Someone once summed up the whole Buddhist tradition in three short sentences: Everything changes. Everything is connected. Pay attention!
These words also describe the Monterey Bay foodshed and our thriving local food community. First, there is always change. Farmers, purveyors, restaurants (especially restaurants!) come and go. Also, the land and the sea provide a different bounty with each change of season.
Next, the deeper we look, the more connected we realize everything is. We don’t feed ourselves in a vacuum. What we eat affects the lives of others, not to mention the planet; what a joy it is when you get to eat a delicious meal and you know the farmer or fisherman or chef who made it possible. And finally, it is up to us to pay attention to these connections. Perhaps our most important goal at Edible Monterey Bay is to highlight these connections between our land, our food and the people in our local food community. The more we unveil, the richer it becomes.
In this winter’s issue, inspiring connections abound. We learn of people providing nutritious food for the shockingly great number of people who are food insecure in our three counties. We travel to a monastery in Big Sur where the monks are rediscovering the glory of food, and to the coast where there is an abundance of wild seafood for adventurous foragers who know what to look for. Local farmer Jamie Collins demystifies the persimmon, and preservationist Jordan Champagne takes us on a local citrus hunt—and provides recipes for preserving your own haul. Speaking of Champagne, we also found in our midst, Equinox Champagne Cellars, a local boutique sparkling wine maker that expertly employs the traditional méthode Champenoise—right in time for the holidays. And if you haven’t discovered them already, you’ll find much more to connect you with great local food and wonderful local people through our blog and e-newsletter; sign up to receive both at www.ediblemontereybay.com.
Edible Monterey Bay celebrated its one-year anniversary in recent months. One of our greatest rewards since starting the magazine has been to see how it has deepened the connections within our local good food community, and we held many events that brought the community out to celebrate.
We feel very fortunate to bring you this issue, and we’d like to thank everyone who contributed to it. Please enjoy the magazine, share it and don’t forget to support the wonderful folks who advertise in these pages.
Happy holidays!
Sarah Wood and Rob Fisher
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
