The primary source of our Thanksgiving meal
This year, we're participating in the 100-Mile Thanksgiving.
Our reasons for moving to a farm are many, but the primary reason is that we could produce some of our own food. Those of you who know me know I have a thrifty streak, and obviously, if I can spend $.10 on a pound of homegrown leeks versus the $5 I pay for organic ones, I am liable to do it. Knowing how the food was produced and having a very short commute to the table also means this is the freshest, most nutritious, most personally gratifying produce possible. Our weekly boxes from the CSA when we lived in the city were great; this is even better.
But we are having 8 people and one small person to our table this Thanksgiving. So I have been hoarding, trying to keep all foods within a hundred miles from our table...and that means I am cooking (and freezing) that cauliflower soup now, baking that bread for stuffing now, while I can still get that fresh cauliflower and those freshly ground grains. The turkey has been ordered. I need to make butter from our raw milk cream. Oil and spices will somewhat come from far away. Other irreplacable things like celery in the stuffing will be substituted (lovage and lots more onions, I think). It is all a grand experiment. But it is also something I can do, and in so doing, hopefully I can teach others the importance of local food.
2 comments:
el, I think this is amazing! How much more meaningful your Thanksgiving meal will be since so much of it came from your own garden! I have to say, I've been wanting more land, chickens, etc....and visiting your blog completely inspires me to work toward doing just that. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a great life, if more us would follow your example our planet earth would be better for it. I am trying to convince my family that it is the way to go but they are all city folks. So here I stay with my small city garden
Post a Comment