Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love to cook with people, make big farm-style meals and have time to eat and talk for hours. I was lucky to have grown up with California cattle ranchers as a very young child, and later with New York farmers (and a few hippies) who grew organic produce for a road-side stand, baked bread for the whole family and made a huge Thanksgiving dinner every year. My grandmother would bake for days, and I can almost smell the apple and pumpkin pies…
I still find it amazing that she cooked with such love and caring and dedication. Our Thanksgiving dinners were really something to inspire gratitude. We knew she had grown the hubbard squash, and that the pie crust was hand rolled and carefully cut into lattice.
What other way was there? And she catered to each of us without question. I was an avid vegetarian for 27 years, as were several members of our family, and so we had stuffing baked in the bird, and then a vegetarian version made
in it’s own oven pan with lots of oil and butter and sage and homemade bread and veggies. What a wonderful woman Marion was! I can only aspire to prepare foods with her dedication, patience and love for the people she prepared it for.
In the spirit of inclusion and gratitude for our farmer friends, I’d like to encourage you to buy produce and turkey from a local farmer this Thanksgiving.
Organic or Local Turkeys grown without hormones or antibiotics can be found here:
Mrs. Green’s Katonah: can order in store or by phone. Ask for the Eberly’s Organic Turkeys. The Murray’s are not organic. (914) 232-7574
Nature’s Temptations Ridgefield store only, by phone or in person: (203) 438-5443
Garden of Ideas THANKSGIVING VEGGIE/FRUIT BOX from Garden of Ideas, Ridgefield: 203-431-9914
Thornwood Farms has heritage turkeys and you can find them this Saturday at the Larchmont Farmer’s Market. You can call to reserve yours at 607-369-4021
McEnroe Organic Farms in Ancramdale has Turkeys available in the store, or you can preorder specific sizes by calling here.
Local chefs who specialize in sustainable foods and special diets are also offering whole dinners and sides to take a little of the stress out of Thanksgiving dinner preparation. Chef Gerry Herrfurth, Susan Scaglio, TABLE Local Market and Chef Liz from Nature’s Temptations all have great menus available, so give them a call.
I’d also like to share some special links with you. The first is from an article by a fellow blogger on how to create an attitude of gratitude with your family and friends. To read it, click here.
The second is a blog post by an old friend turned raw-foodist Phil McCluskey from Danbury, and he give some good recipes especially suitable for any vegans and raw foodies at your table this holiday.To read, click here.
In the spirit of Marion, eat well!
Give Thanks to Farm Workers, Farm Animals and the Land–Buy Local and Organic for the Holidays
____________________________________
- follow me on Twitter @katonahgreen
- join the Facebook conversation
- get involved with the Katonah Green & Beyond Meetup Group
- follow my Local Foods-Local Chefs series
Even more locally, you can get organic turkeys–and other organic poultry, meat, and dairy products–at Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor.
http://www.hemlockhillfarm.com/index.php
It’s one of Westchester’s last family-owned working farms.
Posted by Northern Westchester Home | November 22, 2009, 7:22 pm