It wasn’t until 2024 that I fully embraced my love for cooking. Historically, I find it difficult to enjoy activities that I’m not good at. My brain categorized cooking as a necessary, not-so-fun task for too many years. But when I started to find recipes that inspired and succeeded, when practice boosted my confidence and I was able to share my dishes at potlucks and dinner parties—using produce we grew and protein we harvested—something changed. Cooking can be fun!
So, when Ruth Alliband spread her favorite recipe books on her dining table during our recent conversation, my enthusiasm knew no bounds. The books spanned decades, cultures and cuisines, but all were focused on cooking with local, foraged ingredients. These are the books Alliband uses to curate the menu for her Forager’s Dinner, a repeat silent auction item at Sustainable Stillwater MN’s annual gala. Acorns, bison, catmint leaves and violets were all on the menu. Not to worry! We’re sharing Alliband’s story and recipes with you, Readers. I’m planning to bake her Cranberry Black Walnut Pound Cake for this year’s holiday festivities.
My favorite stories to share and read have always been profiles, and this issue is chock-full of them! In these pages, you’ll meet Ted Hooley, a Stillwater native (and descendant of a founder of Cub Foods) who founded Senitizo, a humanitarian nonprofit organization in the Central African Republic, and hear from Rosie Peters, a St. Croix Valley Magazine Editorial Advisory Board member, poet and restaurant owner in Marine on St. Croix, who shares the story of her recent cardiac episode in her own words. It’s a beautiful story of health, hope and spirituality.
If you’re like me and struggle to fully enjoy an activity until you’re a pro, I hope you’ll consider staying the course and trying something new—I know I will in the new year. Weather permitting, I’m itching to get out on my cross-country skis. It’s a new activity for me, and I’m excited for the adventures it will bring—even when I fall.
All the best,
—Zoe Yates
