What is a harvest festival if not a community work party? It is nearly impossible to imagine a meal—much less a feast—that is not the fruit of collaboration. But, as anyone who has ever worked the line or the floor at a restaurant, who has ever wept over a lost crop, or who has ever hosted a harvest festival knows very well, collaboration is not always easy. It requires making space for the lives of others, adapting to their rhythms, listening, tasting, sharing, and sometimes adjusting the timeline or the recipe.
In this issue of edible, we celebrate the art of cooperation—its beauties, its challenges, and, above all, the wealth that can be wrought from it. Reporting on food co-ops in the state, farmer and co-op veteran Shahid Mustafa reflects on the “funk” of the cooperative, writing of the way co-ops can empower and energize community. Mariko O. Thomas tunes into the bee clock with three northern New Mexico beekeepers, inspiring us to join her in wondering what humans might learn from bees, whose collaborative practice is their means of survival. And micro-baker and cook Cassidy A. Tawse-Garcia shares stories of entrepreneurs who have made their way thanks to shared kitchen spaces.
Turning toward the table, we dine at a Santa Fe restaurant whose chef suggests that feeding people is itself a collaborative act. Jessica and André Kempton introduce us to a high-desert farmer raising and milling wheat for them and other bakers in northern New Mexico. Too, the Local Heroes featured here—community planners, all—exemplify the landscape-changing power of collaboration. Speaking of the nonprofit she cofounded nine years ago, Erin Garrison declares that Food is Free Albuquerque was born from abundance. Living as we do amid preoccupations of scarcity, in labor as in resources, we invite you to consider what else might likewise be made from the bounty that, seen and unseen, surrounds us.
What is a harvest festival if not a community work party? It is nearly impossible to imagine a meal—much less a feast—that is not the fruit of collaboration. But, as anyone who has ever worked the line or the floor at a restaurant, who has ever wept over a lost crop, or who has ever hosted a harvest festival knows very well, collaboration is not always easy. It requires making space for the lives of others, adapting to their rhythms, listening, tasting, sharing, and sometimes adjusting the timeline or the recipe.
In this issue of edible, we celebrate the art of cooperation—its beauties, its challenges, and, above all, the wealth that can be wrought from it. Reporting on food co-ops in the state, farmer and co-op veteran Shahid Mustafa reflects on the “funk” of the cooperative, writing of the way co-ops can empower and energize community. Mariko O. Thomas tunes into the bee clock with three northern New Mexico beekeepers, inspiring us to join her in wondering what humans might learn from bees, whose collaborative practice is their means of survival. And micro-baker and cook Cassidy A. Tawse-Garcia shares stories of entrepreneurs who have made their way thanks to shared kitchen spaces.
Turning toward the table, we dine at a Santa Fe restaurant whose chef suggests that feeding people is itself a collaborative act. Jessica and André Kempton introduce us to a high-desert farmer raising and milling wheat for them and other bakers in northern New Mexico. Too, the Local Heroes featured here—community planners, all—exemplify the landscape-changing power of collaboration. Speaking of the nonprofit she cofounded nine years ago, Erin Garrison declares that Food is Free Albuquerque was born from abundance. Living as we do amid preoccupations of scarcity, in labor as in resources, we invite you to consider what else might likewise be made from the bounty that, seen and unseen, surrounds us.
The Kitchen Confidential
Candolin Cook dines at The Kitchen at Plants of the Southwest, a hidden gem tucked away at the end of a dirt path teeming with native plants.
Caramelized Garlic and Onion Bisque
In our Caramelized Garlic and Onion Bisque recipe, we cook the onions and garlic slowly over low heat to allow them to caramelize and develop a lovely nutty flavor.
In the Time of Bees
Mariko O. Thomas tunes into the bee clock with three northern New Mexico beekeepers, inspiring us to join her in wondering what humans might learn from bees, whose collaborative practice is their means of survival.
