Editor’s Mixing Bowl
W ho in the Southwestern United States has not spent most of 2022 dreaming of rain?
At Edible East Bay, we have been dreaming of rain as well as liquid pleasures like sauces and cocktails. Looking out at our gardens, we wondered how to capture the laundry greywater as liquid pleasure for the plants. Thus this issue’s stories on greywater, local spirits, and sauces. Among the latter is bagna cauda—a savory Northern Italian concoction that comes with a hearty set of rituals for blessing the end of the harvest season.
In fact, the fall season did manage to rain down quite splendidly on our heads in honors handed out at the Edible Communities annual meeting in Denver. The Best of Edible Awards acknowledge the work of 80+ hyper-local publications like this one in the United States and Canada. Entries representing selected content that appeared in these magazines in 2021 were reviewed by accomplished, award-winning writers in the food space: Barry Estabrook, Dianne Jacob, and Keia Mastrianni. Visit Edible Communities to read about all the award winners.
Edible East Bay was a winner or finalist in these categories:
- Winner: Best Digital Program – Olive Oil Heaven: a Guide to California's New Harvest
- Winner: Best Illustration – "At the Chez Panisse Sunday Market"
- Finalist: Best Cover – Summer 2021
- Finalist: Best Recipe Feature – "Sharing a Harvest of Joy," a multi-part collection of stories and recipes that runs through our Winter 2021-2022 issue.
We feel especially gratified that our nomination of StopWaste—with whom we have partnered on 39 stories and posts since 2017—succeeded in capturing the Edible Communities Sustainability Award. The recognition is for that Alameda County public agency’s work in knitting together a stupendously large number of local organizations, businesses, chefs, educators, and individuals to creatively address food (and other) waste in the county through environmental, economic, and social solutions. We know that many readers appreciate the stories, recipes, and tips that StopWaste shares with us in Edible East Bay, so when you get to "More Feast, Less Waste," stand up and give a round of applause for that important work.
Before I turn you over to the stories in this issue, I want to thank several readers (and many of our writers) who got in touch to share thoughts on the personal history stories in our Fall Harvest issue. Find some of these in our Letter to the Editor page.
One letter came from reader Evelyn Washington, whose brief missive is below. We share in her praise for the work of Dr. Gail Myers, who was featured in our Summer 2022 issue with an interview about this cultural anthropologist’s documentary film, Rhythms of the Land, which finally came out this fall. (Find out about local screenings at rhythmsoftheland.com.)
May the winter season bring plenty of rain, joy, and liquid pleasures of your choosing.
Cheryl Angelina Koehler
Editor and publisher, Edible East Bay
September 2022
Dear Editor,
I’d like to give my sincere heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Gail Myers for her incredible article on the history of African American farmers and her stupendous dedication to this (more than a) passion project. We need more angels like Dr. Myers.
Evelyn Washington
Oakland native
