In This Issue: Holiday, 2018

Third Coast Baked Goods treats.

Whether it’s the gales of November or the first quiet blanket of snow that covers us up one night while we sleep, we have returned once again to the mercurial transition between seasons. How wonderful it is to have so many holidays bundled up together in front of the long winter times ahead! With the harvest celebrations warmly in our bellies we can now look ahead to the traditions that celebrate heritage, the generosity and goodness within us all and the natural world from which they came.

With these thoughts in mind I am happy to welcome you to this Holiday Issue of Edible Grande Traverse. There are two pieces in here that, though very different, speak to the theme of “something for everyone”: One is the story of a bakery brought into being after a family’s health crisis prompted a creative response to the need for gluten-free, vegan foods—especially the sweet treat bakery kind of foods. The other is a piece about an online platform that facilitates inclusivity in the food professions, an industry with a long history of tight networking circles that leave little opportunity for outsiders. This effort aims to bring more people to the table.

Speaking of inclusion, in this issue we spread our arms wide to welcome the wonderful world of beers to the often wine-dominated holiday entertaining and food-pairing table. Local brewers offer suggestions and some of their favorite picks to help you find a good match for yourself and provide something special for your beer-loving family and friends. And to back it up we have a look at a local hops harvest—a September event that provides an inside peek at what makes some of those local brewskis so delicious (not to mention giving them a sense of terroir on par with our local wines!).

Our winter welcome extends to a hail to sweet potatoes—a newcomer now fully inducted to our locally grown foods list; a profile on mushroom growers bringing fresh product to markets and stores all year round; and an ode to the moms who sometimes have little time or interest in cooking but still know how to make celebrations with friends and family count.

In food, in drink and in life, things are better when we include and care about others. Cheers to the coming winter, cheers to the holidays ahead and cheers to tables laden with inclusive intent and a little something special for everyone.

Happy holidays!

- Barb