FOOD FOR THOUGHT A Slice of Life
STE VEN BROWN
It has been many months since our last printed issue of Edible Santa Barbara, and we are thrilled to be back. If you missed our Summer/Fall digital issue, you can find it on our website at EdibleSantaBarbara.com. It’s well worth a read, and there are many recipes in it that are perfect for these times.
The pandemic has disrupted our lives, but it has also made us realize the importance of our homes, our families Krista Harris wearing a locally made mask from the Etsy shop IttleTings. and our community. Our new lives may find us cooking and baking like we’ve never done before, stocking and organizing our pantry and yet still craving something more. I remember in the early days of the pandemic having a dinner party on Zoom with friends who lived only a few houses or blocks away. There were nine of us in four households; as we ate dinner and sipped wine in front of our tablets and laptops, we felt connected and also wistful about what we were missing. I’ve grown as accustomed to Zoom meetings and socializing as I have to wearing a mask in public. It has become normal. Well, sort of. It’s routines that help us adjust to change and feel somewhat normal. For me, it’s the simple act of cooking dinner that has helped me get through the challenging times. I take great care in the planning and execution of each meal. I find myself reading through recipes and assembling my ingredients and equipment as a prelude to cooking. Then I give my undivided attention to prepping the ingredients and cooking, although music and occasionally singing along is acceptable multitasking. And the payoff: Along with a tasty meal, I have escaped for an hour or so into a world of the senses. I once took an art class where, after a three-hour lecture and critique, the instructor, Tom Wudl, took us into the tiny kitchen in the College of Creative Studies at UCSB, and we cooked lunch. He told us that we could learn much about art by cooking. He encouraged us to use our senses, to try new things and to appreciate the transitory nature of the creations we made. He also told us that when something didn’t turn out, whether in the kitchen or on canvas, to throw it away (or paint over it) and start over. A good lesson that I have not forgotten. As we set aside 2020 and look toward 2021, I think it will be a time of starting over. And I begin by bringing you this printed issue and wishing you all the best in the New Year.
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PUBLISHERS
Steven Brown & Krista Harris EDITOR
Krista Harris RECIPE EDITOR
Nancy Oster COPY EDITING & PROOFING
Doug Adrianson GRAPHIC DESIGN
Steven Brown & Krista Harris ADVERTISING
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Jill Johnson CONTRIBUTORS
Sandra Adu Zelli Pascale Beale Rosminah Brown Liz Dodder Krista Harris Marilyn Noble Nancy Oster Carmen Smyth Carole Topalian George Yatchisin Edible Santa Barbara® is published quarterly and distributed throughout Santa Barbara County. Subscription rate is $28 annually. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from the publisher. Publisher expressly disclaims all liability for any occurrence that may arise as a consequence
Krista Harris, Editor and Co-Publisher
of the use of any information or recipes. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your
Email us at info@ediblesantabarbara.com to let us know how you are doing and what you’d like to see us cover in the next issue. Tag us on Instagram with what you are cooking @EdibleSB. 6 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA HOLIDAY / WINTER 2020–21
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