his longtime job of selling medical parts in Denver, and the couple traveled the world and began researching new flavors for Postcard Foods. They explored countries such as Morocco and Vietnam and then traveled to 18 more states throughout the US.
The two recognized a need for convenient high country fare after noticing long wait times at restaurant ski towns and Airbnbs not having user-friendly kitchens. In addition to Postcard’s ready-to-eat menu (with options such as the zesty Philadelphia Roast Pork sandwich and the super melty Verona Chicken Pesto Panini), the takeaway frozen meals have been its best-selling order so far.
The menu will change seasonally but will always have a gluten-free, vegan, and kid-friendly option. Right now you can grab a Marrakesh Chicken Tagine (made with chicken thighs, chickpeas, olives, quinoa, and seasoned with Moroccan spices and lemon zest) or a super-filling Shepard’s Pie (Bridget’s favorite as “mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food”), which can be popped in the oven and enjoyed by the entire family. Best of all, they’re aware that meal kit packaging can be pretty wasteful so all their meals are packaged in a plant compostable fiber that’s microwave- and oven-safe.
This summer, Postcard plans to be open five days a week instead of three to better serve the hungry summer crowds. In addition to the convenient gas station right next door, there is also a Pure Harvest dispensary and possible liquor store in the works, making Postcard Foods your ideal mountain pitstop. As for future plans, Bridget says, “It would be a dream to have a brick-and-mortar as a commissary kitchen to give to ski towns. We could have different trucks [to distribute meals in] in Breckenridge and other towns.”
Grab a bite to eat for now (and later) from Postcard Foods before your next mountain adventure today.
Have one glass of Longmont Dairy Farm’s ultra creamy and delicious milk, and you’ll know why 25,000 customers on the Front Range remain loyal to this longtime institution.
The Family Business
Longmont Dairy Farm (LDF) is more than half a century old and three generations in. Founded by Reese Boatman, Karl Obluda and Jim Boyd, LDF has been delivering fresh Colorado milk to their customers’ doorsteps since 1965. In 1988, Boyd’s son and daughter-in-law, David and Susan, took over the business. Then in 2015, their children, Dan Boyd and Katie Herrmann, became the new owners.
Boyd is in charge of the mechanical side, including the processing plant, trucks and milk routes, while Herrmann oversees customer service, sales, marketing, IT and human resources. Since they took over, the two continue their grandfather’s legacy of running a sustainable and local dairy farm.
“We have big shoes to fill,” Herrmann says. “We want to keep our legacy alive. There’s a pressure to keep business going since my grandfather passed it on to my parents and now me and my brother. We have a sense of pride to keep this in the family. The Longmont Dairy Farm family has [served Coloradan] families as stewards of God, and we want to carry that forward.”
From Farm to Table
Herrmann says it takes a little over 48 hours for milk to travel from the Loveland dairy farm to a customer’s front door. The milk comes from Colorado born-and-raised Holstein cows, fed on a local diet of grain, hay and corn silage. Milk is stored in a tank until a truck transports it to the processing plant on Coffman Street.
At the processing plant, the milk is homogenized, pasteurized and bottled in recycled glass bottles. Crates of chilled milk bottles wait until nightfall when an armada of 35 delivery trucks head out at 11 p.m. and make deliveries into the wee morning hours, Sunday through Thursday. Herrmann says the company delivers about 4,000 gallons of milk daily between Loveland and Highlands Ranch.
A Convenient Coincidence
Ninety-nine percent of LDF’s business is from single-home deliveries but apartment-dwellers, fear not — milk is available for purchase at Your Butcher Frank and Longmont’s Whole Foods.
In the past, LDF has offered orange juice, eggs and butter. Since its 2018 plant expansion, LDF now delivers loaves of bread from Castle Rock’s Bread in the Box, cold brew coffee and fresh iced tea sourced by Boulder’s Silver Canyon Coffee and, more recently, Denver’s Prefare chicken and pizza meal kits.
Modern technology has made it more convenient for grocery delivery services. It’s expected the U.S. online grocery market will experience multi-billion dollar growth over the next few years. Regardless of market trends, LDF has proven its value to Front Range families for generations.
When you sign up for milk delivery service, Longmont Dairy Farm gives you a complimentary cooler. But, if you want to take the nostalgia up a notch, LDF also offers stainless steel and wooden milk boxes. Customers can then enjoy their breakfast with a glass of milk, free of antibiotics and rBST growth hormones.
Once you’re finished with your bottle, don’t toss it in the recycle bin. Instead, leave it in the cooler (or milk box) so the delivery driver can take it back to the plant to be washed, sanitized and used again.
Community Service
Since LDF launched the Milk Caps for Mooola program in 2012, it has collected 7 million milk caps and donated $350,000 to 350 participating elementary schools along the Front Range. Herrmann says with that money, students are able to access new technology, music programs and field trips.
“The Spirit of Longmont” Rafe Ropek, 2009 Photo courtesy of the City of Longmont
In the city of Longmont, residents have plenty of places to get outside and enjoy nature, including 41 parks containing a total of 2,242 acres.
“Longmont puts a lot of pride into the park system,” says Kathy Kron, Longmont Parks and Natural Resources senior project manager. “When it comes to having a variety of parks, we have neighborhood, nature and greenway parks.
“It’s a neat aspect because you can get lost in nature without having to leave town.”
And as long as you’re lost in nature, here are a few of the things you can do before you find your way back home:
Bird watching: It’s common to see osprey, bald eagles and a wide variety of hawks and other raptors. Many species of smaller birds such as chickadees, finches, blue jays, doves and woodpeckers are also common. Near evening or early morning be on the lookout for wild turkeys. And while harder to find, rare species such as the burrowing owl, which can be found near prairie dog colonies, do appear from time to time. When water is present, expect to see cormorants, American white pelicans, great blue herons, a wide variety of ducks and Canada geese.
Wildlife encounters: While most animals in Longmont are of the small and furry variety — rabbits, prairie dogs, weasels and the like — larger animals such as beaver, coyotes and deer are sometimes encountered. And if you venture west to Longmont’s Button Rock Preserve (west of Lyons), you’ll get the chance to see mountain lion and bear.
Art viewing: Some of Longmont’s parks have wonderful nature-inspired art. So why not take in a little culture on your next hike with art including these pieces:
“The Spirit of Longmont” This installation — created by Rafe Ropek in 2009 — can be spotted on southwest Diagonal Highway. The 48 leaves alternate from yellow to green to represent Longmont’s agricultural roots, while the sphere in the middle calls to the future.
“Dawson Silverwood” Steve Jensen, 2003 Photo courtesy of the City of Longmont
“Dawson Silverwood” Located at Lake McIntosh, Steve Jensen’s aluminum sculpture, created in 2003, contains inscriptions by students about their hopes for the future.
“A Lady and a damsel” Built in 2019 by Amanda Willshire, this towering structure is made from recycled bike parts, an old Volkswagen hood, and golf clubs; 210 Ken Pratt Blvd., on the St. Vrain River Trail.
There’s plenty more where those came from, including all along the St. Vrain Greenway. But we know half the fun is when you discover such art on your own, so we’ll keep the list short.
So, now that you know what to do, let’s take a look at some of the great places to do them right in your back yard.
Claire Lardizabal 