In Our Summer 2016 Issue

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

As many of you know I wear two hats, soon to be three! I publish Edible Columbus and I run The Seasoned Farmhouse cooking school in Clintonville. Soon we will be opening Flowers and Bread, an idea my friend Sarah Lagrotteria and I dreamt up to continue celebrating life’s simple pleasures, bread, flowers and good coffee.

One of the most special things we do at The Seasoned Farmhouse is our 30-week French cooking course where eight students a session cook with us for 30 weeks. One of my students, Laura Zimmerman, recently shared a really special idea with us after a day spent baking cakes. She introduced us to the idea of a House Journal.

Laura lives in a 1931 Clintonville house, whose previous owner, Gladys Bolon Cooper, kept a house journal to which there is online access. Gladys was a prolific baker, and she and Laura have some common interest. Laura reads the journal all the time to know what happened in her house many years before.

From Gladys’ Journal

“Friday, September 29th, 1939

“Spent the morning baking fancy cookies to take to Capital University. I was on committee with Mrs. Buch and Mrs. Bez. Both were unable to come so Mrs. Schaff and Mrs. Wildemuth served with me. Three kinds of cookies, rainbow ice, coffee and nuts. We served thirty-two. Enjoyed the afternoon. Cost each of us $1.61 besides the cookies. In the evening Bill took Jean Moore to football game. Very rainy, he came in with Charles’ coat soaked through.”

“Saturday, September 30th, 1939

“I forgot one big thing on yesterday’s notes. Much to my surprise Charles brought me home a new Sunbeam mixer. Today I baked a cake (using new mixer), and two pies and cleaned the house. Bridge club coming, prizes, two blue vases. Refreshments, apple pie a la mode. Bill Walter won first prize and Lucille won second.”

Our summer cover still life also features a very special artist—Carol Stewart. She graciously let us feature one of her paintings, “Pink Painting, Red Zinnias.” It reminds us of a beautiful happy summer day spent arranging a lovely table, picking flowers from the garden and enjoying a memorable meal with loved ones. You can learn more about Carol’s story and her paintings on page 43

I hope Gladys’ home journal and Carol’s glimpse of beauty inspire you to create and record some special moments of your own this summer.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Let me be frank. People often assume I eat out at the best restaurants all the time—that as a food editor and writer I’m living the high life of good food 24/7. And while that occurs a handful of times over the course of a year (and I am grateful when it does) most days you’ll find me in my kitchen preparing a simple dish for one, or cooking with my family for many, or at the farmers market talking with the farmers. It’s not romantic. It’s real. As an artist, I live like the farmers do. I make a modest living. I work for what I need. And I treat plants, food and the people and places that grow them with that same humility, care and love for the life force they all share with me.

Small batches. Simple plates. Experience over excess. Adventures defined by terroir—the taste of a place. This is what matters at my table and in my heart. And this is what our summer issue highlights—rugged individuals and missions that thrive off of their labors of love, hard-earned sense of individualism and pride of place.

North County Charcuterie has done the hard work to bring hand-cured meats using local pork and ingredients to Central Ohio (page 24). Read their story and find them at the Worthington Farmers Market this summer. We shine the light on the Ohio Cheese Guild and hope it inspires you to find your favorite artisan Ohio cheese because you can—our Ohio cheese makers have much to offer these days (page 33). To complement a summer picnic of local charcuterie and cheese, enjoy a healthy take on soda from fermentation expert Janine Harris Degitz as she shares her recipe for naturally fermented sodas (page 19).

Speaking of all things brewed, there’s a new brewery in Athens—Little Fish Brewing Company—crafting up homegrown beers with rustic flavors (page 40). We also introduce you to Bon Appétit Appalachia (page 38) and the Ohio Buckeye Trail (page 36)—two beautiful resources and regions for you to design your own local getaway this season.

When it’s blazingly hot outside, the quiet chill of home calls. So recipe editor Sarah Lagrotteria shares her recipes for Yogurt Popsicles and a mouth-watering Basil BLT (page 8). And our feature story about food stylist Bridget Henry and her food-loving family offers an opportunity to make the Peruvian version of empanadas (page 46). Yes, you bake them for 30 minutes, but it’s worth it.

For wellness tips beyond the home, our “Edible Wellness” columns offer insights into what restorative summer foods to eat (page 14) and a non-profit organization called Hopewell Therapeutic Farm in Mesopotamia, Ohio, that invites people with mental illnesses to stop, restore and get their lives back on track by reconnecting with the Earth (page 12).

While our food stories nourish the body, our food-for-thought features nurture the mind. We are in a particular moment in history where food waste is becoming renewable energy (pages 30 and 33), hospitals are working with farmers (page 52) and the first food safety regulations in 75 years are arriving this year, impacting the farmers you buy from at the farmers market every Saturday (page 58). Sit down with these stories and take your time. Consider where you are in the food chain and how you play your part.

I’ve come to accept that these food issues don’t have to be a crisis. They can be opportunities. We can act on them through love, not hate. As the poet Mary Oliver advises: “You do not have to be good./ You do not have to walk on your knees/ for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting./ You only have to let the soft animal of your body/ love what it loves.”

Readers Write

We here at Edible Columbus love hearing what you think of our magazine and what appeals to you season-by-season. We’re including a new section in the magazine moving forward featuring your words about our stories for all to read and be inspired by.

Our first letter comes from the Ohio author and farmer, Gene Logsdon. He writes: “Colleen, I want to thank you profusely for reprinting something from my Gene Everlasting book. I felt particularly complimented because I think very highly of the edible family of magazines and give them praise in print every chance I get. You guys are the best voice for the new artisanal farming movement out there. Keep up your good work.”

Send us a letter at P.O. Box 21-8376, Columbus, Ohio 43221, or email us at info@ediblecolumbus.com. You can always find us online on Twitter @ediblecbus, Facebook at “Edible Columbus” and Instagram @ediblecolumbus.

We look forward to reading and sharing your words in our next issue!