In the Summertime - Summer 2023 Issue

COVER: Passionfruit Coconut Tart from Beurre Sec. PHOTOGRAPHY: Elizabeth Hannah Studios

Visions of an Indiana summer: sunshine on my mind, fireworks in the night sky, the smell of a campfire in the air, sparkling diamonds on the water of a lake. Fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, farmers markets packed full of those ingredients sprinkled among urban and rural neighbors throughout any of the 92 counties in our state.

photograph: Marissa Molloy

I love summer—not so much the blistering heat or hot pavement, but all the above take me back to my childhood and to a time when things were a bit slower. Throughout this issue I want to encourage you to be deliberate in noticing and appreciating the days, hours and minutes of your summer. These days the stressors of so many things take us back to the pre-pandemic days of busy. Life goes by so fast that it has never been more important to be in the moment, to take a pause to give ourselves a little self-love and care. To be here now.

In this issue we talk about the spicy marriage of sweet and heat; we meet an up-and-coming soulful pastry chef who puts the passion in her passionfruit tart (cover photo); we learn about the immersive experience of forest bathing; and we hear a real-life tale about permaculture on a local farm in Westfield. Those are just a few In the Summertime stories we have garnered for you to read with a cold glass of lemonade, under an umbrella, shoes off and fancy-free, listening to Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime.”

We also can’t forget to tell you to buy your tickets to one of many shows of Rock the Ruins at Holliday Park (including Parliament-Funkadelic featuring George Clinton) and the must-attend event of the year SWING, benefiting the Indianapolis Indians charities. You will find information about both at EdibleIndy.com or on our social channels @edibleindy.

With gratitude, hope and summer cheer,
Jennifer Rubenstein 
2023 Indiana Grown Commission Board Member

Even in The Netherlands, where I am living at the moment, summer is a special season. Dutch summers are cool—sometimes literally, with rain and cold. But mostly, cool in all its hotness. For me, it’s picking wild brambles on a forest walk, eating cured herring by the sea and grilling satays over hot coals in the garden. Summer means sweaty nights and sleeping with the windows wide open. Days break at 4am and nights don’t fall until well after 10pm. Summer is listening to the reassuring hum of bees busy in flowering bushes around us. They are still here; they are still busy. But let’s not take the buzzing bees for granted. Summer is for dancing in the rain when blue skies suddenly turn dark. It’s for watching a storm while listening to Vivaldi’s “Summer,” as his music builds up from lazy and idyllic to dramatic and thundering. And when the sun is back out, we join Katrina and the Waves to be “Walking on Sunshine.” Enjoy this issue brimming with bright yellow beauty and love.

With pleasure, 
Francine Spiering