Eat Local this Thanksgiving

We call it Turkey Day for a reason—Thanksgiving totally revolves around food, so what better day to support a localized food system? By adding one or more locally sourced dishes to your Thanksgiving menu, you’ll decrease your carbon footprint, help preserve local farmland, and support the local economy. Plus, you’ll get delicious, fresh, and unique foods to add to your Thanksgiving table. Most importantly, you can educate your friends and family on the benefits of eating local foods and show them how delicious and easy it can be.

Thanksgiving is a good holiday to take local because it’s a traditional harvest festival that celebrates seasonal food. That means it’s easy to make your favorite traditional dishes with local foods, just substitute some locally grown ingredients.

For example:

Mashed Potatoes make an easy start. You don’t have to change anything about your recipe, just buy some potatoes from the farmer’s market and mash them! You might encounter some interesting varieties; ask the vendor for a starchy or all-purpose variety.

Crudités, also known as the veggie tray, are another easy dish to take local. Replace the baby carrots with farmer’s market carrots that you cut up yourself, along with some local celery. Then add in some parsnips, and maybe you’ll introduce some kids to a new veggie!

Stuffing can incorporate homemade bread cubes. Use a homemade loaf or one from a local bakery, cut into 1-inch cubes. Toast the cubes in a 200-degree oven until dried through but not browned at all. Use these cubes in your favorite stuffing recipe, adding homemade stock for extra credit!

Pumpkin pie, that Thanksgiving classic, doesn’t have to come out of a can. Pick up a pie pumpkin (or another winter squash) at the farmers market. Carefully cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds (roast them for tasty treat), and place cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the sheet in a 325-degree oven and pour a quarter-inch of water into the pan. Roast until tender, about 1 hour, adding more water to the pan if necessary. Let cool and then scoop the flesh out and puree it. Add the puree in place of the canned pumpkin in your favorite recipe. You can also do this several weeks ahead of time and save the puree in the freezer.

Apple pie is a great celebration of our local Washington produce. You can find Washington-grown apples in many grocery stores, even if you can’t make it to the farmer’s market. At the market ask for a tart variety, Pink Ladies are my favorite.

Turkey stock adds extra Thanksgiving flavor to stuffing, gravy, and various leftover creations. Ask a local butcher for soup bones, parts like turkey necks are often wasted because people don’t know how to use them any more. A few days ahead, boil these with an onion, a carrot, celery, and a turnip, along with some fresh thyme, sage and savory. Strain and save in the refrigerator or freezer until the big feast.

Cascade Harvest Coalition and Puget Sound Fresh are encouraging King County residents to take a pledge to add one local dish to their Thanksgiving table. Take the pledge and find more resources, like where to buy, what’s in season, and some new recipes, at eatlocalforthanksgiving.org.