Letter from the Editor: Fall 2020

In a region infamous for its harsh winters, many feel that summer is the most glorious time of the year. For my partner, Brian, who works from home, the coming of fall hangs over his freetime like the grim reaper. Soon there will be less and less daylight after work hours to illuminate his favorite outdoor activities. But for me, it’s a different story. I’m lucky enough to work outside on a farm. I experience hot sunny days in the shadeless expanse of a wide open field, storing up Vitamin D for winter and sweating my face off. By the end of the summer, I’ve fully experienced the season and I’m ready for a cool breeze and more squash than you can shake a stick at. There’s so much to embrace in every season and in this issue of Edible Madison.

The Spring 2020 issue marked Terese Allen’s retirement from her long-running and beloved column, Cook It Forward. We’ll miss Terese Allen’s excellent recipes and encyclopedic knowledge of Wisconsin foodways. To fill this recipe void, we’ve brought in Lauren Rudersdorf, co-owner of Raleigh’s Hillside Farm in Evansville and seasonal recipe blogger at The Leek and The Carrot. Lauren’s column, Cook at Home, will feature her own recipes as well as recipes gathered from chefs and foodies from all over our region.

We’re excited to introduce the Drink Local section, which will feature a wide range of beverage-related content from our community’s stellar pool of brewers, mixologists, wine buffs, coffee aficionados, and beverage geeks of all kinds. To kick things off, Jessica Jones of Giant Jones Brewing gives us a crash course in the art and science of pairing beer and food. Jessica is one of only 2 Advanced Cicerones in Wisconsin. Akin to a sommelier, the Cicerone® Certification Program has become the industry standard for certifying beer experts.

Finally, we welcome Monica O’Connell, baker extraordinaire and owner of Curtis and Cake in Fort Atkinson. A deeply insightful writer with a PhD in ethnomusicology in her back pocket, we look forward to her perspective on how the social, cultural, racial, economic, and historical intertwine in the food we love to eat.

I could keep going about all of the wonderful people who helped create this issue, but I have quickly run out of room. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue and to our wider community of supporters. We hope this issue helps you embrace the abundance that is fall.

Let’s dig in!

Lauren Langtim, Managing Editor

P.S. - We welcome your feedback and suggestions to help us stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape as we continue to evolve our content and offerings for Edible Madison.