What is the difference between happiness and joy? In my mind, the former is an elated emotion that passes, while the latter is a practiced state of mind that sticks around. This bright and beautiful summer issue of edible MAINE is chockablock with happy moments and joyous frames of mind. Let me point out a few.
Happiness is 16-year-old Lila Happel eating a good chocolate chip cookie. Joy is working with her mom to create a business making bespoke cakes, cookies, and patisserie for customers in Portland.
Happiness is writer Katy Kelleher seeing her late grandmother’s chair by the bedroom door in her Buxton home. Joy is Katy working toward a dining room chair ensemble that tells her own life’s story.
Happiness is taking in a bowl of grains grown in Maine. Joy is the 10-year journey of Maine Grains to cultivate a network of growers and customers who understand the value of flour produced by neighbors.
Happiness is private chef Amy Kayne when she sees a bowl of lemons. Joy is watching clients taste her food and understand the loving care she expended to cook it.
Happiness is summertime flowers. Joy is creating space in your budget and your home to enjoy them on a regular basis while boosting the local agricultural economy.
Happiness is enjoying a local cocktail while the sun sets. Joy is the conversation that happens in those moments and lingers long after the moon rises.
Happiness is edible MAINE celebrating its fifth anniversary with this issue (page XX). Our joy lies in being able to continue to shine light on the stories of the people and places, crops and livestock, and trends and exceptions that make the wider Maine food system so wonderful.
We hope this issue makes you happy in the moment you’re reading it and brings you joy thereafter.
Cheers,
Christine
