And the winners are… - the new editor of Vegetarian Times enjoyed judging the reader soup recipe contest - Editorial - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1997 by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

The best thing about being the new food editor of Vegetarian Times is being paid for something I love to-do developing and researching ideas for our food pages, then testing, tasting and writing about the recipes.

The second best thing is learning how you, our readers, feel about food: knowing what you like to eat and how you like to cook will help me come up with the stories that interest you most and cater to your needs best. So you can imagine my delight when one of my first assignments as food editor was to tackle the reader soup recipe contest. But let me be completely honest. While the idea appealed to me, the thought of sorting through hundreds and hundreds of recipes, whittling them down to a smaller number, then cooking and tasting so many of them seemed daunting. But I quickly realized that there's really no better way to peer into your kitchens and gain insight into your likes and dislikes and preferred ways of doing things. I came away from this assignment exhausted but with a growing respect and appreciation for your eating habits and cooking talents. Not only did I discover that you're creative cooks but that you're quite skilled as well. It wasn't easy selecting the best recipes--there were so many wonderful ones--but the whole staff pitched in and helped. The tasting ended up being a lot of fun, as you can see from the photos, so it's a pleasure to present the contest winners in this issue.

I've only been the food editor here for a short time, but my involvement in the food industry as a writer, editor, recipe developer and cookbook author spans over a decade. In that time, I have seen vegetarianism go from fringe to fashion to fact of life because it's a more healthy and virtuous way to live. But even if you are not 100 percent vegetarian, incorporating more fresh vegetables, whole grains and legumes into your diet, and eating and cooking more sensibly in general, will help you live longer--and certainly make you feel better while doing it.

Unfortunately, our nature as human beings is to go to extremes, and this is as true with food as it is with everything else. Instead of reducing fat in our diets, we try to eliminate it completely. Instead of increasing fiber to a reasonable amount, we become oat-bran fanatics. When it comes to food and health, I believe the answer is balance, and it's what I aim for in my own life. As opposed to moderation, balance allows for excesses in your diet but keeps the pendulum from swinging too far in one direction for too long-after all, what would life be without the occasional indulgent meal or, on the other side, a brief restorative fast.

A delicious balance of food is what I want to bring to the pages of Vegetarian Times, but in doing so, not lose sight of delivering the recipes you want to eat and cook. That's why I invite you to contribute your ideas and suggestions for recipes to me.

By the way, speaking of delicious and balanced recipes, check out Recipe Redux this month on page 3 2. It features a retake on my very own mother's lasagna recipe and shows, just as your soup recipes did, that wholesome ingredients and a creative approach to food go a long way toward making your meals both healthful and tasty.