As we were finishing up this issue, Michael (our Creative Director) and I both blurted out: “we really are a food magazine!”

Over the years I have been feeling like food is the foundation of this house, but we are really more about the people living in the house. Our articles speak about food but say more about the people who produce it than the food itself. When I give talks I always say “we are the People Magazine of Boston food.” The people are indeed a critical link to it all. Without them, we would not have anything to write about.

But this season, we’ve taken a slightly different path and I have to confess, it was by chance, not planned. To be a “true” food magazine, you need recipes, and while I’ve shied away from them to a greater extent in the past, no more. Recipes are an integral part of food – through them we learn to create, learn new techniques, and learn to truly enjoy our food.

Last year the magazine celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in our pages we showed you glimpses of the party we threw to thank our advertisers for their continued support. This year, we wanted to involve our readers. I wish I could say we threw another party, but instead we reached out and invited you, our readers, onto our pages.

 The 1st Annual Edible Boston Tomato Contest was born. We asked you to submit your favorite summer tomato recipes. We also wanted to know where you purchase your tomatoes and where you pick up your copy of Edible Boston.

The response was great. We ended up with a large assortment, actually making it harder than we thought to pick the 5 winners! The recipes ranged from the very simple—bite into a tomato, sprinkle with salt and continue eating—to a more refined and complicated tomato tarte tatin. We’ve included our winners in this issue, but don’t despair, all the recipes submitted, even those from the professional chefs, are posted on our website!

I was very happy to have reader involvement on this project. It has always surprised me how little feedback I get from our readers. Except for the occasional factual correction, we usually only get mail when we’ve gone to the extreme: last Fall’s controversial turkey cover, for example, or the butcher cover back in 2007.

But we want to hear from you. We appreciate readers’ feedback and learn from each and every comment that comes our way.

So, as a thought comes to your mind about the state of local food in the Boston area, or if you discover a new farmer or food vendor you think we should know about, drop us a note via email, snail mail, Facebook, or Twitter. Thanks for your continued support of Edible Boston!

Ilene Bezahler Publisher/Editor