Letter From The Publisher: Winter 2017

When people ask me to describe a Bay Area winter, I often speak in terms that don’t sound much like a winter at all. Cold snaps, crisp blue skies and periodic waves of rain—yes, we hope rain. Farmers markets continue to thrive year-round with brilliant displays of greens, cool weather crops and root vegetables. And bright, ripe oranges dot the trees, ready to be picked, squeezed and eaten. Bursts of cold-weather-filled gray are mixed with days of bright sunshine coaxing people outside into the sparkling green of what we call winter.

What’s most remarkable about our experience with winter is how little time we spend with it, but how much it clears our thinking—leaving room for what’s next and what’s to come. It’s not a winter of hibernation and waiting, but one of imagination and fresh thinking.

We’ve packed up some of those fresh stories and ideas for the New Year into this issue of Edible Silicon Valley, featuring Michelin-star chefs experimenting with the relationship between art and food and the notable top orchardists of the Valley re-imagining ways to think about growing food and their offerings. From recipes with a twist drawn from fresh and zesty ingredients of the season to a roundup of local community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs ready to deliver the ingredients to your door. You can also read about an innovative chef making salt from the waters of the Pacific Ocean, an exclusive reveal of how the talented team at Filoli Gardens makes herb-infused vinegars (secret recipe included), a snapshot of food trends and inspirations to watch in 2017 and a fun, go-to glossary for making the most of our local winter green and our march into the anticipated early spring.

This is California living at its freshest.

Enjoy!