In Our Summer 2016 Issue

FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to summer. Welcome to the long days, the sultry nights. Welcome back to the inland waters. Welcome back to the time of year when we most adore our local farmscapes, when fruits and vegetables are our true loves and it's all about this questions: What will ripen next?

The farmers' markets abound with color and the excited chat of the season—What's this? Oh, I love those. Can't wait to make something. My mother used to ... and when will the sweet corn be ready? Gardeners make the same chat over the neighbor's fence or at potluck barbecues. Chefs reach for the broadest palette of the year to create their daily art, masterpieces created of vibrant, fresh ingredients. And at home we glut on the simplest of pleasures, like bowls of black cherries and sandwiches made with thick, dark slices of tomato.

The summer waters beckon us: Rest here, play here, adventure here, find food. Within the waters life is teeming; great huge food webs ebb and flow below the surface as temperatures swing and currents shift. Here in Northern Michigan we love our waters perhaps more than anything else; we protect them as best we know how and are humbled by their power. In summer we are all water people.

Ahhh, summer. The summer issue of Edible Grande Traverse, is always special fun, as we can celebrate food and community in our region during the season that both are at their peak. Families gather, friends old and new share good times and great meals.

These summer pages give you fish stories and market news, food trucks and potlucks, recipes galore and restaurants to explore. In addition, our advertisers provide a directory of the delicious and engaging North—the food and drink, of course, but so much more, from swim lessons to spoken word and art gallery to yoga studio. Through our stories and our advertisers we are weaving connections that illuminate and strengthen our bay-area foodshed.

Thank you for reading and for your support, encouragement and feedback, too. Here's to summer, to protecting our waters and to eating what ripens next.

-Barb Tholin, Publisher