Tuija Nordstrom started selling mustard made from her mother's recipe only last May. On March 15, a mere 10 months later, she took home a gold medal in the Worldwide Mustard Festival, a competition dominated by such major players as Grey Poupon, Colman's and Plochman's.

Nordstrom just returned to Fort Collins after a trip to the Napa Valley to pick up her prize in the highly competitive "sweet hot" category for Anija's Finnish Style Spreadable Spicy Mustard.

"It was a fantastic experience," she said. "It was nice to be the center of attention in such a prestigious crowd. And I realized that this honor will be associated with my product from now on."

The same mustard already had earned a third-place Scovie Fiery Food award in condiments.

She named her home-based business after her mother, who still lives in Nordstrom's hometown of Tampere, Finland. Nordstrom started cooking up batches of mustard shortly after coming to America and settling in Fort Collins six years ago. Soon she was giving so much to friends as gifts that she realized there might be enough demand to support a business.

So she quit her job as a researcher in a Fort Collins laboratory and discovered that she loved working for herself and staying home with her sons Arthur, 6, and Emil, 9.

Nordstrom guessed correctly that there would be lots of demand for her products. She's only now restocking after selling out completely at Christmas. To order Anija's Finnish Style Spreadable Spicy, Twice Bitten Spicy or Zazzy Lime mustard, go to Nordstrom's Web site at anijas.com, call 1-888-428-3358, or, if you can wait a few months, look for her at the Southlands and Civic Center farmers' markets this summer.

• For a different farmers' market preview, check out the free tasting at Goodness to Go from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The store at 1712 E. Sixth Ave., 303-377-6500, features a year- round showcase of products sold at Colorado farmers' markets, and will offer tastes of quiche, sauces, tamales, baked goods and more.

• Boulder-based Tea Spot has just gone national through Wild Oats stores. Until now, distribution of the loose-leaf specialty teas has been limited to the Rocky Mountain region. Now reaching the shelves of 72 Wild Oats stores: organic blends Boulder Breakfast, Boulder Blues, Earl of Grey, Mango Tango, Meditative Mind and Red Rocks. They're priced at about $10 for a 3-ounce tin, which makes 30 to 50 cups of tea.

Like others, the people at Tea Spot are waiting to find out what the sale of Wild Oats to Whole Foods will mean to them. Whole Foods distributes Tea Spot products only in the Rocky Mountain region.

Do you have a tip on a new food product or grocery trend? Contact Janet Simons at simonsj@RockyMountainNews.com, 303-954-2547.