This week has been spent in the kitchen. From baking off 10 dozen cookies to be sent to loved ones as holiday treats, to making rum balls for the first time, to drying citrus wheels for a winter garland, the week has been filled with warmth emanating from the oven and the warmth that comes with creating.
Having spent the week baking, I plan to do some last minute holiday shopping this weekend. If you, like me, are a procrastinator, the holidays can be stressful as we search for the right gifts for those we love. Look through our Holiday Gift Guide for some last minute, local gifts made by creators across the region. There’s something for everyone, from spice blends to wine club memberships to reclaimed custom wood art. Have a reader in your family? Purchase a subscription to Edible Blue Ridge and give the gift of home: filled with stories, recipes and lots of local love.
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
11.10-12.31 Art for Gifts Holiday Market - Staunton
12.16 Holiday Village - Orange
12.26-12.31 Festival of Trees - Bedford
12.31 NYE at Sage Bird Ciderworks - Harrisonburg
12.31 Masked Ball at Veritas Winery - Afton
12.31 NYE Jazz Age - Roanoke
MORE TO CHEW ON
Speaking of shopping small and supporting local, our More to Chew On this week is devoted to sharing the work of our talented contributors. All Edible Blue Ridge contributors are freelance and write for a myriad of local and national publications. Here are a few recent favorites:
🦪An Ode to Virginia Oysters plus an oyster stuffing recipe🦪 by Sarah Golibart Gorman- Garden & Gun
🥐Retracing Julia Child’s Footsteps Through Paris, 75 Years Later🧈 by Layla Khoury-Hanold - from Condè Nast Traveler
[from black branches overripe persimmons] ⛰️by Michelle Acker - Midway Journal
WHAT WE’RE COOKING: Holiday Cookies
POEM OF THE WEEK
Winter Solstice Chant
By Annie Finch
Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing,
now you are uncurled and cover our eyes
with the edge of winter sky
leaning over us in icy stars.
Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing,
come with your seasons, your fullness, your end.
Annie Finch, “Winter Solstice Chant” from Calendars, published by Tupelo Press. Copyright © 2003 by Annie Finch. Reprinted by permission of the author.
Looking for our Winter Issue? Order an annual subscription for $28 and have it mailed right to your door. Or, find it at one of these businesses who offer it as their gift to you. You can also read the whole issue in a flip-through digital edition (plus our archive).
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