In Issue #31

HOOSIER THOUGHTS
 

By nature I am a nurturer. I love to create and nurture all kinds of things: paintings, gardens, photos and especially food. Year after year I have thrown myself naturally into conversations where I invite people to tell me a story about themselves, something meaningful, something to which they relate. Oftentimes with me it has something to do with food because I am known for Edible Indy.

I am also known, however, as a listener. Several of the stories in this issue were shared with me over a cup of tea, randomly sitting at a table, on a phone call, or even at the farmers market. These stories are real and resonated deeply with me, and I felt I had to find a way to bring them together to share them with you.

Winter is a time for reflecting, a time to cherish those moments from one year going into the next, a time to focus on the now. Over the next few months you will see Edible Indy become more of a creator with some significant changes. In 2019, we want to dive deep into the stories of our community, addressing what the future of food looks like and how we can make an impact in our community. We ask you to continue your support of our storytelling and to continue to reach out to us with your stories as we are the ears of our community and you are the ones to whom we want to listen. Share your stories directly with me at jennifer@edibleindy.com. I am listening.

Hoosier Hugs,
Jennifer & Jeff Rubenstein

From the Editor
 

During the holidays my mom bakes her classic Christmas coffee cake, a hearty, round cake with marzipan and glaze that fills the house with the sweet aroma of dessert first thing in the morning. My parents were hippies and adopted the brown rice and tofu cuisine food writer Andrew Zimmerman chronicles in his book Hippie Food (page 9). Yet they never lost the food traditions from their heritage— French and Italian. I grew up on health food as a baby (along with Dr. Bronner’s soap and loofahs; see story on page 16) but my teens were filled with less-than-healthy dishes, like lasagna and, on special nights, coq au vin, a French classic of chicken baked in wine.

Our Winter issue travels these forgotten terrains of present to past with a look at staples for the winter kitchen—homemade breads, local cheese and wine—as well as the “hippie” food trend that was part-precursor to the bowl fad we now see everywhere (see our recommendations on page 6). How do these food movements stay and change? Who decides what gets put on the menu or in the recipe book? Our article about chefs’ journals explores the creative process of three local chefs as a look into these questions (page 26).

We’ve come far in 2018. Raise a glass and thank your food community and know in 2019 Edible Indy will be championing Indy’s best of the past and present and what Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig writes in Zingerman’s Bakehouse (page 42): “The world can use some positive perspective, a sense of collaborative achievement, respect for diverse traditions, the drive to make a positive difference.” Three cheers to that, Ari.

Eat Well, Love Well, Live Well,
Colleen