Music and Cats

This year, Paul and I had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner for two. Does that mean that we simplified our traditional holiday feast? Of course not! Well, perhaps a little. We had only one type of cranberry sauce (down from a high of three a few years ago), and one type of dressing, down from two (or, to be regionally correct, only dressing and no stuffing). No rolls, either, because Thanksgiving dinner has enough carby goodness without rolls, doncha think? Other than those omissions, we had the usual dinner… almost.

As we move toward eating more locally, I think about what favorite non-local foods I’m willing to give up (or not), and whether there are locally grown foods that might be acceptable substitutes for them. I’m not interested in depriving myself, but in exploring my emotional connection to the foods I eat. The two ingredients that figure prominently in my Texan family’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner that I’ve been unable to find grown in Washington state are sweet potatoes and cornmeal. (If you know of a source for either, please, please, please let me know!) This year, I decided that I didn’t have to have sweet potatoes, but would cook sweet kabocha squash instead. However, I decided that, for this year at least, it wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving dinner to me without cornbread dressing.

SO, here’s the mostly local spread we put together:

• Roast Turkey - this year, the bird was an Unimproved Standard Bronze turkey, a heritage breed that can still fly, and reproduce without human assistance. Rubbed with herbed butter, roasted at high heat.
• Giblet Gravy - mmm… giblets.
• Cornbread Dressing - homemade cornbread and stale French bread from Tall Grass, onions, celery, a rehydrated Anaheim pepper and herbs sauteed in lard, moistened with egg and giblet stock and baked until brown and crusty on top.
• Mashed Potatoes - purple Vikings, a gorgeous purple-skinned, white-fleshed, particularly creamy potato, mashed skins-on with milk, cream and butter.
• Kabocha squash - roasted, then mashed with fresh ginger and sage sauteed in a bit of lard, and topped with chopped hazelnuts.
• Brussels sprouts - sliced sprouts browned with leek in a bit of lard (do you see a pattern here?), simmered with turkey stock and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
• Cranberry sauce - cranberries simmered in apple cider and honey, spiced with ginger, bay leaf and a Fresno hot pepper.
• Apple pie - Lard and butter pie crust, filled with Northern Spy and Spitzenburg apples tossed with cinnamon/nutmeg/vanilla/lemon zest/sugar.
• After Eight mints - served after Thanksgiving dinner by Paul’s grandparents; it wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving dinner for him without them.

It was quite a feast! And how thankful we are for the farmers, ranchers and dairypeople who produced all of the food that we enjoyed on Thanksgiving (and are continuing to enjoy this weekend).

Do you want to know where we got the food for our dinner?

From our yard, or a friend’s:

• Our back yard, Seattle, WA (~10 steps): sage, rosemary
• Judy’s back yard, Seattle, WA (2 1/2 miles): bay leaf

From local farmers markets:

• Tall Grass Bakery, Seattle (3 miles): Campignon loaf (local baker, organic flour)
• Willie Green’s Organic Farm, Monroe, WA (22 miles): celery, leeks
• Sidhu Farms, Puyallup, WA (31 miles): brussels sprouts, onions
• Rockridge Orchards, Enumclaw, WA (34 miles): apple cider, honey, cider vinegar
• Rainier Mountain Cranberries, Eatonville, WA (53 miles): cranberries
• Golden Glen Creamery, Bow, WA (64 miles): cream
• Skagit River Ranch, Sedro-Wooley, WA (75 miles): eggs, lard
• Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards, Lynden, WA (95 miles): hazelnuts
• Booth Canyon Orchard, Carlton, WA (112 miles): apples
• Bluebird Grain Farms, Winthrop, WA (116 miles): white whole wheat pastry flour
• Mair Farm-Taki, Wapato, WA (122 miles): kabocha squash, fresh ginger
• Tonnemaker Hill Farm, Royal City, WA (138 miles): dried Fresno (hot) and Anaheim (mild) peppers
• Olsen Farms, Colville, WA (215 miles): purple Viking potatoes
• Thundering Hooves, Walla Walla, WA (220 miles): turkey

Brought back from a trip to Vancouver Island:

• Venturi-Schulze Vineyards, Cobble Hill, BC (95 miles): balsamic vinegar

From locally-owned stores within 1/2 mile of our house:

• Snoqualmie River Ranch, Duvall, WA (19 miles): thyme
• Stone Buhr: Northwest-Grown AP Flour from Shepherds’ Grain wheat
• Bob’s Red Mill, Milwaukie, OR: cornmeal (don’t know where it was grown)
• After Eight Mints, Castleford, West Yorkshire, UK (4630 miles!)

Delivered to our front porch:

• Smith Brothers Farms, Royal City, WA (138 miles): milk

Already in our kitchen (from somewhere far away): an organic lemon (for zest), baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt and black pepper.

This was our third year attempting to eat locally at Thanksgiving. When I look back at our dinners from 2007 and 2006, I can see that it’s becoming easier to find local sources for most of this traditional meal.

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