The holidays always feel too short and before we knew it, we were back in the office working on our Spring Issue, HOME. It’s a strange juxtaposition — to find oneself living in winter but planning for spring, though that’s what those who grow our food do every season: plan for the one to follow.
Over the break, I spent some time researching food trends for 2024 to see how they might align with the stories we want to tell. Though we probably won’t run an article about meal-flavored cocktails (yes, that is a predicted trend this year), soup has been declared the ‘dish of the year’ by the New York Times and I, for one, never tire of soup for supper, lunch, or a midday snack. Get a jump on this trend and make a comforting bowl of Apple-Butternut Squash Soup this weekend (bonus: it’s vegan!) and serve it in a sourdough bread bowl.
An ongoing trend is the increasing availability of low abv or n/a cocktail options. Whether you’re participating in Dry January or just looking to stay hydrated during a night out, we’ve got you covered. Our Refreshed January Round-Up features n/a options throughout the region, crafted by professionals who put just as much thought and care into a mocktail as they do an espresso martini. Have a favorite establishment we missed? Tag us in a post and we’ll add it to the list.
Welcome to the Edible Blue Ridge newsletter that brings you food stories from our region and beyond. You're receiving this email because you've purchased a magazine subscription—thank you!—or you signed up via our online form. If you need to opt out at any time, there's a link at the bottom. We're glad you're here.
Thanks for reading, happy eating, and enjoy your weekend,
Lisa - Publisher & Editor
EVENTS
Have an event you’d like us to share? Email: info@edibleblueridge.com
1.13 Speakeasy Prohibition Dinner Gala - Waynesboro
1.13 Cupcake Decorating - Staunton
1.14 Blues Brunch - Harrisonburg
1.19 International Wine Festival - Roanoke
1.19-1.28 Restaurant Week - Roanoke
1.21 Perfect Pasta: A Culinary Class - Charlottesville
1.26 Roanoke ‘Hot Ones’ - Roanoke
1.29-2.04 Restaurant Week - Charlottesville
MORE TO CHEW ON
Would you eat this soup 🍲 for 450 days straight? - bon appétit
🚜 Combating high costs, farmers form equipment cooperatives - from Civil Eats
Burt’s Bees and Hidden Valley collab on a new flavor of lip balm 👄 - EATER reports
WHAT WE’RE COOKING: Soups!
POEM OF THE WEEK
Butter By Elizabeth Alexander My mother loves butter more than I do, more than anyone. She pulls chunks off the stick and eats it plain, explaining cream spun around into butter! Growing up we ate turkey cutlets sauteed in lemon and butter, butter and cheese on green noodles, butter melting in small pools in the hearts of Yorkshire puddings, butter better than gravy staining white rice yellow, butter glazing corn in slipping squares, butter the lava in white volcanoes of hominy grits, butter softening in a white bowl to be creamed with white sugar, butter disappearing into whipped sweet potatoes, with pineapple, butter melted and curdy to pour over pancakes, butter licked off the plate with warm Alaga syrup. When I picture the good old days I am grinning greasy with my brother, having watched the tiger chase his tail and turn to butter. We are Mumbo and Jumbo’s children despite historical revision, despite our parent’s efforts, glowing from the inside out, one hundred megawatts of butter.
“Butter” by Elizabeth Alexander. From Body of Life, published by Tia Chucha Press. Copyright 1996 Elizabeth Alexander. Used by permission of the author.
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