I generally compile my Thanksgiving post the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Pie for Breakfast Day. I’m usually putting it together over pie and coffee while the turkey carcass simmers itself into a big pot of broth. I did begin this on Friday but got distracted with other things, and am here on Sunday, finishing it up. The turkey bone broth is done and the pie is long gone.
2020 was a strange and interesting year, agriculturally speaking. (Okay, it was strange and interesting in every aspect, not just agriculture, but this is my Thanksgiving post which is basically about agriculture and how it feeds the actual culture.) The COVID-19 pandemic changed farms and farmers markets. Like many other businesses, they had to figure out how to make and distribute their products while keeping themselves, their employees, and their customers safe. Every market adopted a set of guidelines designed to do that. Some markets required advance orders that you would then come to pick up. Other markets set up barriers between the consumers and the food products and you’d point at what you wanted. And some markets let consumers touch their stuff but not get anywhere near each other. It was interesting.
From the start, I was impressed at how the local food routes and distribution channels took up the slack when the large commercial channels broke down. Sure, [most of] the big guys got their bearings back in a hurry, but for those weeks, the local food system kept us fed. I was rather impressed with how they helped each other get their products to market when usual distribution locales were on hold. 
As you might imagine, many restaurants source from these farms. With restaurants having to reconfigure their business models, a lot less food was needed and some farm products couldn’t find a home. Farms who had farm stands or kiosks at farmers markets brought those products with them to find a home.
Our Thanksgiving was vastly different. Usually, I make an end-to-end local, from scratch meal and my family comes over. I generally have from 9-11 people. This year, I still made my end-to-end local, from scratch meal but it was a curbside pick-up event. My sister volunteered to be the family’s Uber-Cart and take the boxes of food to the others.
My menu was a bit reduced. I let go of a few items we normally have. For instance, I didn’t do any pickling this year. The few hot chili pepper ferments I did failed. It happens. Packing food turned out to be more challenging than I’d imagined! Instead of everyone getting a printed menu, I emailed their menus as PDF attachments and we Zoomed. Still, it worked out and I got to keep the end-to-end local from scratch tradition going, virus be damned.
Once again, I thank my farmers. This is *our* holiday–makers and eaters, together grateful for the bounty of the land.
Appetizers
- Cheese (with which to assemble your own boards):
Womanchego from Cato Corner Farm; Mt Tom and Europa cheeses from Arethusa Farm Dairy; Melinda Mae from Mystic cheese - Baba Ghanoush made with eggplant from Shortt’s Farm, Sandy Hook, CT; garlic from Fort Hill Farm.
Tahini, lemon juice, pita chips not local. - Chilled roasted beets from Maple Bank Farm;
- Roasted red peppers from Fort Hill Farm and Maple Bank Farm
- Crackers: Not local
Soup
Chicken Soup (recipe) from chickens from Stuart Family Farm. Carrots from Riverbank Farm and Waldingfield Farm; celery from Shortt’s and The Farm, Woodbury; onions from Maple Bank, garlic and parsley from my own garden.
Brown rice, small bowtie pasta, and Parmigiano Reggiano, not local.
Main Course
- Roasted Broad Breasted White turkey from Stone Garden Farm.
- Pan Gravy (recipe) from the natural juices of the bird, flour from Farmer Ground, NY
Cornbread Stuffing with cornbread (recipe) made with flour from Farmer Ground, corn meal from Sport Hill Farm, buttermilk from Five Acre Farms, Hudson Valley, NY, honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed, eggs from Nature View Farm, Bridgewater, CT; baking powder and salt not local.
Onions from Fort Hill, celery from The Farm, butter from Arethusa Farm Dairy, sage and thyme from my garden; homemade chicken stock.
Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce: Cranberries from Bishops Orchards, Killingworth, CT. Apple Cider from Averill Farm. Maple syrup from Woodbury Sugar Shed,
Cinnamon sticks not local
- Smashed Potatoes (recipe) made from Russets from Maple Bank & Yukons from Kimberly Farm, New Milford, CT with butter and sour cream from Arethusa Farm Dairy
- Baked sweet potatoes from Maple Bank
- Roasted Butternut squash (recipe) from Maple Bank. Olive oil, fennel seed, cinnamon: not local
- Roasted Brussels sprouts from The Farm.
- Broccoli from Sport Hill Farm, Easton, CT.
Dessert
- Apple Crumb Pie (recipe) made from Northern Spy apples from Averill Farm, flour from Wild Hive Farm and Farmer Ground, NY, butter from Arethusa Farm Dairy. Lemon, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon: not local
- Pumpkin Pie (recipe) made from sugar pumpkin from Maple Bank Farm, eggs from Sport Hill Farm, flour from Wild Hive Farm, butter from Arethusa Farm Dairy, and heavy cream from Ronnybrook Farm, NY, honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed, spices not local
- Fresh Whipped Cream made from heavy cream from from Ronnybrook Farm. Vanilla and sugar: not local. (I still love this gizmo)
- Ice Cream, assorted flavors from Ferris Acres Creamery, Newtown, CT
- Applesauce made from Cortland and Macintosh apples from Maple Bank Farm and Beardsley’s cider.
- Mixed nuts: Not local
- Coffee and espresso: Not local
Beverages
- Apple cider from Averill Farm
- Wine: Cabernet Franc from Jones Winery
- Hard cider: Blueberry Cider, New England Cider (thank you Reverie)
- Beer: Roadsmary’s Baby, Two Roads Brewing Company
- Soda: not local
And everyone got emailed a PDF of the menu.
Happy Thanksgiving!
