Thanksgiving Day

November 27, 2008 - I think Thanksgiving might be my new favorite holiday. It seems like a holiday made specifically for the gardener - as a perfect last meal of a very long season of growing and eating meals fresh from the garden. A way to appreciate with your loved ones all the good that has come from your hard work. As a first year grower, I have a whole new appreciation for this holiday and what it is we're really celebrating.

This was the first year that we did a true local Thanksgiving. All foods that we could buy locally, we did. There were only a few traditional dishes - like cranberry sauce - that we did without, but nobody seemed to miss them because everything we had was so delicious. I typed up a menu that was placed at everyone's plate, which read like this:

Thank you for being a part of our local Thanksgiving! Let us give thanks for the fertility of our home - the Hudson Valley, for the local farmers whose work has enabled us to enjoy this feast, and for the following ingredients that have all been grown locally!

Turkey - Northwind Farm - Tivoli, NY

Butternut Squash, Collard Greens, Celery, Eggs, Chicken Stock - Zen Acres - Red Hook, NY

Onions - Migliorelli Farm - Tivoli, NY

Corn - Kesicke Farm - Red Hook, NY

Garlic - Garlic Festival - Hudson Valley, NY

Pumpkin - Saulpaugh's - Livingston, NY

Apples - Hardeman Orchards - Red Hook, NY

Potatoes - Staron Farm - Valatie, NY

Butter, Cream, Ice Cream - Ronnybrook Farm - Ancramdale, NY

Milk - Hudson Valley Fresh - Hudson Valley, NY

Goat Cheeses - Coach Farm - Hillsdale, NY

Sheep Cheeses - Chatham Sheepherding Company - Chatham, NY

Flour - King Arthur Flour - Norwich, VT

Maple Syrup - Russell Farm - Rhinebeck, NY

Honey - Paul & Barb Ballard - Roxbury, NY

Wine - Millbrook Winery - Millbrook, NY

Beer - Keegan Ales - Kingston, NY

And I also included a thanks for the ingredients that are not grown locally but that we are fortunate to have access to: Sugar, Salt, Oats, Canola Oil, Olive Oil, Yeast, Seasonings.

As you can see, Zen Acres (that's us) contributed a few vegetables. Despite the freezing cold weather lately, we still had one celery plant that was still surviving outside. The trick this time of year is to cut hardy vegetables after they have thawed out from the night, or else they will be all mushy when they thaw. I pulled the plant up by the root, placed it in a vase and let it thaw out inside. I don't think it was super crisp when it thawed, but it was just for the stuffing and it worked great.

The collard greens have been holding up really well so far - so we know to definitely grow those again next year. We had hoped to have brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving, but our plants didn't produce very big ones. We think maybe the soil just didn't have enough nutrients.

The butternut squash was harvested months ago, and has been kept in the basement since. Winter squash is one of my favorite things to cook and I love that it stores so well for winter.

The chicken stock we used was from when we cooked one of our chickens. Everytime we eat a chicken, we boil the carcass and make several containers of stock to put in the freezer. The turkey carcass from last night is being boiled as I write this I believe...

The preparations for the meal began the day before, with making bread, crackers, and pies. Kelly was in town for the holiday, and came over to make an apple pie for her family as well:

Since I was making pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin, I had to cut, peel, boil, and mash the cheese pumpkin. It made tons way more than I needed, so I froze the rest for later. I found an all local pie recipe which is made from fresh pumpkin, honey, maple syrup, cream, and eggs - no spices, since they don't grow locally. It turned out very different from traditional pumpkin pie, but really creamy and delicious - almost like a custard.

Thanksgiving Day was spent leisurely preparing everything else, with the family arriving at 2 and dinner served at 3:30.

People have been giving me a lot of credit for the meal, but my mother and I worked together all day, so she deserves half the credit -

Natalie kept the evening lively even after all our bellies were full and a nap was on many people's minds -

And the evening ended with a competitive game of scrabble, my favorite way to end a family holiday - even when Joe and I don't win. :)

And now it's officially the Christmas season! We're going local for this holiday too, only in a different way - we have decided as a family to do all our shopping locally to support our local businesses during this difficult economy. Mom and I are heading out today to walk the streets of Red Hook and see what our options are - should be fun!

A Brother Home and a Festive Halloween!

November 5, 2008 - This is a big day for the blog because my brother Stephen gets to make his debut! After almost a year in Iraq, Stephen has returned home safely - Elizabeth has her hubby, Lorelai has her dada, and everybody is happy!

Me too, cuz, ya know... I'm a big fan of this guy.

I don't want to touch politics or war in what I write here. All I'll say is that the relief of knowing he had arrived in the U.S. was unbelievable and we all feel so blessed to have him home safely.

Needless to say, there was a sense of giddiness in the household this particular Halloween weekend, and we all decided to get decked out.

I was a cat -

Joe was animal control - and after a chase through the streets - he caught me!

Natalie was a chicken, and wasn't too keen on the whole thing at first. But I think it was mostly because her mummy mother was freaking her out. Once she got up on her roost (aka - dad's shoulders), she felt safe and managed to enjoy herself.

Elizabeth, Stephen, and Lorelai were the family farm.

And here's everybody ready to go out and trick-or-treat.

Yes, we all went, buckets in hand, door to door. Now, some may think it's a little pathetic, being adults and demanding candy from your neighbors. But it was a TON of fun, and I recommend it to everyone. There was only one mean old lady who told us not to come back next year. But I just feel sorry for her... maybe next year we should take her trick-or-treating with us?

Last but not least - what would Halloween be without an old lady in her pjs -

And a freaky guy -

All in all, it was a great time. Very festive, very celebratory.

Now that Halloween's over, we get to focus on one of my very favorite holidays... Thanksgiving! I love food, and I love that this holiday is all about food. My plans are still in the works, but I am conjuring up ideas about a completely local meal. Joe will hopefully get us a turkey, we'll have squash from our garden, and I'll have to find local brussel sprouts, potatoes, and flour to make bread with. I'll make pumpkin pie from our very own pumpkins, and serve some kind of local wine. It will be a celebration of the bounty of our area and the family who gets together to enjoy it. Can't wait...