Spring 2016 Issue

As the publisher and editor of a quarterly magazine that is consciously planned to arrive with the beginning of each new season of the year, my work schedule has a natural and blessed ebb and flow. But, of course, you can’t just put a magazine together right before the tides turn and have it arrive in living color just in time for the change in the weather. Always one season ahead, I often find myself a bit out of sync, looking for a free-range heritage turkey for a photo shoot in July, and garlic scapes in January.

The amazing thing is, here in Northern California our growing conditions are so exceptional that a winter market is often every bit as bursting with vibrancy as in July.

And, boy, do extraordinary food and drink artisans “grow” here, too. This past January, the 2016 winners of the Good Food Awards were announced in San Francisco by Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters and Slow Food International founder Carlo Petrini. The Good Food Awards celebrate food and drink that is not only good tasting, but also sustainably and responsibly produced.

Among the winners from across the United States, we are extremely proud to congratulate these fi ne artisan producers from right here in Edible Marin & Wine Country: Real Good Fish sustainable seafood CSA, Equator Coffees & Teas (for coffee grown on their own farm in Panama), Black Pig Meat Co., Cowgirl Creamery, The Olive Press, Wild West Ferments, Wine Forest Wild Foods, Bellwether Farms, Tomales Farmstead Creamery and Little Apple Treats. The award-winning fruits of their labors are available in our local markets year round. For more information on the Good Food Awards and a complete list of this year’s winners, visit GoodFoodAwards.org/2016-winners.

In the face of all of this abundance, we found it impossible to prune the story lines of this Spring 2016 issue into just one theme. It feels more like a great market basket bursting with stories, recipes and images that will welcome you into this new season, all the more vibrant after the glorious rains of winter. And when you are ready to pack a picnic, look no further than artist Laurie Sawyer’s wonderful “treasure map” inside this issue to find the perfect spot to savor the bounty.

Your patronage is the nourishment our local good food and drink craftspeople need to continue to grow and thrive, so head on out and eat and drink to your heart’s content.