Over lunch one day, I was able to take a sneak peak of Edible Paradise, the adult coloring book by my friend and talented illustrator Jessie Kanelos-Weiner a few weeks before it released. Jessie had completed a limited edition watercolor copy which is absolutely stunning. Every page was filled with glorious colors and details of vegetables and fruits organized by season.
Here are three good reasons to buy yourself a copy:
Coloring is like meditation
I think everyone can admit that we all need a little time to do something calm, quiet and disconnected from technology. Yet even when I aim to do just that (take a bath or read a book) I still find myself drawn to look at my phone. It’s not that I really receive that many emails or text messages but at this point, I can fully admit I am addicted to the endless scrolling and switching from app to app. When I colored my first page of Edible Paradise, I made sure to keep my phone in a different room and before I knew it, I felt like I was in elementary school, my tongue sticking slightly out of my lips in concentration, coloring away inside (and sometimes outside) the lines. It felt good for the soul and spirit.
A new and creative way to eat in-season
Jessie has included vegetables like ramps, heirlooms tomatoes and fiddleheads along with herbs like echinacea and flowers like zucchini blossoms and chicory. It opened my eyes to an entirely new idea of in-season and to different things to try and search for. I’d never really thought about the best time to eat fiddleheads (spring) but now I do – after I’ve done my best to color them in. Another part of the book that I love aside from the cute ladybugs, snails and bumblebees peppered throughout is that Jessie includes different varieties of vegetables. The page of kale is not just typical curly green but includes lacinato, Russian and even a few varieties that are calling out for light pink, purple and off-white hues. The illustration pays so much attention to detail that every page has a personality of its own.
Color the rainbow and then eat the rainbow
Not only will you discover or rediscover new and different varieties but at the very least, Edible Paradise will inspire you to look for and cook with something new! Flipping through the spring pages reminded me that soon I will see wild asparagus and then fresh artichokes. It’s not just farm to table but now it’s farm to market to table to book.
Edible Paradise
Jessie Kanelos-Weiner
Check out Jessie’s great radio interviews on Radio Cherry Bombe and The Morning After.
superfitbabe says
Jessie is such a talented artist! I loved coloring books as a kid. I use sketching as meditation–great way to healthily express your thoughts!
thefrancofly says
Love this piece so much! Thanks, friend!