ROOTS—THEY’RE NOT JUST CARROTS AND POTATOES. Roots remind us of our heritage and our connection to the land. In this issue, their ever-expanding and interconnected nature is explored through stories, art, photography, and comics: learn about a Black-owned BBQ enterprise that binds multiple generations; reflect on the bittersweet nostalgia of Jell-O salads, kitschy vintage cookies, and a Mother’s Day gone awkwardly wrong. Meet a cluster of sauce-makers and a Navajo food podcaster; and walk with four intrepid young women laying down new roots outside the traditional concept of the modern farmer.
KITCHEN TABLE #5: THE ROOTS ISSUE is about place-based culture that influences how we eat. Whether it’s the straight-up joy of a Mid-western White Castle slider or an inventive chef discovering the pleasures of vegetables through foraging in nature, the food traditions that we carry with us and the ones we build around us continue to reverberate through the communities in which we grow.
