By Debbra Mikaelsen

As Edible Vancouver's fourth year comes to a close, this seems as good a time as any to tell you a bit about us, and the thinking that goes on behind these pages. Launching a print magazine in 2008 was admittedly a crazy thing to do, and we didn’t choose this path because it seemed like an easy way to make a living. We did it because once we found out about the family of Edible magazines, it wasn’t possible to walk away without starting one of our own.

Ideas from the Edible Vancouver Editorial Team

By Claire Lassam

A few years back, my Mom stopped making Christmas pudding. Nobody ate it, nobody liked it; it was time to give up the tradition and do something else. No one was upset.

My quest for the perfect eggnog

By Kera Willis • Photos by Helena McMurdo

I grew up in rural Ontario, and every New Year's Eve my family and I would drive three miles down our snowy gravel road to the farm of Joanne Cowling. Having come to Canada from England many years earlier, Joanne kept her lovely British accent and a series of beautifully maintained gardens, complete with goats, sheep, pigs, geese, ‘chooks’ (chickens), and a pony named Sandman.

Upon entering the red brick farmhouse, my brother and I would remove our winter clothes and make a beeline for the kitchen, where Joanne would ladle out a hand-thrown clay goblet of homemade eggnog for each of us.

BY ANDREA BELLAMY

As a beginning gardener, my “garden planning” consisted of heading to the garden centre on the first sunny day in March, choosing the prettiest of the seed packets, then sowing seeds wherever there was room and whenever I found the time.

Watching a little kid get up close and personal with a giant pumpkin is kind of like watching a little kid encounter a puppy. There’s less face washing involved, but the expression of joyful wonder is similar, and it’s a fun way to show youngsters where their food comes from.