In Our Winter 2016-2017 Issue

Last Updated December 28, 2016
Share to printerest
Share to fb
Share to twitter
Share to mail
Share to print
milwaukee issue 15 winter 2016-2017 cover

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

The year is slowly drawing to a close, and now, it’s time to rest. We, along with our Wisconsin growers, producers and artisans, have reaped the harvests of what we’ve sown, and the darkness and cold have forced us to slow down. We’re looking forward to taking stock of the months behind us and celebrating what we’ve achieved together to further the impact of buying local on our community. Please notice that in this issue, we’re talking about much more than just what fills our bellies—but about extending the local sourcing to the items we use to cook, that we surround ourselves with, to enhance our daily lives.

I love living my life according to the rhythm of the seasons—as much as is possible to do amid crazy scheduling, jobs, friends and family obligations. The holidays make the mad rush that much more intense, but in them comes opportunities to eat and do things that I’ve been looking forward to all year long. I braise, stew and roast like crazy, leaving the baking to the ones who have the patience (and measuring skills). In this issue, we offer recipes for both kinds of cook—odes to the anything-but-ordinary onion, along with memories of cuccidati, fig-filled Italian Christmas cookies. We also have three rum drinks for your wintery libation needs. Or, sit back and sip one of Wisconsin’s barrel-aged beers. Choose your own culinary adventure.

We’re ushering in the Chinese year of the Fire Rooster in January, so in that spirit, I wish you wakefulness and warmth in 2017.

Nothing embodies the season more than direct interactions with nature. Drinks and foods get heavier and more comforting, fuel not only for the day-to-day digging our cars out of the snow, but for the cold-weather activities that make winter in Wisconsin not only bearable, but dare I suggest—something to look forward to? I actively keep the winter doldrums at bay by cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking through the heavy Wisconsin snow. Find a list of places, as well as a recipe for Wisconsin maple energy bites, to keep you powering through the powder. Looking for something low-key but still lovely? Walk about Cedarburg, guided by one of the locals.

The quiet and stillness provides the perfect backdrop to set intentions for how you close this year and open the year ahead. We were privileged to attend a Chinese New Year celebration, and invite you to learn more about cultural dishes associated with this holiday and what they symbolize for the coming year. We’re ushering in the year of the Fire Rooster in January, so in that spirit, I wish you wakefulness and warmth in 2017.

-Jen Ede, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Decor, Inspired by Nature

fireplace decor
Use these tips to expand the idea of buying local beyond food—to rethink how you source items to adorn your home. The holidays are perfect inspiration time.

Holiday Breakfast and Baked Goods

fig-filled cuccidato, a traditional Sicilian Christmas cookie
And they were prepared as it was written. He looked, took a bite, and was pleased. It was good.

Holiday Entertaining: Tips From 5 Local Foodies

holiday entertaining
The holidays are a time of togetherness and nothing brings people together more than food. Whether you follow family traditions, or create your own, being a good host is an art. Five local foodies—...

Wisconsin Maple Energy Bites

These no-bake trail snacks may taste indulgent, but their synergistic combination of carbs, protein and unsaturated fat make them an ideal munchie for winter snowshoeing.

Ready. Set. Snow!

snowshoe
Snowshoes, which were used long ago for necessity of traversing in deep, powdery snow, are now used for sheer recreation. If you’re considering trying them for the first time, you’ll soon know why...

Peeling Back the Layers: Onions Star in 3 Seasonal Recipes

Onions
Onions are the kitchen workhorse. So many delicious recipes are built on their savory foundation. Without onions, we’d have no...

Wisconsin-Made Kitchenware: The Base of Cooking Local

Cookware
Wisconsin-Made Kitchenware In 1939, the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company of Manitowoc tempted new brides with a 22-piece set of its...

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Rice Cake
2017 ushers in the year of the Fire Rooster, and January 28 will mark the changing of the guard—out with 2016’s Fire Monkey, and in with the crow of everyone’s favorite feathered alarm clock.

7 Spots to Seek Out In Cedarburg

Cedarburg
While it’s true that Americana is alive and well in Cedarburg, with tourist-favored street festivals and Depression-era antiques, I’ve discovered that the quaint German settlement town on Cedar...

Wisconsin-Barrel-Aged Beers

barrels
One of the most inspiring and enigmatic characteristics of beer is its inherent ability to evolve, both during and well beyond fermentation. But few things can have a more profound impact on a beer...

Egg Not: Rum Drinks Revisited

Here are three easy ways to give yourself a little vacation from the shorter days of winter with hot rum drinks.