We love to think of crafting each issue of Edible Madison as if we’re planning a great dinner party. We think about the guests to invite, the topics of conversation, the energy we want to share and of course, the food! This issue feels like the best get-together yet. So come on in, take off your coat, stay a while. Let me give you a little rundown of what’s on the menu…
Can we get you something to drink? In her piece entitled Cocktail Culture, Hannah Wente introduces you to Jermey Lynch, who takes thinking local deeply to heart and to drink. While you’re chatting, be sure to nibble on our festive winter appetizer spread, put together by Lauren Rudersdorf. Let’s just say that if being cheesy is wrong, we don’t want to be right.
Then, we’ll get into some fascinating conversation about local flour and the art of sourdough baking, along with a deep dive into cranberries. Then it’ll be time to dig in to the main dish—juicy pork—and the inventive methods Enos Farms is using to create a better, more pastured pig with a lighter impact on the environment.
Once we’re done chewing on the global impacts of animal agriculture, let’s bring it back to the personal and round out the meal with a heaping helping of Greens from Qwantese Dourese Winters, whose beautiful and tear-jerking reflection on the healing power of food will fill up both your belly and your soul.
And maybe after dinner is done, it’s time for a little gift exchange. ‘Tis the season, after all! Check out some of our favorite local businesses and their wares in our holiday gift guide, back for the second year and better than ever.
Summer and fall bring a huge bounty of local harvest, so as things quiet down for the winter, sometimes the local bounty can feel less obvious and not as easy to find. But the fun is in the challenge, and what a wonder it is that it’s possible to eat local year-round, even through the frozen winter months.
I’m reminded of Odessa Piper’s recent reflection on the Dane County Farmers’ Market 50th anniversary, published on ediblemadison.com. As she recalls some of the more memorable attendees of the market, she explains, “We even got the attention of the Californians. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse came through several times to see just how us northerners managed to eat local in the snow months. (Our secret is that we know apples store crisp for month just fine at low temps, that spinach plants get tastier with frost, and that a well-bred chicken tiding over winter in deep freeze will still roast up to juicy perfection.)”
Where’s the fun if you’ve got access to a full rainbow of fresh local produce year-round, hmm? Give me the drama of four distinct seasons complete with a frigid winter!
So it has been particularly exciting seeing this issue come together. In these pages are some of the best good food stories that we’ve ever had the privilege to share. We hope you enjoy them and we wish you a cozy, festive and wonderful winter season. Cheers!
Let’s dig in!
Lauren Langtim
Managing Editor
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