Letter from the Editor: Summer 2021

Summertime in the Midwest is always sweet, made sweeter by the harsh winters we endure year after year. This coming summer feels especially sweet as we emerge from over a year of a kind of collective spiritual winter precipitated by Covid. While we can’t quite proclaim the pandemic to be over and done with yet, the availability of vaccines and the opportunity for outdoor socializing made possible by warmer weather means that this summer will thankfully look very different from the last one.

We have the opportunity to rediscover the joy of being together. It’s time to become reacquainted with places and experiences that were once familiar but from which we may have taken a long break. There is so much to explore right in our own backyards. We hope this travel-themed issue will inspire you to hit the road, whether it’s across the state for some tasty brews or just down the street to a restaurant you haven’t gotten around to trying yet.

The glory of the summer harvest season means that there’s also no better time to take your tastebuds on a ride. I’ve fallen into a food rut lately–you know, when you find yourself cooking the same things over and over and yet you can’t quite think of how to mix it up. It’s a miserable state, especially if you really love to eat. But working on this issue, I can feel myself starting to find my way out of it. We’re so lucky to live in an area with an amazing organic farming community and a plethora of farmers’ markets, internationally focused grocery stores and independent restaurants. Grilling up the recipes featured in Cook at Home provided such a magical blip of summer in the late spring when we tested the recipes. Laura Poe Mathes’ deep dive into pickling will have you feeling more prepared than ever to create the pickles of your dreams.

Thank you to all of our writers, photographers, advertisers and everyone involved in the creation of this issue. We wish our community of readers a safe and adventure-filled summer!

Let’s dig in.
Lauren Langtim
Managing Editor

P.S. As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback. Drop us a line at hello@ediblemadison.com.