Tooting our own horn is something we're not so good at. We're trying to get better, but really, it feels a little un-Canadian. Kind of boastful, you know? Fortunately I'm not really tooting my horn, but our Publisher Phil Solman's. Last night he won a prestigious Eddy Award for the cover of our Edible Vancouver Summer 2009 issue.

I'm writing this post from Santa Fe, New Mexico, during the annual general meeting of Edible Communities. Had I not had the bad sense to drink margaritas after the merlot I had with dinner last night, I might be able to tell you how many covers ours was up against. But my brain's a little too fuzzy for that; suffice it to say that we would have had about 55 magazines in the family last year and they each publish between 4 and 6 times a year. So there could have been quite a few contenders—and with the consistently high quality of these magazines, let me assure you that the competition was stiff. So I am bursting with pride that Phil won the grand prize. Not only did he take the photograph, he also personally stuffed those apricots with cheese, garnished them, and laid them out on the tray with his own lovely hands. In case you didn't get to see that cover, it looks like this:

And if you'd like to make these stuffed apricots in a few months when my favourite fruit is ripe in Okanagan orchards, the recipe is here. (Debbra Mikaelsen)