May-Jun 2018

Kitchens + Gardens

Where do I feel most at home in my own home? While I do enjoy a snuggle on the couch and the quiet personal space of my bedroom, it’s in my kitchen where I feel most fluent, productive and happy. Over the past century, this room has been slowly re-coded from a space of servitude, cordoned off in the back of the house, or even the basement, a place of low class and “women’s work.” I think of the women that came before me who felt trapped in their kitchens, and those who cooked for other families while barely able to feed their own, and those who felt that women’s liberation meant they should be ashamed of the enjoyment of domestic tasks. I am so grateful to live in a time where I can be empowered — and privileged — to view my own kitchen as the heartbeat of my house, a place to experiment without judgement, to gather with my loved ones, to blow off steam with the stereo up and a cocktail in hand, and of course, to prepare food (and do dishes, but let’s not worry about that now).

Restaurant kitchens are spaces I know much less of, but have an insatiable curiosity about. My days, forever ago, of waiting tables introduced me to the steam and the smells, the curses and the camaraderie, the focus and the stress. For many of us, these are mythical places, which we’re only exposed to in restaurants with open kitchens (which are edited for the public eye, trust me), or in a little peek through a swinging door when a server comes out carrying plates of food.

A garden is also a place I’m less familiar with, though I’m trying to learn. I’ve never had a green thumb. Over the past few years, I’ve tried to shake off my past failures (read: so many dead plants), and trust that if I try again, with good seeds, rich soil, fecund compost and fingers crossed, that small successes will come.

For May and June, we’ll bring you content all about both kitchens and gardens, places from which things are created to feed and nourish our bodies and our souls. At their core, kitchens and gardens are both about coaxing things to grow: a plant, a dream, a family, a vision. We’ll talk to artisans making modern kitchen pantry staples, craftspeople creating beautiful kitchen tools and serving ware, and chefs who keep their walk-ins stocked with peak-season produce. We’ll explore lush local gardens, too, and we’ll suggest spirits redolent of spring flowers. We’ll meet gardeners who will teach us how not to kill our plants, and so much more.

Come along with us as we dig into one of the best times of the year, when gardens are exploding with life and, with any luck, our kitchens are, too.