Okay, I'm a little punchy.

This weekend I've been pulling together the articles for our premiere issue; among them is Ruth Allard's neat piece on Depression era foods, "Care for a Lard and Sugar Sandwich?" Ruth interviewed a number of folks who recalled not only those lard sandwiches, but homemade root beer and switchel, popcorn eaten with milk as cereal, potatoes served up three times a day, and ice chips collected by youngsters following the 'ice man' as he traveled from house to house.

We have Nat Tripp writing about asparagus; Joyce Mandeville on rhubarb; and Susan Millar-Williams on cornbread. Virginia Downs waxes nostalgic about morels and fiddleheads; Bill Biddle talks about goose hunting with Sharon Wilson, who left teaching and "picked up a gun." (Giving the educators among us pause for reflection.) Isobel P. Swartz urges us to beat our swords into plowshares, while our wine goddess, Laurie-Beth Dixon, leads her followers through South American vineyards in search of affordable delights.

Eric Paris is on board with the latest farmers' market report. Carla Occaso helps you decide where in the Northeast Kingdom to hold your wedding. We'll have features on kids in the kitchen and the perils and pleasures of cooking for one. And summer recipes to savor.

None of which, however, calls for lard.