Edible Nutmeg to Launch Spring Issue with Event at Back 40 Kitchen in Greenwich

Back 40 Kitchen will celebrate the release of Edible Nutmeg’s spring issue by hosting an afternoon launch event on March 24 from 11 am to 1 pm, a day before the issue’s official release date for a 'meet & greet' with Dana Jackson, Editor and Publisher, Edible Nutmeg and Bill and Lesley King, Owners, Back 40 Farm Group. Guests are invited to pick up a free copy of the new issue and enjoy organic light bites provided Back 40 Kitchen.

The Back 40 Farm Group is closely aligned with Edible Nutmeg’s vision, which is helping their readers engage the Connecticut food community. We have long appreciated this publication and are happy to provide the venue to launch the issue that officially ‘kicks-off’ the 2016 agricultural season. – Bill King

Back 40 and Edible Nutmeg share a mission of appreciation of regional food, farming, and sustainability. While we know a little about the great folks behind Back 40, we thought it would be a great opportunity to meet Dana Jackson, Edible Nutmeg's new publisher.

5 Questions for Dana Jackson, Edible Nutmeg Publisher

Where in Connecticut do you live? I'm a resident of New Milford, CT, and Edible Nutmeg is based out of Washington, CT.

What are some of your favorite food haunts up in Litchfield County? As the publisher of a local and sustainable food and farming magazine, choosing a favorite restaurant would be like having to choose a favorite child! I couldn't possibly do it. But I could admit being biased towards simple and traditional food. The depth of flavor and richness of palate that fresh, local ingredients bring to even the simplest of dishes keeps me constantly amazed.

You have a diverse background, with the common thread of being very outdoors-focused. How did you arrive at the role of Edible Nutmeg publisher? My road to becoming the publisher of Edible Nutmeg is a long and probably boring story, but in brief, I spent years as a freelance writer and English teacher before being drawn to working on a farm, here in Litchfield County. It was Waldingfield Farm in Washington, CT, and to this day, I have yet to find a more wonderful group of people to spend a work day with. I just fell in love with it, with being outdoors every day, with having access to nutritious and delicious food, with the camaraderie that goes with having shared nemeses (like, for instance, the tomato-plant-devouring hornworm!); I was in love with all of it. In fact, I was getting ready to find a plot of land to call my own, so I could take the next step into farming, when I met the founder of Edible Nutmeg and learned that he was interested in finding someone to continue the magazine's legacy. I had been an avid reader of Edible Nutmeg for years, and given my background as a writer and editor, it seemed a uniquely fortuitous fit. That was in early 2015, and here we are, now, just a short number of days away from releasing the second edition since I began publishing the magazine.

Edible Nutmeg and the Back 40 Kitchen are collaborating on an event this month. What is it about the restaurant and its sister companies that makes it a fit or Edible Nutmeg? Well, Back 40 was a natural fit for Edible Nutmeg to partner with, because of the growing food movement in Fairfield County. Back 40's dedication to organics and sustainable agriculture, farmers markets, and chefs who shop, cook, and support local is immediately in line with Edible Nutmeg's mission. Did you know that Back 40 Kitchen has its own organic farm, Back 40 Farm, from which they draw a lot of their produce for the kitchen? I love to see that sort of thing and hope Connecticut food makers continue to draw upon the incredible agricultural country that is a part of our state.

What can we expect from Edible Nutmeg with you at the helm? I hope that most readers don't notice anything changing! Edible Nutmeg has always been a beautiful and informative magazine and I have no intention of doing anything to alter that. But I would like to see more stories about Fairfield and New Haven counties. There are so many great things going on throughout those counties that I feel deserve more of all our attention. And we're continuing to develop the website into both a resource and news source. I'd like our readers to be able to go there for any agricultural information they need - whether it be local CSA program listings, farmers market information, or just visiting our events calendar to find something to do over the weekend - but I also want them to be able to find, online, the news stories and food announcements that aren't always able to make it into our quarterly print editions in a timely fashion. Visiting the website should be like having a fresh Edible Nutmeg article each week!