Editor’s Note: Body and Soul

As you might imagine, we spend a sizable amount of time in this office discussing food — new rooms, killer dishes, up-and-coming chefs. I share a baking passion with my colleague Anicka, and we swap Bon Appétit recipes and the odd tale of woe. Michael, who edits The Dish, has just returned to the city; he’s taking in as many restaurants as his system can handle, and morning reports are always inspiring. But mawkish as it sounds, when I look back at the summer it’s not so much the fine-dining experiences that stand out; rather, it’s table time with family and friends, often last-minute, when the world’s cares receded. My summer in five simple dishes?

• Devilled eggs in the backyard, when my son hosted a going-away party for 40 friends before he left for university. (My tip is smoked paprika.)

• Steamed corn, fresh as could be and eaten with a buddy on the porch in Portland’s Southeast Division, with Lagunitas copper ale in endless supply. The neighbours kitty-corner blasted reggae, the sun set, we had nowhere to be… The capper was a side of padrón peppers sautéed with olive oil and salt (a trick picked up from Nostrana the night before).

• Grilled okanagan apricots — caramelly and jammy — served on toast at The Acorn, on a date night with my wife. We walked home, which allowed me the great pleasure of kibitzing the slo-pitch players in Douglas Park.

• Fiery green beans with miso-soy glaze at Wild Rice in New West’s River Market — the beans (and some dry-hopped ESB from local Steel & Oak Brewing) tasted all the sweeter for the 50 klicks’ bike ride there and back. I did it!

• Salad rolls at Jericho Beach, with out-of-town relatives. We covered my young nephew in the sand, played tag, swam in the (red tide) ocean with freighters and Sea-Doos and that million-dollar view, ate watermelon . . . Bliss.

I hope your table was as joyful and as groaning, and that this issue’s cornucopia of food stories piques your appetite as we gear up for another hibernation.

Related Reading: Editor’s Note: The Space Race, Editor’s Note: Summer School