Good Eating

Thanksgiving Dinner Plate

I am enjoying a cup of organic Yirgacheffe coffee and eating devilled eggs and smoked salmon, (courtesy of our hens and my dad who smoked the salmon and my brother who caught the Copper River Red Salmon this summer). Avery has been feeding me pomegranate seeds with her little juice covered fingers. I am blessed with good food. With two little ones sometimes I feel as though all I do is cook and plan the next meal. Thankfully I enjoy my job. Good eating takes an average day and makes it special. Growing our own produce, raising livestock and eating locally all add to our appreciation of each meal. With each meal we are acutely conscious of what is local (eggs, salmon) and what is not(pomegranates, coffee), where ingredients come from and how they were processed, If more people were this knowledgeable about their food we would see some serious changes in America's food system overnight. Looking at the average American family, their eating trends and attitudes towards food, I am not so optimistic.

Our Thanksgiving day was lovely. In the past few years we have made efforts to stretch the eating over the course of the day rather than consume it in a frenzy. Appetizers, soup course, main meal and dessert were spread over an eight hour time span. Here was our menu:

Appetizers:
Dad's freshly smoked Copper River Red Salmon (caught by Adam)
Marinated and pan seared Moose bites (prepared by Patrick)
Sparkly mulled spiced cider rum punch (myself)

Soup:
Scarlet Carrot Soup with fried carrot ribbons
(made by myself, recipe out of Gourmet, our own carrots and thyme, Rosie Creek Farm beets)

Main meal:
Two Wild Roots Farm Chickens brined and rubbed with sage pesto (D and I)

Cranberries sauce with carmelized onions
(mom made with self picked cranberries)

Yukon Gold Smashed Potatoes (mom's garden potatoes)
Gravy (made with chicken drippings)

Roasted Turnips with cardamom maple glaze
(grown and prepared by Adam and Tricia)

Classic Herb Stuffing (mom)

Fluffy Cranberry Salad (Adam and Tricia/ family recipe)

Sweet Potatoes baked with butter and cream (dad/ family recipe)

Pan seared fresh Green Beans with garlic
(my own garlic/ Fred Meyer beans)

Fresh baked buttery rolls (mom)

Lots of good wine, thankfully none local.

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream (made from scratch (whole squash) by Adam and Tricia)

Pear and dried cherry pie (made by Dad)

Coffee