I read through the first issue as soon as it came and loved it. Unfortunately it was as close to winter as we get in South Carolina so it was no time to be running outside to start a garden, but I was, none-the-less, quite inspired. What’s even better is that this quarterly donates part of their subscription price to the Fresh Air Fund, helping to provide a free summer camp to children from underprivileged communities. How can you go wrong with that?!

There is a lot about seasonal gardening, as well as essays on historical practices of urban gardening (like “a primer in seed bombing and guerrilla gardening”) and contemporary urban gardening (like Truck Farms), and recipes! When I think of my childhood, I primarily think of playing in gardens and eating tomatoes, peppers, and raspberries right off the plants. I seek out those tastes and sensory experiences in local farmer’s markets, but it’s not the same as stepping outside to pick the vegetables and fruits for breakfast/lunch/dinner and creating delicious meals out of the pickings. Closely associated with these memories is my love of Ball jars and all of their glorious versatility. This quarterly definitely helps me to reminisce and plan my future gardens and near-future potted plant varieties!

Out of this issue I am especially looking forward to trying out Yuka Yamamoto’s recipe for Mixed Pickled Vegetables and Nathalie Weisner’s Pear Syrup. As the weather warms and the ground softens, I am more than ever eager to find a place to grow some herbs and tomatoes since I’m still living in an apartment. For the time being, I suppose I’ll have to manage with the CSA and challenge myself to learn more recipes and incorporate even more veggies in to my diet.

If you share my interest in gardening and/or food, you should definitely check out this beautiful quarterly. The pictures and tips are excellent and the content is fascinating! To order a single issue or a one-year subscription, check out the website here.

That being said, I have been reading a lot of awesome books and quarterly magazines which means I will have many excellent recommendations in the very near future. First up on my list, is McSweeney’s newest publication, Lucky Peach. I happened across issue two in my local grocery store by pure chance, and am incredibly happy that I bought it based purely on the magazine’s subtitle: “A Quarterly Journal of Food and Writing.” I rushed home and barely finished putting the groceries away before sitting down and reading the magazine from cover to cover. However, I will say this: the cover of issue two was definitely a little discouraging, but not enough to deter me from buying the issue anyway.

My favorite part of the issue was Christina Tosi’s recipe for a Lemon Tea cake, aka the Arnold Palmer cake. It’s three layers of lemony and black tea cake with lemon mascarpone, and a tea jelly. I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I am anxiously awaiting a reason to try it out. I will make this for the next person that visits from out-of-town.

My second favorite article was the “Glaborous Fruit of Samarkand,” or simply put, a tale of one man’s search for the sweetest, juciest, most delicious, and of course, the rare glaborous apricots. Glaborous, as defined in the article, means smooth and glossy rather than the more familiar velvety texture. It is, possibly, one of the most enjoyable words to say and almost always gets a laugh out of people even when used nonsensically.

This magazine about food and writing is also very much about stroking the ego of the David Chang, the chef and owner of Momofuku and producer of the show No Reservations. I found this rather bizarre since his personality has little to do with food and less to do with writing, but it made the experience of reading more entertaining than most writing about food tends to be. He is, at least, an interesting person with a penchant for traveling, keeping up with top tier chefs, and creating/eating amazing food. Also, this strange fixation on David Chang is less surprising knowing that it is a McSweeney’s publication; for those of you unfamiliar with McSweeney’s, it is an online (with several print products available now!) literary magazine that tends towards satire and humor. In other words, like everything else coming out of McSweeney’s, do not take the magazine too seriously. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and refreshingly different from the more traditional food magazines like Bon Appetit (which I subscribe to and love dearly!), Saveur, and Food and Wine. Don’t get me wrong, I love thinking and reading about food, but it often seems a little too familiar. This is not those magazines; it’s awesome.

I spoke so highly of this magazine that my boyfriend’s family asked him if they should get me a year’s subscription, but they were too slow. I bought a subscription within the first 24-hours of reading the issue. I am looking forward to watching as Lucky Peach grows into a mature, and more balanced magazine about food and writing. The two things I love best. I highly recommend checking this out, and if you’re interested, get them quickly because issue one sold out and is now so sought after that copies are going for upwards of $50 on Amazon and eBay now. Craziness. What’s worse it that I might actually buy it just so that I will have a complete collection! I’ll get back to you on how that internal debate ends though.

For now, go buy a copy or stand around in the grocery store or book store near by and read a few articles. Enjoy! I know I will be.