Summer 2024

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IN THE FLOW

The last two lines of Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day”:

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Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Her question embeds us in a world that’s equally beautiful and fierce, inviting an expansive sense of belonging and possibility.

On the occasion of the summer season, we dedicate this edition to water in our regional food system, seen through a regenerative lens. We take a look at the history and the future of fishing and eating local seafood, high-tech uses of water to grow greens, water in local wine production, warm-weather recipes, natural dyes, a City Heights market exploration, and a San Diego County agritourism guide in partnership with Edible Phoenix.

Our region is unique. The summertime ebb and flow of the marine layer reminds us to grab a wrap when heading to the coast and more broadly of the powerful influence the ocean has over our Mediterranean climate. The precipitation it drops on our foothills drains southwest through 11 watersheds to the Pacific and hopefully back next winter. This same county boasts national record numbers of biodiversity, farms, tribal reservations, 3.2 million residents, and 10 times that in annual tourist visits. You can see why water has and always will be important here.

To cover a topic as nuanced as this, I wish we had more space, but our specialty is presenting a collection of stories you won’t find anywhere else. I’m reminded of a recent Delayed Gratification article circulated among our North American community of Edible publishers about “slow journalism,” how the print medium enables readers and publishers to share news in ways that enhance our individual learning journey and our collective humanity.

We connect these printed pages with community in creative ways, like championing local vintners with a tasting event this last spring in support of San Diego Wine Week. Now, we’re midway through production of our Cook the Cover program in which readers submit family recipes for our fall issue. What unites us better than sharing simple meals made with love and local, fresh food?

So maybe this season, our “wild and precious life” can include deepening our understanding of our local waterways, estuaries and coastal waters, our glorious aquatic plant and animal neighbors that inhabit them, and the dedicated, innovative people who help us cohabitate more water-wisely than ever before.

Katie Stokes
Publisher and Editor in Chief
Edible San Diego

P.S. If you can subscribe, gift a subscription, or advertise your business, you can help us do local slow food journalism like no one else. Thank you!

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Edible San Diego recognizes the Kumeyaay, Luiseño/Payómkawichum, Cahuilla, and Cupeño/Kuupangaxwichem people who have lived in relationship with the earth, flora, fauna, waters, and sky for thousands of years as the original stewards of this region. This publication commits to building greater awareness of and appreciation for the traditional ecological knowledge, wisdom, and experiences of San Diego County’s first peoples as an essential part of the health and vitality of our local food system.