Local Flour • Good Gifting • Better Pork • Cocktails
Celebrating the Abundance of Local Foods in Southern Wisconsin
A member of Edible Communities
Give the gift of learning at Olbrich, for yourself or for your friends and family. Classes for all ages, January – May registraton open now.
“The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight...” ― M.F.K. FISHER 6 COCKTAIL CULTURE by Hannah Wente
GIFTS TO LOVE by Lauren Rudersdorf Sponsored Content
FLOUR ALCHEMY by Jesse Raub
FARM TO TABLE Pork with a Lighter Footprint by Jessica Jones
NOURISH Cranberries by Laura Poe Mathes
COOK AT HOME Cheese Please! by Lauren Rudersdorf
FOODWAYS An Ode to Greens by Qwantese Dourese Winters
RECIPE INDEX
Above: Forming loaves at Madison Sourdough. Photo by David Nevala.
Cover: Pastry-Wrapped Brie with Apples. See recipe on page 43. Photo by Sunny Frantz.
Sunny is an editorial and commercial photographer with a studio on the west side of Madison where she lives with her husband, their two kids and a tiny dog. She specializes in food and product photography and loves the opportunity it gives her to connect with the many wonderful businesses and entrepreneurs in Madison.
Jessica is the brewer and co-owner of Giant Jones Brewing Company, an independent, women-owned, certified organic craft brewery in Madison. She is a Grand Master Beer Judge through the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and an Advanced Cicerone®. Jessica loves barley wine and providing extremely in-depth answers to what you believed was a simple question.
Laura is a registered dietitian in private practice, focused on healing with real foods and herbs. She loves to spread knowledge and enthusiasm about great food, and teach traditional cooking and fermentation classes around the region. Originally from Missouri, Laura lives in Viroqua and now understands why cheese curds are a thing. She also loves to canoe, drink coffee and watch stand-up comedy.
Nicole is a graphic designer, photographer and artist from Madison. She enjoys being a cat mom, hiking trips, listening to podcasts, watercolor painting, and spending time with friends and family. She is also a co-founder of New Fashioned Sobriety, an alcohol-free community based in Madison which hosts monthly meetups and events.
Jesse is a writer for Serious Eats, a former coffee professional and an amateur bread baker. He lives in Madison and spends his free time attempting fussy dough-based recipes along with walking his dog.
Lauren is the voice behind the local food blog The Leek & The Carrot where she shares recipes and stories about life, food and farming. Before that, she owned Raleigh’s Hillside Farm, an organic CSA vegetable farm, with her husband Kyle. She advocates for local farms, local food and cooking with the seasons. When she’s not writing or testing recipes in her sunny kitchen, she’s probably on a trail somewhere with her daughter Lillyan.
Ray + Kelly Photography have been storytelling wedding and brand photographers since 2005. After living in Chicago and Portland, they have firmly rooted themselves and their three children in Viroqua, WI for the past 12 years. When they’re not connecting with incredible couples, artists, and business owners, Ray immerses himself in all things coffee (@rayandcoffee) while Kelly loves gathering people around their table.
Hannah grew up as a 4-H kid on the shores of Lake Michigan. She is a freelance writer and graphic designer based in Madison. In her previous role as communications director for REAP Food Group, she helped launch the new statewide Farm Fresh Atlas project and supported farm-to-school and farm-to-business efforts. When she’s not gardening, cooking or baking, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or paddling the nearest lake.
Qwantese is a writer and doula known lovingly as “the food doula” for her incorporation of foodways into her practice. She is also a farmer turned gardener who teaches Wisconsinites all about how to grow veggies and tend to their gardens on the PBS Wisconsin show Let’s Grow Stuff
MANAGING EDITOR
Lauren Langtim
PUBLISHERS
Christy McKenzie Cricket Redman BUSINESS DIRECTOR Christy McKenzie
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Cricket Redman
SALES DIRECTOR Lauren Rudersdorf
LAYOUT & PRODUCTION Cricket Redman Nicole Peaslee
COPY EDITOR Andrea Debbink
CULINARY ADVISOR Christy McKenzie
SOCIAL & DIGITAL PRODUCER Lauren Rudersdorf
ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIPS Lauren Rudersdorf laurenr@ediblemadison.com
DRIFTLESS REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Kristen Wagner kristen@ediblemadison.com
CONTACT US Edible Madison 4313 Somerset Lane Madison, WI 53711 hello@ediblemadison.com
Subscriptions are available beginning at $35 annually. Learn more at ediblemadison.com/subscribe
We want to hear your comments and ideas. To write to the editor, use the mailing address above or email hello@ediblemadison.com
Edible Madison is published quarterly by Forager Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this pub lication may be used without written permission by the publisher. ©2022
Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.
VISIT US ONLINE AT EDIBLE MADISON.COM
We love to think of crafting each issue of Edible Madison as if we’re planning a great dinner party. We think about the guests to invite, the topics of conver sation, the energy we want to share and of course, the food! This issue feels like the best get-together yet. So come on in, take off your coat, stay a while. Let me give you a little rundown of what’s on the menu…
Can we get you something to drink? In her piece "Cocktail Culture," Hannah Wente introduces you to Jeremy Crooks Lynch, who takes "thinking local" deeply to heart and to drink. While you’re chatting, be sure to nibble on our festive winter appetizer spread put together by Lauren Rudersdorf. Let’s just say that if being cheesy is wrong, we don’t want to be right.
Then we’ll get into some fascinating conversation about local flour and the art of sourdough baking along with a deep dive into cranberries. After that it’ll be time to dig into the main dish—juicy pork—and the inventive methods Enos Farms is using to create a better, more pastured pig with a lighter impact on the environment.
Once we’re done chewing on the global impacts of animal agriculture, let’s bring it back to the personal and round out the meal with a heaping helping of greens from Qwantese Dourese Winters, whose beautiful and tear-jerking reflection on the healing power of food will fill up both your belly and your soul.
After dinner is done, it’s time for a little gift exchange. ‘Tis the season, after all! Check out some of our favorite local businesses and their wares in our holiday gift guide, back for the second year and better than ever.
Summer and fall bring a huge bounty of local harvest, so as things quiet down for the winter, sometimes the local bounty can feel less obvious and not as easy to find. But the fun is in the challenge, and what a wonder it is that it’s possible to eat local year-round, even through the frozen winter months.
I’m reminded of Odessa Piper’s recent reflection on the Dane County Farmers’ Market's 50th anni versary published on ediblemadison.com. As she recalls some of the more memorable attendees of the market, she explains, “We even got the attention of the Californians. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse came through several times to see just how us northerners managed to eat local in the snow months. (Our secret is that we know apples store crisp for months just fine at low temps, that spinach plants get tastier with frost, and that a well-bred chicken tiding over winter in deep freeze will still roast up to juicy perfection.)”
Where’s the fun if you’ve got access to a full rainbow of fresh local produce year-round, hmm? Give me the drama of four distinct seasons complete with a frigid winter! It has been particularly exciting seeing this issue come together. In these pages are some of the best good food stories that we’ve ever had the privilege to share. We hope you enjoy them and we wish you a cozy, festive and wonderful winter season. Cheers! Let's Dig In!
Lauren Langtim, Managing Editor
Be sure to check out ediblemadison.com for exclusive online content, like Local Upstarts, a new quarterly digital column that celebrates local entrepreneurs who have participated in the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation's UpStart program, a free entrepreneurship program for women and people of color.
This winter, we profile Meghan Chua, founder of East Side Cakes which offers custom vegan cupcakes and cakes.
Nestled on the banks of the Sugar River in Paoli, Wisconsin, Seven Acre Dairy Company is a lovingly restored historic dairy factory reimagined as a destination for dairy lovers, modern travelers, and discerning diners.
There’s someone you need to know if you want to commune with the cocktail gods: Jeremy Crooks Lynch. He has an ultra-local yet simple approach to flavors and ingredients that will take your home cocktails up a notch or 50 on the “best cocktail ever” scale.
Jeremy Crooks Lynch owns a farm and zero-waste catering company with his wife Erin. Enos Farms & Catering does weddings and gatherings. Jeremy’s love of crafting cocktails started with a desire to decrease waste and source ingredients as close as possible to their farm in Spring Green.
“We were going to weddings,” says Jeremy, “and they would hire these mobile bartenders. They’d bring in 10 bottles of liquor and cases of soda pop. At the end of the night, there
would be bags and bags of empty cans. I thought, ‘This is silly. If you put this in a keg, it’s reusable.’”
He’s served handmade cocktails as part of Enos Farms & Catering for the past decade. Classic Wisconsin fruits, herbs and vegetables like melon, basil and tomato are transformed into cocktail bases and garnishes. Any herbs he can’t find locally he orders from Oregonbased Mountain Rose Herbs.
“The main thing is looking at history, always trying to reduce the radius of sourcing,” Jeremy says about creating new cocktails. “We try to get everything as absolutely local as possible.”
Enter the melon old-fashioned. Cherries are available in Door County, but they’re a four-hour drive from Jeremy’s farm. So during a good melon crop year he decided to make melon balls and preserve them in spiced syrup just like maraschino cherries.
Illustrations by Cricket RedmanSometimes it’s best to not fix what isn’t broken. That’s Jeremy’s thought on the Original Coca-Cola recipe, which was introduced in 1886. It is said that the Original recipe contained cinnamon, orange, neroli, nutmeg, cilantro and lemon oils, a binding alcohol, caramel and simple syrup. In lieu of neroli, which grows only in parts of the Middle East and Asia, Jeremy uses prickly ash harvested from their farm. It’s a distant cousin of neroli and the rind of the prickly ash berry looks and acts like a miniature orange. The flavor, according to Jeremy, is on par with neroli—alluring, confusing, sour, bitter, bright and sweet. It is these delectable flavors and light orange color that stand out so clearly to me today, a full month after the Enos Farms Harvest Moon Dinner. It was there Jeremy served a simple rum and homemade cola made with State Line Distillery rum.
Other delicious mixers include local apple cider, honey and sorghum.
“We don’t have a lot of cane sugar sources in the Midwest so we use maple, honey, grape or apple juices,” says Jeremy. “Over the years, different vintners press grapes and have sold us just the grape juice to sweeten cocktails. We’re doing everything we can to keep it as local as possible. I’ve even juiced watermelon and reduced it over a very low temperature to concentrate the sugars and used that to sweeten cocktails. Anything to not import sugar cane.”
Thank you, Jeremy, for your endless quest to find a closer and simpler answer to what we drink.
“We don’t have a lot of cane sugar sources in the Midwest so we use maple, honey, grape or apple juices.”
— Jeremy Crooks Lynch
Spiced Fruit Garnish for Melon Old-Fashioned (and more!)
Put this recipe in your pocket for next summer, or use the last of this year’s pears!
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups water
3 cinnamon sticks
4-8 slices fresh ginger root
1-2 teaspoons of allspice, nutmeg and/or anise (optional)
2 pounds of local fruit (melon, berries, pears—whatever’s in season)
1 cup sweetener of choice
DIRECTIONS
1. Simmer the water, cinnamon and ginger and additional spices for 15-20 minutes.
2. Use a melon baller to scoop fruit into balls or dice into ¾-inch cubes. Small berries can stay whole, large strawberries can be cut in half.
3. Remove the water from the stove and strain out the spices. Pour the water back into the pot and
return it to a low simmer. Add sweetener of choice and stir until well dissolved.
4. Add the fruit and simmer on low for 4-6 minutes.
5. Pour the fruit and syrup into a mason jar and refrigerate. Make sure the fruit is fully submerged in the syrup.
6. Use the fruit in place of cherries in your favorite cocktail or mocktail.
NOTES: Try sugar, honey, maple or sorghum for the sweetener. Add an extra ¼ cup if using a liquid sweetener. As the fruit gets eaten, use the syrup to sweeten any spice hungry cocktails that use simple syrup, or reduce the syrup over low heat to make a glaze for pound cake.
FOR SYRUP: 1 cup fresh aronia berries (chokeberries), leaves and stems removed
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
FOR COCKTAIL: White wine, 100 mL per drink
WiscoPop! ginger beer, 100 mL per drink
Fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS
Add syrup to the bottom of a glass to desired sweetness. Stir in white wine and ginger beer. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
Make it a mocktail: skip the wine.
Aronia Berry Spritzer
For a little inspiration, we asked barkeeps from several local establishments what their go-to winter cocktail ingredients are this season.
“We've been experimenting with it in whisky drinks. It pairs really well with lemon and apple cider.”
Mary D’Alton, Owner Convivio and The Patron Saint Speak Easy, Spring Green
“Averna Amaro mixes beautifully with apple cider, and we serve it in a cocktail with spiced pear liqueur and un-aged pear brandy. This herbal liqueur has a wonderful bittersweet flavor profile of orange, honey, licorice and coffee. It’s delicious sipped neat on a cold evening after dinner as well.”
Samuel Brown, Partner Leopold’s, Madison
“In early fall I love pulling the last of what’s in my garden to create various tinctures and oils which can inspire a range of cocktails and infusions throughout the year. Lemon balm and caraway thyme are my current favorite garden-to-cocktail herbs.”
“The flavor profiles of cinnamon, clove, dark chocolate and plum are very enticing for a cold winter day. The Muskellounge serves a spirit-forward classic cocktail called the Betsy Ross. This sipping cocktail of brandy, Ruby Port, orange and bitters will warm you up on even the coldest of days.”
Robert Freeman, Bar Manager Muskellounge and Sporting Club, Madison
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A COCKTAIL TO CELEBRATE THE WINTER ISSUE!
WINTER 2022 51
Come find some warmth and good company and let's talk about your favorite cocktail recipes.
FEBRUARY 3, 3PM UNTIL 6PM - AT CONVIVIO'S PATRON SAINT, SPRING GREEN
Guest Mixologists - Door Prizes - Mixer Specials for Mocktails and Cocktails Join our email list and follow us on social for event details coming in early January. We'll save you a seat!
“As we head into fall and winter, I really love to embrace citrus as it comes into season. I enjoy the bittersweet depth it adds to cocktails, while adding a lightness that isn't always present in colder months. Grapefruit in particular is compatible with winter flavors such as baking spices.”
“Right now Gib’s community cocktail starts with Concord grape juice. We get the grapes from Morren Orchards in fall then juice ‘em and freeze to use in winter. You could go any number of ways with the juice, and currently our cocktail pairs it with gin, lemon, Swedish punsch, Stateline aperitivo and Bolivar bitters from Bitter Cube in Milwaukee.”
Gil Altschul, Owner Gib’s, Bandit & Grandpa’s Pizzeria, Madison
“It's a great way to add some depth to a Manhattan and just makes the drink taste even better on a cold winter evening.”
John Mleziva, Owner Stateline Distillery, Madison ...............................................
“With its cardamom and smokiness, it's a great mixer option. Plus you can tell yourself it helps with digestion!”
“There are so many fun types of bitters these days to add depth to traditional cocktails and low ABV cocktails. You can add bitters to almost any cocktail for a more unique and complex flavor. I particularly love Angostura bitters.”
Dan Fox, Owner Heritage Tavern, Madison
Local beverage experts tell us where they’d like to cozy up with a cocktail this winter:
“ MADURO is one of the coziest, most inviting bars in Madison to enjoy a cocktail during the colder months. My second choice is LE TIGRE LOUNGE, a wonderful intimate bar to meet friends at, order a dirty martini, and put a buck in the jukebox full of old 45s of Rosemary Clooney, Sinatra and Patsy Cline.”
—Samuel Brown, Leopold’s
“With a young kiddo I don’t get out too much, mostly enjoying drinks we bring home from Bandit, but Katie and I love the TIP TOP as it’s just a few blocks from home.”
—Gil Altschul Gib’s, Bandit & Grandpa’s Pizzeria
“My wife and I find ourselves on the way to MINT MARK anytime we can treat ourselves. We like to switch it up with mezcal in their sangrita…and don’t skip the skillet cookie!”
—Robert Freeman, Muskellounge
“When I have free time to go out and grab a cocktail, you'll find me at ROBIN ROOM. I love ordering any classic cocktail at RR. The amazing bartenders there have introduced me to many a new spirit to try in old recipes. Also a great spot to kick back and have a beer and a shot. A true neighborhood (and industry) spot!”
—Kelsey Burkett, Sardine
“Picking one favorite spot in Madison is impossible so I’ll list two: 1) Sunday nights at the CARIBOU. Winslow is a national treasure. MINT MARK is the total package. I always leave feeling refreshed and inspired.”
—Ryan Huber, Oz By Oz and Settledown Tavern
GIB'S always has a great vibe. I like ordering their seasonal cocktails that utilize fun local ingredients in a dynamic way that I often would not think of. The folks at Gib's also do a great job fundraising for many local nonprofit organizations throughout the year.”
—Dan Fox, Heritage Tavern
“When I take a break from our own place, I love to visit our neighbors, HOMECOMING and CONVIVIO, here in Spring Green, both of which make great craft cocktails.”
Slow
—Michael Broh
Poke Lounge & Cabaret
These all-natural sauces are flavor-packed, truly unique, and make mealtime super simple yet still super interesting. Plus, a purchase of Madame Chu's sauces supports a true community force. This woman is full of life, generous and enthusiastic with a deeply collaborative spirit.
Lauren R’s Pick • madame-chu.com • $
There’s nothing like a good hot sauce when your food needs a little extra something, and Ernie’s delivers a kick unlike any other. Although if heat is not your thing, the mild version’s complex, deep flavor is still amazing. And since you can put it on almost anything, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Find it at Willy Street Co-op, Metcalfe’s or the West Side Community Market.
Lauren L’s Pick • ernieskicksauces.com • $
Handcrafted and all-natural, these shower steamers transform your shower into an aromatic spa experience with earthy fragrance blends that help with mental clarity and feeling grounded. Each box contains four shower steamers.
Nicole’s Pick • thulisanaturals.com • $$
A Well Worn Story is a woman-owned business that makes hand-sewn, made-to-order canvas and leather bags in New Glarus. All materials are sourced in the USA. The bags have a beautiful, timeless design and they’re built to last. Visit the storefront in New Glarus or place a custom order online.
Kristen’s Pick • wellwornstory.com • $$$$
As the weather turns cold, dry and windy, it's helpful to have products that moisturize your skin. The pitta serum contains hyaluronic acid and nasya oil keeps nostrils moist. The products smell truly heavenly—salve for both the body and mind! Locally owned and made in Dane County.
Cricket’s Pick • kosaspa.com • $—$$
When you hold a Sylva spoon in your hand, you have a sense you’re holding something special, an object that someone took great care in creating. Good vibes to bring to your kitchen! Shop their assortment of beautifully handcrafted wooden utensils and vessels online, or even sign up for an online wood carving lesson.
Christy’s Pick • sylvaspoon.com
• $$
Convivio is a must-stop shop on any trip to Spring Green, full of potential gifts for the hosts of your next holiday party. Stop by the espresso bar and browse their expertly curated collection of items for the home. Choose from a variety of fine wine and spirits, including remarkable local wine from American Wine Project in Mineral Point. / Convivio · 122 N Lexington St, Spring Green
01 Ornaments and other magical holiday decor. $11-$20. 02 Cutting Board by master craftsman Ed Wohl of Ridgeway. $35-$250. 03 Beeswax Candles sourced from a woman-owned business in upstate New York. $26-30. 04 Table Linens Festive tableware of all kinds for your winter gatherings. $24. 05 Portuguese Dishes Beautiful, highquality dishes to help you set a gorgeous holiday table. $10.50-$20. 06 American Wine Project Incredibly complex, low-intervention wines made locally in Mineral Point. $25-$32.
Mount Horeb has more small-town charm than you can shake a stick at. Main Street is the perfect place to while away an afternoon and find gifts that you won’t find anywhere else. Swing by McFee on Main, The Little Marketplace and Telsaan Tea, or shop online on any of their websites! McFee on Main · mcfeeonmain.com / The Little Marketplace · thelittlemarketplace.com / Telsaan Tea · telsaan.co
01 Hummingbird Short Stake Goes into the ground or in planters, enhancing your plantings. THE LITTLE MARKETPLACE. $62. 02 Iron Snowflake Trivet Solid cast-iron snowflake trivet perfect for any holiday table. MCFEE ON MAIN. $19. 03 Barebones Classic Natural Cowhide Gardening Gloves Maximum comfort, outdoor versatility and quality protection. THE LITTLE MARKETPLACE. $26. 04 Marble Cheese Board with Spreader The ideal gift for the entertainer
on your list, teamed with a package of napkins, you’ll be invited back everytime. MCFEE ON MAIN. $29. 05 Balsam Noir Candle Stoke cozy winter vibes with this eco-friendly soy wax candle with cotton wick. THE LITTLE MARKETPLACE. $38. 06 Apoca Ceramic Teapot Made to last. Available in Sedona red (pictured) and blue. 32oz. TELSAAN TEA. $35. 07 Vandehoney This is totally raw, seasonal, artisan honey from Black Earth, WI. TELSAAN TEA. $12-16. 08 Luxury Safety Matches The Bee luxury matchbox is an Archivist classic, aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be
able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway. Made in United Kingdom LITTLE MARKETPLACE. $13. 09 Stainless Steel Tea Infuser The simplest tea infuser to use, easy to clean, with very fine holes for all types of tea. TELSAAN TEA. $8. 10 Farmhouse Weekend Cookbook The staff’s favorite cookbook, a go-to for any occasion. MCFEE ON MAIN. $30. 11 Herbal Chai This best-selling signature blend of spices is heavy on cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove. TELSAAN TEA. $7-$46.
Longtime Driftless favorite B&E’s Trees recently launched a new line of convenient, resealable maple energy packs, perfect for endurance athletes and adventurers who need delicious nutrition and energy on the go and want to keep it local. Available in multiple flavors, individually or in gift pack collections, this Climate Neutral Certified business provides good energy from the woods of Wisconsin. embarkmaple.com • $$
Our region has a long legacy of successful small businesses thanks in no small part to the Something Special from Wisconsin program. Christine’s Kitchen partners with SSfW members to curate fun, festive gift boxes of uniquely local products. Whether shopping for someone from Wisconsin or giving the gift of home to a friend out of state, these boxes provide a delicious way to try an array of handcrafted items. wisconsinboxesoffun.com • $$—$$$$
Since they opened their doors in 2017, Pasture and Plenty has always been inspired by the abundant farmers and producers of our region. With a locally sourced, sustainable meal kit service, freezers filled with grab-and-go meals, and a robust workshop and events calendar—all in support of local food businesses—a gift card to Pasture and Plenty is a meaningful gift for those who are thoughtful about sourcing close to home. pastureandplenty.com • $$—$$$$
We all have that friend who loves to bake, whether it’s madefrom-scratch biscuits, pie crust, pizza or artfully designed loaves of sourdough. Get them a local grain share from Meadowlark Farm and Mill so they have a convenient and steady supply of freshly milled flour, rolled oats and whole grains along with a direct connection to a local farm. meadowlarkmill.com • $$—$$$
There’s nothing more Wisconsin than a local charcuterie board. Riemer Family Farm takes things to another level by offering charcuterie gift boxes that include salami that's custommade by Driftless Provisions with Riemer’s own pastured, heritage breed pork. Gift boxes also include premium Roth cheeses sourced from Alp and Dell cheese store in Monroe as well as other fine locally sourced accouterments. riemerfamilyfarm.com • $$—$$$
If you have a friend or loved one who enjoys dining out, City Tins provide the ideal gift. Inside each kitschy tin are 20+ coaster gift cards worth $5-$10 off your tab at local independent restaurants. With tin collections in Madison, Milwaukee, Rockford, the Fox Cities and more, it’s a great way to give the gift of experience while supporting a robust network of locally owned businesses. In Madison, diners can enjoy gift cards for Heritage Tavern, Short Stack Eatery, Salvatore’s Tomato Pies, Gates & Brovi, and Cadre, just to name a few. Learn more and purchase online or at retail locations across the region. citytins.com • $$
Just south of Madison along the meandering Sugar River sits a lovingly restored dairy factory on the National Register of Historic Places. Seven Acre Dairy Company, newly opened in November 2022, provides a special place to gather and celebrate. Featuring a dairy cafe, 8-room boutique hotel, micro-dairy, oak savanna, riverside dining and impeccably manicured gardens, a gift certificate or weekend away is perfect for the person in your life who deserves a magical local getaway. sevenacredairyco.com • $$$$
A recent addition to the Madison distilling scene, Awildan makes unique handcrafted spirits that are inspired by the natural world, informed by tradition and released in numbered small batches. Their most recent releases of Genever and Spiced Rum are exclusively sold at their distillery in Sun Prairie. Learn more and reserve a bottle on their website.
Everyone has that friend who loves to impress dinner guests with a specialty cocktail. For them, there’s no better gift than a cocktail class for two at the historic Garver Feed Mill on Madison’s near east side. The 2-3 hour class includes five cocktails, snacks by the Garver Kitchen and recipes to take home. Cocktail class gift certificates can be purchased online
Old Sugar Distillery’s award-winning gift boxes have something for every palette, from the Brandy Old Fashioned Set (which pairs Old Sugar Brandy Station with housemade Door County cocktail cherries, Angostura Bitters, and their own branded cocktail book) to their new Bourbon & Bourbon Spiced Pecans Set. Beautifully packaged and ready to wrap, gift boxes are just $50 and can be picked up at their distillery tasting room on East Main.
Distilled in Madison from ingredients grown in Wisconsin’s Driftless region, State Line Distillery spirits are perfect for the friend who takes local sourcing seriously. Help the local libation lover in your life grow their home bar with State Line’s Spirits Gift Set, a customizable set that includes three 375-ml bottles of your choice. Order online or stop by their cocktail lounge to pick up a set. statelinedistillery.com • $$$
Owned by Indian immigrants and WEDC Ambassadors Sara and Partha, Flavor Temptations shares authentic Indian spice mixes, blends and curry sauces that demystify the complexity of Indian cooking at home. Their Indian Spices Sampler Kit and Indian Cooking Gift Box bring energy and joy into the kitchen and make a great gift for the loved one in your life who wants to expand and improve their culinary life. flavortemptations.com • $$
There’s no simpler way to get adventurous than with new recipes delivered straight to your door, and for that, there’s Isthmus Eats. This farm-tohome meal kit service allows you to choose up to 6 meals a week with local delivery in Dane County, perfect for the person in your life who loves a new recipe but hates to meal plan. Use promo code "EdibleMag" for $20 off your gift order. isthmuseats.com • $$$
Give the gift of high-quality, responsiblysourced wild Alaska seafood this year. Perfect for the home cook on your list—every box of seafood comes with cooking guides, video tutorials, and recipes developed by Sitka’s James Beard Award-nominated chef Grace Parisi. Choose between a special one-time holiday box or purchase a gift subscription (1, 3, or 6 months) on their website. sitkasalmonshares.com • $$$$
Shop online or in-store on Willy Street or at their new second location in Milwaukee for all kinds of eco-friendly everyday essentials that make beautiful gifts! / greenlifetrading.com
01 Dishwasher Pods These natural dish detergent pods dissolve food, fight stains and make glassware sparkle. $13.
02 Tangerine Clove Hand & Body Wash Organic vegetable oils and essential oils make this sudsy, hydrating soap perfect for next to the sink or in the shower. $9
03 Unpaper Towels Save money and the environment
with these locally made, reusable Unpaper Towels. $18-$35.
04 Lip Therapy Balms These hydrating lip therapy balms are made in a solar-powered facility and packaged in a compostable tube making them zero-waste in every sense of the word. $8. 05 Dish Puck Stop fumbling around with that slippery dish soap bottle and switch to the Dishwashing Puck! $10.
06 Dish Brush This curved handle makes for comfortable scrubbing while the Tampico fibers remove debris without scratching your dishes. $9 07 Beeswax Food Wraps Never use cling wrap again! Beeswax Food Wraps can cover your leftovers, preserve your produce and keep your kitchen plastic-free. $4-$18.
This new business based out of Sun Prairie sells indoor citrus trees that will produce fruit in your home! They offer a wide range of varieties, from the familiar (oranges, lemons and limes) to the more exotic (think kumquats, Australian finger limes and variegated pink Eureka lemons). For those new to growing citrus, care guides are provided along with each plant, making it the perfect, unique gift for the gardener in your life who wants to try something new! franksfruittrees.com • $$-$$$
Handmade, plant-based bath soaps make a thoughtful gift for the plant lover in your life. With a long-term commitment to sustainability since they started their business in 2014, MADTOWN Soap Co soaps are entirely vegan. They offer seasonal soap subscriptions and soap accessories that elevate the bar soap experience with beautiful, wooden hangers for your shower. Shop their offerings online and receive 10% off with code "EDIBLE." madtownsoap.com • $$
Wildewood carries a large and wonderful selection of highquality plants as well as a variety of pottery to hold them at their store in Hilldale Shopping Center. With a wide range of sizes and levels of maintenance required, you can find a great gift for both the expert green thumb and that friend who seems to kill every plant they touch. Their shop also carries a variety of candles, books and other giftable items. wildewoodshop.co • $-$$$
Our region has no shortage of premium sweet treats to savor. Here are three of our favorites.
Have
Sugar Troll’s Christmas Tins are pre-assembled collections of candy all wrapped up with a bow—making gift-giving a breeze. Stop by their storefront in Mount Horeb to check out their tins as well as nostalgic sweets you loved as a child and the most creative, modern craft candy available today.
sugartrollmthoreb.com • $$
Inside the historic Paoli Mill, chocolatier Stan Kitson creates handmade fine chocolate truffles, bonbons, caramels, bars and barks with single Origin chocolate and Wisconsin-sourced ingredients. Create a 12- or 20-piece gift box filled with their signature sea salt caramels or creative flavors like Coconut Lime, Door County Cherry, Earl Grey Orange, Garden Mint, and Horchata, and have it delivered to the door of your someone special anywhere in the contiguous United States.
driftlesschocolates.com • $$-$$$
A Madison institution since 2004, Gail Ambrosious specializes in creating worldclass confections using the finest single Origin chocolate. By working directly with chocolate producers in Central and South America, they ensure these producers receive the best price for their product. Shop Gail Ambrosious’ gift boxes of signature chocolate truffles and caramels online, at their retail store on Atwood Avenue, or at their many wholesale outlets across Madison. gailambrosius.com • $$
In the spirit of giving, here's a list of some of our favorite foodrelated nonprofits. For the person on your list who has everything, a donation in their name could be the best gift of all.
Combats poverty through work on food and housing security and access to essential resources. Provides food to food pantries at zero cost. Helps restaurants and grocers redirect unused food.
Connects healthy, locally produced food with community members who face barriers to access. community-hunger-solutions.org
Reaches beginning farmers with technical assistance to help them build capacity through organic farm incubation and nurtures community with events focused on peace, justice and sustainability.
Supports and connects farmers and consumers through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) across the Midwest. csacoalition.org
Provides vocational training for individuals who experience significant barriers to employment including homelessness, justice involved, and lack of education and/or work history or skills. justdane.org/just-bakery
Builds strong, trusting relationships, positive attitudes and life skills in youth through mentoring and social youth entrepreneurship through food. @mentoringpositives
Heals communities one farmer at a time. Food is everyone’s business. NFS brings agriculture and business training to communities where it’s needed the most. nfsinc.org
Serves over 2,000 people each week. Support south central Wisconsin's busiest food pantry during the HOPE Holiday Food Drive. riverfoodpantry.org
Grows community through collaborations rooted in food, land and learning; community gardens and farms, youth programs, and career training in urban agriculture and garden education. rootedwi.org
Connects and nourishes communities through Indigenous cuisine and ancestral foods by working with Native ingredients from seed to table, Wild Bearies is a community outreach nonprofit and mentorship program. wildbearies.org
In the spring of 2022, I noticed something strange happening in my sourdough starter. It used to have a light, sour aroma with some hints of funk. Now, when I peeled the lid back, I’d get a powerful sickly sweet scent, like fresh apple cider. At first, the scent was intoxicating, but I started to no tice some performance issues. My starter wasn’t rising like it normally did, and the breads I leavened with that starter seemed to deflate during the baking process. The culprit: I had recently switched to a local, stoneground rye flour, and it was creating too much enzymatic activi ty—where enzymes begin to break down complex sugars and can even break protein chains—when paired with the malted flour I had been using in my starter.
“You’re going to have to adjust your starter,” Halee Wep king told me over the phone. Stone-milling is a simple pro cess where the wheat is ground between two large, heavy stones, processing the bran, germ and endosperm togeth er. Modern milling is usually done on a roller mill, where the bran, germ and endosperm are separated during the milling process. The bran and the germ contain more oils, which can go rancid, which is why they’re usually sepa rated out for commercial flours, but they also contain a lot more nutrition and fuel for a sourdough starter and help kick off enzymatic activity. The flour I had been using, Halee explained, with added diastatic malt, was designed to mimic the enzymatic activity you’d normally find in a stoneground flour. If I were to use more stoneground flour in my bread and starter, I’d likely not need a malted flour to kickstart my fermentation anymore.
Halee and her husband, John, recently took over operation of a stone mill and renamed it after their farm, Meadowlark Organics, dubbing it Meadlowlark Community Mill. “Our goal is to be able to provide more markets for grain crops for other farmers. We buy grain from ten to twelve other farms around the Driftless area, which is one of the reasons why we put the word ‘community’ in our mill’s name.”
Halee explained that their dedication to organically farm ing small grains, like wheat, rye, spelt and others, is import ant to the region because these crops help break up weed cycles, require less tilling, and can have regenerative ef fects on the soil compared to corn and soybeans, two crops that dominate Wisconsin’s farming. But aside from their farming goals, it’s the stone-milling that sets Meadowlark’s flours apart from what you normally see in the store.
The two flours I’d added to my bread-making were Meadowlark’s whole wheat bread flour and their bolt ed bread flour. Both are blends from various farms that are designed to meet consistent standards during their lab-testing for protein content and other factors. “Bolted” is a term that refers to sifting out the larger bran particles that can act like razors in the dough, cutting gluten strands and destroying the structure of a loaf. It performs closer to a white flour than whole wheat, but still retains some smaller bran particles and the germ, adding more protein and fiber to bread than the average white flour. In order to best use these flours, and to hopefully find a fix for my starter, I reached out to two local bakeries: Origin Breads and Madison Sourdough.
“It was pretty important to me that when I started bak ing I was producing healthy breads,” said Kirk Smock, founder of Origin Breads. Kirk estimates that 98% of the flour he uses in his bakery is from Meadowlark. Most of the loaves from Origin are made from predominantly whole wheat, along with some bolted flour, and Kirk loves ex perimenting with the unique, single-variety grain flours that Meadowlark is always developing. The recipe devel opment process can be tricky, but Kirk feels it’s important that the bakers who work at Origin have the chance to experiment and develop new loaves. He also encourages home bakers to incorporate local flours in their breads whenever possible.
“For newer bakers, it’s good to get your rhythm and tech niques down with more predictable flour,” Kirk told me, but he thinks the flavor from local, fresh-milled flour can add a lot to a home baker’s loaves. It can be tricky to work with fresh-milled, stoneground flour, though, so Kirk rec ommends starting with a basic bread recipe and not to get too aggressive with the bread’s hydration per centage, or how much wa ter is added to the recipe compared to the amount of flour. A hydration per centage of 70% (meaning that you would use an amount of water that weighs 70% of the weight of the total flour) is fairly low for modern sourdough recipes, but Kirk sug gests that home bakers err on the side of caution with the amount of water they start with, as you can always add more during the early stages of the process.
“Whole-grain flours can be thirstier and absorb more wa ter than white flours,” Kirk explained, “but fresh-milled flour might also have a higher moisture content than com mercial flour.” This can lead to doughs actually shedding water during the proofing stages and it’s why Origin al ways tests their own new recipes with a maximum hydra tion of 75%, even if most of their established breads push hydration to 80%.
While the different types of new flours can be exciting for a smaller, growing bakery like Origin, consistency is key for Andrew Hutchinson of Madison Sourdough. Andrew Hutchinson purchased Madison Sourdough in 2009, but the business had been in operation since 1994. Eager to in corporate more local flour into their bread, Andrew began working with the mill that Halee and John would eventu ally take over, but the shift in how the flour behaved from farm to farm created inconsistencies that affected Madi son Sourdough’s busy production schedule. He bought a stone mill in 2015 and began sourcing grain directly from Meadowlark’s farm to mill himself.
“Whole-grain flours can be thirstier and absorb more water than white flours,” Kirk explained, “but fresh-milled flour might also have a higher moisture content than commercial flour.”
“You should never be fighting your dough,” Andrew said. “I view bread as the fullest expression of that wheat. The end product is so dramatically different from what it came from, and as a baker, I’m trying to guide that process and not control it. The best loaves shape themselves.”
“I always know when a transition in our grain is coming because the dough feels different, and it’s usually when the grain bins at Meadowlark are transitioning between seasons,” Andrew said. Hav ing control over the milling process lets him navigate those transi tions easily. Madison Sourdough produces around 1,000 loaves a day, and a majority of their breads are sourdough loaves produced with natural leavening.
“Any deviation from a regular schedule can really throw things off. If the flour is too variable on a day-to-day basis, then the doughs are too variable. The ingredients to make a loaf of bread are relatively cheap, but the labor is not. If there are any hiccups in production, the margin on a loaf of bread is reduced, and when you’re dealing in scale, that does matter. That’s a huge barrier for local mills to make inroads with bakeries that do large volumes because they don’t want to shake that up,” Andrew explained.
With the introduction of their new mill, Madison Sourdough reorga nized their menu to include more whole grains in all of their standard hearth breads, including shuttering the classic sourdough white loaf for the MsCO signature sourdough, which features three different grains that are milled in-house. Andrew also mentioned that having their own mill has allowed them to experiment with cracked grains, which they cook down for various menu items.
His recommendations for bakers taking home bags of their flour are similar to Kirk’s—start with a lower hydration percentage and ease into the process of introducing new flours to your bread.
“You should never be fighting your dough,” Andrew said. “I view bread as the fullest expression of that wheat. The end product is so dramatically different from what it came from, and as a baker, I’m trying to guide that process and not control it. The best loaves shape themselves.”
To resolve my starter woes, I switched my starter to Madison Sour dough’s rye flour, which is a bolted rye and a better pairing for the malted flour I still have to work through. The sweet aroma subsided, my starter began tripling in volume on a regular schedule, and my loaves began developing a deep, rich flavor from the two different wheat flours I added from Meadowlark. In the end, that’s really what matters most: local flours can add depth of flavor. From rich, nutty aromas to assisting in deep caramelization of the crust, experiment ing with local flour can change your bread’s flavor profile dramatical ly. Halee summed it up: “I think something people really value is that fresh-milled, stoneground flour actually tastes like something, and it tastes good!”
Meadowlark’s flours are available at Willy Street Co-op and other stores in the Madison area, and Madison Sourdough sells an array of their fresh-milled flours at their bakery. For people who are interest ed in tasting these breads without having to bake them, both Origin Breads and Madison Sourdough have retail stores in Madison and their breads can be found in markets around the city.
“Any deviation from a regular schedule can really throw things off. If the flour is too variable on a day-to-day basis, then the doughs are too variable. The ingredients to make a loaf of bread are relatively cheap, but the labor is not."
A new sourdough starter takes a little time to develop and relies on your flour and water mixture to capture the naturally occurring yeast and bacteria in your home. Rye flour is particularly active and helps boost fermentation and is an integral part of my sourdough starter. If you use regular all-purpose flour at home, I recommend picking up Meadowlark’s rye flour for your starter, but if you use a malted bread flour, the rye flour from Madison Sourdough won’t create too much enzymatic activity.
To begin: Add 100 grams of water, 50 grams of white flour and 50 grams of rye flour to a tall glass jar or clear plastic container. Stir well to incorporate. Place a rubber band around the jar at the height of the mixture to track growth. Let sit for 24 hours.
At 24 hours, scoop 25 grams of the starter into a new jar, and add 50 grams of water, 25 grams of white flour, and 25 grams of rye flour. This is a feeding ratio of 1:2:2, or 1 part starter, 2 parts water, 2 parts flour. Let sit for 12 hours. The mixture should start to produce bubbles and begin to grow in height.
Repeat the process of a 1:2:2 feeding, and repeat every 12 hours for 3-4 days. At this point, the mixture should double in size every 12 hours, but some starters need a little more time to develop.
Continue this process for a total of 7-10 days before attempting to use the starter as a leavening agent for baking. New starters take time to develop the right balance in the culture, so even if it looks active, it might need more time before it can leaven bread.
Once your starter is active, adjust your feeding ratio : If your starter starts to peak and shrink before 12 hours, extend the ratio to 1:3:3 or even 1:4:4. The more starter you use in a feeding, the more active it will be.
Most country sourdough recipes call for 10% whole wheat and 90% white flour for a rustic but lofty bread loaf. As you get comfortable with your baking and process, you can consider increasing the whole wheat percentage to 20% of the total flour used, or you could consider adding 10% of a unique grain instead, like Meadowlark’s spelt flour or Madison Sourdough’s kamut flour. You can also consider adding Meadowlark’s bolted bread flour or Madison Sourdough’s high-extraction bread flour—both options are whole wheat flours with some of the bran sifted out, allowing you to add more nutrition back into your bread without sacrificing the height of your loaf.
An example flour recipe might be:
10% whole wheat
10% spelt, kamut, or rye
20% bolted or high-extraction flour
60% white bread flour
As per recommendations from both Origin Breads and Madison Sourdough, when using new flours, one should consider a lower hydration percentage. Local, freshly milled flours can sometimes handle more water than commercial white flours, but sometimes fresh-milled flour has a high moisture content and might be less absorbent than other whole wheat flours. Consider a lower hydration percentage, around 72-75% during the initial mix, and add more water as you see fit.
Sourdough starter: A mixture of water and flour that begins to ferment from naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria in the air that can be used to leaven breads.
Starter feeding: The daily process of adding fresh water and flour to a small amount of sourdough starter to allow the yeast to feed and to keep it active enough to leaven bread.
Levain: An offshoot of a starter fed specifically to be added into a bread dough.
Diastatic malt: A powder made from ground barley with a naturally occurring enzyme intact.
Enzymatic activity: A process in which enzymes break down starches into sugars that can feed the yeast and trigger a faster rise.
Hydration: The amount of water added to a bread dough, usually notated in a percentage of the total flour used, i.e. 75% hydration for 1000g of flour would be 750g of water.
Oven spring: The amount the dough rises or “springs,” during baking.
Crumb: The interior cross-section of the bread marked with the air bubbles that expanded during the bake.
“The pigs were getting a bit more athletic than I would have liked; they could outrun me and I was getting tired of chasing them,” says Jeremy Crooks Lynch, who runs Enos Farms with his spouse Erin Crooks Lynch in Spring Green. “So I brought in a Berkshire boar to introduce some shorter legs into the gene pool.”
Breeding their own pigs has been a focus at Enos Farms from the beginning. “We are going for heritage guts, so we can feed pigs a diet closer to what they would have eaten before industrial monoculture farming,” Jeremy explains, “which is the main way we can significantly reduce the amount of carbon emissions associated with the pigs’ diet.” Growing monoculture soybeans and field corn to feed livestock is one of the major sources of carbon emissions associated with raising animals for meat.
The Crooks Lynches figure they are about halfway to breeding their ideal hog. In the beginning, the main metric was smell. “It turns out a hog farm doesn’t have to stink! If I can smell your breath from 10 feet away, there is probably something wrong with your diet,”
Jeremy explains. By experimenting with what the pigs eat and breeding them to handle a more diverse higher fiber diet, the pigs at Enos Farms are generally aroma-neutral. That means the pigs have a more complex gastrointestinal tract, so there is a greater difference between the live weight of a pig at Enos Farms and the amount of meat at slaughter. Yet the Crooks Lynches say they still come out way ahead environmentally because they have significantly fewer inputs. Most of the pigs’ time is spent roaming the wooded hills of Enos Farms foraging for whatever interests them. “We never have to worry about poison ivy around the farm,” Jeremy says. “Every time I let the pigs into a different section of the land, the first thing they do is munch the poison ivy to the ground. They absolutely love it and have no reaction to the oil that irritates humans. And once the ivy is gone, they forage acorns, burdock and all sorts of other things growing out there on their own.”
Pork from Enos not only tastes richer, it looks darker and is a little juicier than grocery store pork—a sign that the pigs have had the freedom to roam and forage for a more diverse diet. Photo courtesy of Pasture and Plenty
“The effect being nutrientdense and flavorful pork that is antibiotic-free and has a lower negative impact and arguably a benefit to the environment and of course, a healthier product for the consumer.”
—Erin Crooks Lynch
In addition to foraging, the pigs also participate in harvesting some of the cultivated crops planted for their diet. Each fall the pigs are let into a field of pumpkins where they eat everything: the pumpkins, leaves and vines. “We also let them dig their own turnips, which is an understatement. They can get so into it, throwing them into the air or playing keep-away with them. It is the happiest squeals we hear all year and that’s saying something because we have really happy pigs,” Erin says.
There is still some feed—soybeans and grain—involved in raising the pigs at Enos Farms as a stopgap as Erin and Jeremy finish building their ideal system. The small amount of grain supplement in the pigs’ diet is from a polyculture crop system and a portion of the grain feed is increasingly being replaced with organic spent grain—the leftover solids after making beer—from Giant Jones Brewing. Moreover, a newly acquired silo is allowing them to ferment much of the same plants the pigs forage during the growing season into silage; a process that makes a variety of nutrients available that will replace the remaining soybeans in the pigs’ diet.
“This eliminates our need for monoculture crops to feed our animals. The probiotic fermented diet naturally boosts their immune systems and controls parasites and inflammation, precluding intensive medical intervention and reliance on chemical inputs in both the animal and on the land. The effect being nutrient-dense and flavorful pork that is antibiotic-free and has a lower negative impact and arguably a benefit to the environment and of course, a healthier product for the consumer,” Erin explains.
All of this results in some obvious, as well as subtle, differences in the pork. “We’ll have people visit us and be surprised when I start making dinner. They think I have pulled out a piece of beef or something because our pork actually has color unlike what comes from pigs that have barely moved their whole lives,” Jeremy says, “The other white meat is a marketing gimmick for animal confinement.” In addition to their diet and genetics which can also increase pigmentation, Enos pork has a richer pink hue since the pigs are out foraging every day.
The flavor of the pork is also enhanced. “Our pork can be used any way people usually prepare pork, but there are also chances to experience something else with our pork,” Erin says. “There are definitely some deeper flavors, but also there are some brighter floral or sweeter notes in our pork that work really well in lots of recipes, like in the sausages we make.”
The Crooks Lynches recognize that we need to eat less meat in order to combat climate change. “We find ourselves in a funny spot,” Erin says, “Here we are, pork farmers encouraging people to eat less meat for a variety of reasons. But when you do eat meat, make sure that it is high-quality and nutrient-dense. Research has shown that truly grass-fed meats contain higher amounts of protein, vitamin E and good cholesterols* so you really are getting more bang for your buck and you have the added benefit of knowing your choice was less harmful to the planet.”
*Source: FACT [foodanimalconcernstrust.org]
Am I the only one whose favorite holiday dish (pies aside, of course) is the cranberry sauce? If so, I hope to convert a few with this article and, if not, I’m happy to have my fellow cranberry lovers here to learn more about the health benefits and potential uses for cranberries in the kitchen.
The cranberry is one of the few fruits still eaten today that is native to the U.S., and Wisconsin is the number-one producer of cranberries in the country! While cranberries also grow in the northeastern and northwestern U.S. and parts of Canada, our state grows over half of the nation’s cranberry crop—maybe Wisconsin should be rebranded as “the cranberry state”? The town of Warrens, Wisconsin hosts an annual cranberry festival that draws over 100,000 people to join in celebrating this local treasure, which should totally be a Wisconsin tourism bucket list item. The cranberry is not a new resource in this region; Native Americans, including the Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin and the Cree, Algonquin and Wompanoag in other regions, have been harvesting cranberries for thousands of years. Cranberries were often used in sauces and other dishes, including pemmican, where they were dried and mixed with tallow and dried meat or fish and formed into cakes to create a high-energy, portable source of nutrition.
While wild cranberries were found in marshes, in modern growing practices, cranberry vines are grown in man-made bogs. Here, they are flooded with several inches of water once they’ve ripened in the fall. The berries are separated from the vines with a machine and then float to the top of the water for easier removal. This process, called wet picking, is used by the majority of growers today; a small percentage of cranberries are harvested without the flooding step, known as dry picking. Wet picking leads to higher yields but a lower quality product, so these berries are used to make juice, jam and sauce. While dry picking is more labor-intensive, this is the method used to produce high-quality, whole berries that are sold fresh or frozen.
Unfortunately, growing cranberries commercially can be a chemically intensive process that can pollute and damage the
watershed where the bogs are located and kill wildlife and flora in the nearby bodies of water. Also, the large amount of water needed for flooding can compromise local rivers and streams. Organizations have formed in cranberry-intensive areas to protect the local watersheds, such as the Robinson Creek Pres ervation Association near Black River Falls, which are working to protect the riverways from agricultural chemicals, including those from cranberry farming. So what is the solution to the potential cranberry problem? Luckily, the answer is not avoiding cranberry products all together: simply choose organically-grown cranberry prod ucts from small-scale producers. Buying berries that are grown without toxic chemicals helps protect the environment in areas where they are grown and prevents you from ingesting them. Whole cranberries, which have been dry-picked, also have the benefit of not using flooding and therefore use less water in the harvesting process. Cranberries are too good a local resource to not use, especially because of their nutritional content, so just be sure to purchase wisely.
Like most berries, cranberries contain several health-pro moting components, including vitamin C, phytochemicals such as quercetin, and antimicrobial properties that have been shown to be effective against bacteria such as E.coli and H.pylori. The cranberry is best known medically for its effectiveness against urinary tract infections and bladder issues, particularly due to the presence of proanthocyanidins and D-mannose in the berries. Cranberry is typically taken in extract or capsule form when used medicinally, but 100-percent cranberry juice with out other juices or added sweeteners also contains high amounts of these nutritional components.
While the cranberry is most commonly served on Thanks giving and Christmas, it can have many roles in cuisine. Cran berry sauce is typically served alongside turkey for these holi day meals, but it can also be paired with other roasted meats like beef roast or wild game like goose and venison for a nice balance of sweet and savory. Aside from cranberry sauce, fresh
Shop iconic lighting specifically designed for Taliesin and Made in the U.S.A.
Dry harvesting cranberries. Photo courtesy of Ruesch Century Farm
cranberries can be pickled, fermented, candied or cooked into jam or pie. Dried cranberries are wonderful in scones, oatmeal, homemade granola or trail mix, or alongside walnuts in a crusty sourdough loaf. Of course, cranberry juice can be enjoyed as-is or mixed with other juices for a boost of sweetness, but the juice can also be used in homemade gelatin, ice pops or smoothies for a nutrient boost. Plain cranberries are extremely tart, so additional sweetness is almost always needed for balance and palat ability–however, I have been known to enjoy some fresh, raw cranberries as a little sweet-and-sour treat (plus they pop when you bite them!). However you serve them, be sure to bring a cranberry dish to your holiday meal this season to represent` “the cranberry state” and reap the bounty Wisconsin has to offer.
Sources of local organic cranberries include: Ruesch Century Farm in Vesper organic-cranberries.com
James Lake Cranberries in Three Lakes jlfcranberries.com
I make this sauce every year for Christmas but would totally eat it anytime during the winter when I am serving roasted meat. The leftovers are great on top of yogurt or oatmeal, or even used as a jam on some buttery sourdough toast. Not only is this sauce delicious, but it is also a great source of vitamin C. Feel free to increase the amount of maple syrup if you prefer a sweeter sauce.
Serves 8-12
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
2 pints whole organic cranberries, fresh or frozen
¼ cup water
½ cup pure maple syrup
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
½ cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
⅛ teaspoon powdered cloves
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons dried rose hips, optional
1. Combine all the ingredients (including the optional rose hips) in a medium saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat.
2. Once the mixture begins to simmer, cover the saucepan and let the sauce cook for 20–25 minutes until the liquid has reduced and thickened. Stir regularly to prevent sticking and to ensure all of the cranberries have “popped.”
3. Remove the cinnamon stick. Serve the sauce warm or transfer it to a glass storage container until you’re ready to serve it. It will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
For those who like jellied cranberry sauce, try this optional method
While the cranberry mixture cooks, in a separate bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder and ¼ cup water to dissolve. Stir this into the cranberry sauce after it has cooked for about 20 minutes, then let it cook a few more minutes to let the gelatin incorporate.
Once it’s finished cooking, let the mixture cool, then puree it in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a glass storage container, then chill before serving.
In Wisconsin, every season is cheese season. But when the temps dip below freezing, cheese just tastes a little extra delicious. A cheesy appetizer can add a dose of joy to any table, be it a holiday spread, dinner party with friends or festive Tuesday evening.
Pastry-Wrapped Brie with Apples
Mini Stuffed Potatoes
Straight from her Viroqua shop’s winter menu, Sarah’s recipe is fabu lous for a quick holiday appetizer or alongside a crisp green salad for dinner. Local feta and cream cheese are whipped together before being topped with an array of olives and warm roasted peppers (or substitute 1 cup of whatever seasonal vegetables you have on hand). Whatever you do, just don’t skip the sourdough baguette rubbed with garlic—it’s what really takes this recipe over the top.
Serves 6–8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
For Whipped Feta Dip: 6 tablespoons honey, divided 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup mixed olives, pitted ½ cup sweet or mildly spicy peppers, seeded and roughly chopped ½ red onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 lemon, quartered
½ orange, quartered
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh oregano ½ teaspoon salt
8 ounces feta cheese (Use a softer feta in brine for a smoother dip.) 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For Garlic Crostini:
1 sourdough baguette, cut diagonally into ½-inch slices
2–3 garlic cloves, peeled 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl or glass jar, combine 4 tablespoons of honey with the dried chili flakes and set aside.
3. In a baking dish, combine the olive oil, olives, peppers, onion, smashed garlic, lemon, orange, thyme, oregano and salt. Bake until the garlic turns golden and the oil is sizzling, about 15–20 minutes.
4. To make the crostini, rub the baguette slices with the raw whole garlic cloves, then lightly brush both sides of each slice with olive oil. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake on the middle rack until they’re crisp and golden, about 5–8 minutes.
5. Combine feta, cream cheese, black pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons of honey in a food processor; pulse until feta is broken down, then process until smooth and creamy.
6. Spoon the cheese mixture into a serving bowl and top with the warm roasted peppers and olives.
7. Drizzle the chili-infused honey over the dip and serve with garlic crostini.
Puff pastry is the best dinner party hack there is. Stashed away in your freezer for use at a moment’s notice, it elevates just about anything. Not that a beautiful wheel of a local soft-ripened cheese needs elevating—but here we are.
Serves 4–6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
1 puff pastry sheet (about 8.65 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
2 apples, cored and cut into slices ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 wheel of brie or other soft-ripened cheese (about 8–12 ounces) 1 egg, beaten ¼ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, optional
1. About 30 minutes before you start cooking, remove your sheet of puff pastry from the freezer.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place the butter in a small casserole dish or cast-iron skillet. Place the dish in the oven and allow it to melt for 5 minutes or until it starts to brown.
4. Add the apple slices, cinnamon and salt to the melted butter in the casserole dish. Toss to combine and roast for 10 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and pour the apples into a small bowl. Add the maple syrup and stir to combine.
5. On a lightly floured counter, roll out the puff pastry sheet until it's soft and pliable. Place the brie wheel in the center of the puff pastry sheet and trim the dough into a square. Starting with a corner, fold the pastry over the brie to seal, pleating as you go. Place the pastry-wrapped brie in the same dish you used to cook the apples (no need to wipe it out) and brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake it until it’s golden brown, about 20–25 minutes.
6. Serve the pastry-wrapped brie in a large bowl surrounded by the roasted apples. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve with crackers.
If anyone knows what to do with cheese, it’s Anna— cheesemaker, recipe developer, and food writer extraor dinaire. These mini stuffed potatoes made with Landmark Creamery’s Anabasque are just the tasty bite-size appetiz er we all need to be indulging in this winter.
Serves 6–8
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes
5 thin slices of prosciutto
20 small gold or red potatoes
5 teaspoons stone ground mustard
20 cornichons
5 ounces Landmark Creamery Anabasque (or raclette-style cheese)
Chopped parsley or herbs for garnish, optional
1. Cut each prosciutto slice into 4 pieces.
2. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until they’ve softened enough that a knife goes in easily. Drain the potatoes and let cool.
3. One potato at a time, cut a small slice from one end so the potato can stand on its end. Cut off the opposite end of the potato and scoop out a little less than a tablespoon of potato from the center, leaving the walls intact.
4. Stand the potatoes on their ends, hole side up. Smear ¼ teaspoon mustard inside each potato. Wrap each cornichon in a piece of prosciutto and place one inside each potato.
5. Thinly slice the Anabasque into 20 pieces and place them on the potatoes. Hold until ready to serve.
6. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the potatoes until warmed and cheese is melted, 4-6 minutes. Garnish with chopped herbs. Serve warm.
Sometimes in the middle of winter, we simply need a recipe that says “let’s enjoy all the comfort foods tossed together in one casserole dish.” Roasted squash, caramel ized onions, a quick creamy white sauce, crispy bread crumbs, and two of our favorite cheeses create a dish that is just as perfect for a cozy night in as it is for entertaining.
Serves 4–6
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes
1 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded 1 teaspoon olive oil
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, halved and sliced 2 garlic cloves, sliced ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream ¼ cup pecan pieces ¼ cup breadcrumbs 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped ½ cup Roth Grand Cru (or gruyère), finely shredded ½ cup Saxon Creamery’s Saxony Alpine Style Cheese (or gruyère), finely shredded
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rub both halves of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle on all sides with salt. Roast the squash cut-side down until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Remove the peel and slice the squash into ½-inch pieces.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the garlic, and cook until the onions are slightly caramelized, about 5–6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the flour and stir until the onions are coated. Add the cream and stir until thickened.
4. In a small bowl, combine the pecan pieces, breadcrumbs, rosemary and ½ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
5. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. In a small casserole dish or 9x9 pan, layer half the squash. Top with the cream mixture followed by half the shredded cheese. Layer on the rest of the squash followed by the breadcrumb mixture and the remaining cheese. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes.
6. Serve warm as a side dish or with crackers or crostini as an appetizer.
There’s a special place in our hearts for the foods we grew up with. It’s often because of the tastes and memories they evoke and the way they draw together the people we care about. Foodways are our tradition but they aren’t tradition alone. They are also what heals us and the stories that make us, and all it takes to realize this is a little bit of wonder. I can still remember the catalyst for my new relationship with a food I had known my whole life and how that helped me see it in a way I never had before.
I was sick. But my sickness wasn’t physical, it was the kind that burrows itself somewhere deep in your heart and closes the shades so no light can get in. I had gotten so used to it that I never noticed it growing until it took up so much space in me, I could barely breathe. At 20 I left Madison for Minneapolis with $400 in my pocket to be with a new boyfriend. After a few months I found out my romance was really a nightmare. I had no job, was staying at a friend’s home, and had nothing but a drug addiction to get me out of bed in the morning. I remember lying in bed on one particular day, the soft glow of dusk enveloping my body. The sickness had taken my breath away, and I was finding it harder and harder to keep going. While staring out the window, one by one, I swallowed the small, white, square pills prescribed to me for depression and anxiety. My plan was to take enough pills to end my life, but a quiet will to live stopped me from downing the whole bottle. At this moment, I was 21 and had been in Minneapolis for only a year.
After I spent three days in a hospital, my mother drove 6 hours to get me and take me back to live with her. She frequently cooked for me, but the food would fight its way back up my throat in protest, and I would often give up trying after just one bite. One day after another feeble attempt to eat and another meal wasted, my mom looked at me while I lay crying on the couch. It was an intense look. She looked like she was having a conversation in her head, almost as if she were praying. Suddenly after a few minutes she goes, “I know what to do.”
The next day she was gone by the time I woke up. At noon, I heard the rumbling of her black Mercedes in the driveway, and when she walked in the door she carried armfuls of groceries. I didn’t get up to see what was in the bags, and I wouldn’t have to. As she began to cook, the house filled with the familiar smell that accompanied most of our family gatherings. Smoked meat on the stove sent up signals to my dormant stomach. The rhythmic chopping and scraping of a knife against a cutting board, the sloshing of water filled to about halfway in the sink as the grime on the veggies was washed away. It reminded me
of Thanksgiving, Christmas, celebrations of life (also known as funerals) and the occasional Sunday dinner. I smelled greens. Greens are a decadent dish of stewed collard greens and smoked ham hocks typically eaten in African American cuisine. While this dish can be eaten whenever it’s desired, its long cooking time, about 2 hours or so, meant that my mom usually saved it for holidays. Despite this, here was my mother making me this special dish on a regular day of the week, way before any holiday or occasion. As I inhaled the buttery air and allowed nostalgia to overtake me, for the first time in months I felt hunger. It slowly snaked its way to the base of my stomach and coiled itself there until my mom finally finished cooking.
She called me to the table she had set for me. Before, I had been eating on the couch watching reruns of Living Single. But she made this meal special. The table looked immaculate. It looked like the type of spread you would create for a large family on Christmas. I was filled with awe as I scanned the glossy yams, the perfectly browned and seasoned baked chicken, and I could barely contain my excitement over the large stockpot of greens sitting in front of me. I ate greens my whole life, but today for some reason I looked at this food with awe. What used to be a delicious but still regular part of my life became a hymn that sang a song of healing to the sickness burrowed within me. As I looked at the spread laid out for me, my mother filled my bowl with one scoop of greens and a generous helping of “pot likker,” the nutritious bone broth that makes greens so delicious. My first slurp caused tears to well up in my eyes. I felt like I could taste exactly what my mom’s prayers were for me all those months I’d been gone in Minneapolis. I could taste how much she loved me and how much she wanted me to be better and whole. The hunger at the base of my stomach lazily suckled on that first bite before asking for more. I had three more bowls before I felt satisfied enough to stop. Each taste was like an ode to greens.
It’s easy to view the food we grew up with as simple dietary selections with no significance other than the flavor they bring to our tables. Without realizing it, we can start treating our foodways as separate from ourselves and not worth the wonder they deserve. When we lack a sense of admiration for our traditions, we can forget that caramel cakes made with our grandma’s weathered hands are just as opulent as a crème brûlée and that a bowl of collard greens can be medicine for melancholy. Next time you find yourself eating the food of your culture, take a moment to look at it with the wonder it deserves. You may discover more about it than you ever knew possible
Next time you find yourself eating the food of your culture, take a moment to look at it with the wonder it deserves. You may discover more about it than you ever knew possible.
Writing this recipe proved a little tricky because I usually cook by feel and I don’t measure ingredients out. This is especially the case with greens. I invite you to do a lot of tasting, supplementing and shifting to make this dish uniquely yours. The amount of water you use in the beginning is what will become your delicious pot likker, so I like to use enough that I have broth left over to drink. While you’re washing the greens, make sure they’re rubbing up against each other. Agitate them almost like you’re hand washing laundry.
Adding additional seasoning of your choice only enhances the already delicious flavor of the pot likker, so taste the broth first. You will notice the smoky, meaty flavor, and the strength of the collards. Now, what seasonings come to mind for you? This is what makes your greens unique. You could use garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt or pepper. Or you can get creative and use a chutney, relish or even a little bit of sugar. I typically do pink himalayan salt, garlic powder, onion powder, small bits of sun-dried tomatoes, sweet peppers, and of course, my mom’s secret ingredient—sorry, I can’t tell you!
1 yellow onion
2 or 3 bulbs of garlic
2 ham hocks
4 bundles of collard greens
2 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
Preferred seasonings (see above notes)
1. Fill a large, heavy pot ⅔ -full with water and bring to a simmer.
2. Peel the onion and chop in half. Mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic and ham hocks to the water and cook for about 1 hour or until the meat easily comes off the bone.
3. While the meat simmers, clean out your sink and fill it with cool water. Then chop or rip the greens into medium-sized bits and put them in the sink full of cool water. Wash by vigorously swishing the greens in the water for a couple of minutes. Remove the greens, drain the dirty water and repeat.
4. Once meat is falling off the bone, add the greens to the pot. They may not all fit at once; if so, just wait 5 minutes for the first batch to cook down, then keep adding more greens until they’re all in.
5. Cook for 15 minutes and then season with salt and any other preferred seasoning. Add the butter as the greens cook down.
6. Once the greens are cooked down so they are soft, but still have a nice bite to them (about 45 minutes), they are finished and ready to serve!
Start small with the seasonings, and taste after each addition. If you feel like the broth needs more flavor, add a tiny bit more and repeat until it tastes to your liking.
Get fresh updates on our work to ensure the future of agriculture includes all Americans.
farmland.org
Discrimination against marginalized groups in agriculture negatively affects all Americans by limiting the opportunities for farmers, workers, and consumers.
AFT is raising up diverse voices in agriculture, because we believe diversity contributes to a more resilient agricultural system, a stronger economy, and a more equitable society.
At American Farmland Trust, we believe agriculture is strengthened through diversity, just like the soil.
We would not exist without the support of the businesses and organizations that advertise in our pages. This support allows us to pay writers, designers, photographers, print and distribute this issue and make this a free publication for readers to pickup throughout southwestern Wisconsin.
Please support the following businesses to experience the best local, seasonal and sustainable products and services in the region.
If you enjoy this publication and want to support our work, please consider subscribing. An added bonus: you won't miss an issue. Subscribe at ediblemadison.com Thank you!
GROCERY STORES & FARMERS MARKETS
CONSCIOUS CARNIVORE conscious-carnivore.com
DANE COUNTY FARMERS’ MARKET dcfm.org
LARK MARKET larkmarket.store
VIROQUA FOOD CO-OP viroquafood.coop
WANDER PROVISIONS wanderprovisions.com
WILLY STREET CO-OP willystreet.coop
WISCONSIN GRILLED CHEESE CHAMPIONSHIP grilledcheesewisconsin.com
RAY & KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY rayandkelly.net
SOLAR SHARE WISCONSIN COOPERATIVE solarshare.coop
STATE BANK OF CROSS PLAINS sbcp.bank
KICKAPOO VALLEY FOREST SCHOOL kickapoovalleyforestschool.org
HEALTH & WELLNESS
CONSCIOUS PRACTICE conscious-practice.com
LUMINOUS ROSE luminousrosebeauty.com
MADTOWN SOAP CO madtownsoapco.com
BRISBANE HOUSE brisbanehouse.net
OLBRICH BOTANICAL GARDENS olbrich.org
RICHLAND CENTER TOURISM richlandcentertourism.com
SEVEN ACRE DAIRY sevenacredairyco.com
TALIESIN www.taliesinpreservation.org
KITCHEN & TABLETOP
CONVIVIO FB @ Convivio
GOOD DAY SHOP gooddayshop.net
GREEN LIFE TRADING CO. greenlifetradingco.com
THE LITTLE MARKETPLACE thelittlemarketplace.com
MCFEE ON MAIN mcfeeonmain.com
WILDEWOOD wildewoodshop.co
FARMS & FOOD GOODS
DOUDLAH FARMS doudlahfarms.com
FRANK’S FRUIT TREES franksfruittrees.com
HEDGE MEADOW HERBS hedgemeadowherbs.com
J. HENRY & SONS jhenryandsons.com
LANDMARK CREAMERY landmarkcreamery.com
MADISON CHOCOLATE COMPANY madisonchocolatecompany.com
MEADOWLARK FARM & COMMUNITY MILL meadowlarkorganics.com
RIEMER FAMILY FARM riemerfamilyfarm.com
SITKA SALMON SHARES sitkasalmonshares.com
FOOD, AGRICULTURAL & SUSTAINABILITY ORGANIZATIONS
FAIRSHARE CSA COALITION csacoaliton.org
SAVOR THE RIVER VALLEY savortherivervalley.org
FOOD & BEVERAGES
AMERICAN WINE PROJECT americanwineproject.com
AWILDAN awildan.com
BANDIT TACOS & COFFEE bandit-tacos.com
BRIX CIDER brixcider.com
CHRISTINE’S KITCHEN christines-kitchens.com
CITYTINS citytins.com
THE COOPERS TAVERN thecooperstavern.com
DRIFTLESS CHOCOLATES driftlesschocolates.com
EMBARK MAPLE FROM B&E’S TREES embarkmaple.com
EMMI ROTH CHEESE rothcheese.com
FAR BRETON BAKERY farbretonbakery.com
FLAVOR TEMPTATIONS flavortemptations.com
FROMAGINATION fromagination.com
GAIL AMBROSIOUS gailambrosius.com
GARVER LOUNGE garverevents.com/lounge
GIANT JONES BREWING giantjones.com
GRUMPY TROLL thegrumpytroll.com
ISLAND ORCHARD CIDER islandorchardcider.com
ISTHMUS EATS isthmuseats.com
LARK larkjanesville.com
LET’S SHINE COFFEE letsshinecoffee.com
LOMBARDINO’S lombardinos.com
MADISON SOURDOUGH madisonsourdough.com
MARIGOLD KITCHEN marigoldkitchen.com
MIGRANTS migrantsmadison.com
NESSALLA KOMBUCHA nessalla.com
OLD SUGAR DISTILLERY oldsugardistillery.com
PASTURE & PLENTY P&P MAKESHOP pastureandplenty.com
RUDE BREW KOMBUCHA rudebrewkombucha.com
SIREN SHRUBS sirenshrubs.com
STATELINE DISTILLERY statelinedistillery.com
SUGAR TROLL sugartrollmthoreb.com
SUNN CAFE sunncafe.com
TELSAAN TEA telsaan.com
WONDERSTATE COFFEE wonderstatecoffee.com
THE PETINARY CLINIC petinarymadisonwi.com
HOLIDAY FARMERS’ MARKET at Monona Terrace Saturdays, 7:30 AM - Noon NOVEMBER 19 DECEMBER 3, 10, 17
LATE WINTER
MARKET at Garver Feed Mill Saturdays, 8 AM - Noon JANUARY 8 thru APRIL 9
Something beautiful and sweet—the perfect end to any great dinner party. Cue the Quince and Canela Tart featuring quince from Door Creek Orchard and a lush pastry cream made with Canela, a cinnamon and paprika-rubbed cheese made by Roth. Recipe by Shannon Berry, former pastry chef at Pasture and Plenty and cheese specialist for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. Hop online for the recipe—scan the QR code!
