Summer 2023
One of my most cherished possessions is an old spiral-bound date book that my maternal grandmother, “Sweething,” used to record her favorite recipes shared by friends. Alongside her beautiful, ornate cursive are my own grade-school-script transcriptions of some of my favorite recipes of hers. I carefully unwrap this family heirloom every summer when I make her 14-day pickles, and it takes me right back to the happy hum of her busy kitchen.
As far back as I can remember I have collected cookbooks, often reading them like novels to quieten my mind before bed. My favorites share insights into the author—why they cook, and why they chose the recipes to include in the book. Just like the print version of Edible Marin & Wine Country, the visceral hit that I get from holding a cookbook in my hand is the key ingredient. My New York Times recipe app serves its purpose in a pinch, but the digital experience pales in comparison.
I learned from that same maternal grandmother the power of cooking for the people you love, and gathering them around the table. It delights my heart and soul to plan and cook meals for beloveds, friends and family, and a lot of my days are spent “cooking up” the next gathering. More recently, I have had the pleasure of being cooked for more often. Not as a part of a family or larger group, but as the one person for whom a meal is planned and prepared. Powerful stuff.
An especially bountiful crop of cookbooks and other books about food and drink have recently been published by local authors, so I was inspired to devote a large portion of this issue to the best “summer reading” assignment you may have ever been given. Move over, War and Peace …
Read them, savor them, cook through them and by all means share the fruits of your happy labors with those you love.
