A Local Thanksgiving

Growing up in New England, our nation's history is everywhere you look. George Washington really did sleep here! A trip to Plimouth (Plymouth) Plantation as a child was very exciting. Actors in period costumes transport your imagination back to what it must have been like. Those Pilgrims who did survive the first year on the salty coast celebrated their hearts out with the bounty of their harvest.

Truly, the first stewards of our land, the Native Americans living on the Coast of Massachusetts educated the Pilgrims on the importance of being a "locavore". The Wampanoag tribes had been living on the bounty of the coast for generations, fish, eels, lobster, clams, wild turkey, squash, corn, and many indigenous foods were caught or cultivated. Without the help of one particular Native American named Squanto, the Pilgrims who survived the first year would not have survived the second.

Are you looking for a way to celebrate Turkey Day in a local way?

Luckily we live in an area of America that has so much good local food, it will be easy!

Check out my list of websites to the right, you will be able to locate purveyors of local foods very easily! Since our local artisan food community is so supportive of each other, several local products can often be found at one location!

Let's start with an appetizer that makes use of our locally available foods.

Appetizer Idea:
Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue Cheese
Pennington Farms Fig Jam
Deux Chats Bakery Crostini
Unwrap the blue cheese and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to "bloom".
Spread a little Blue Cheese onto the crostini and top with a dollop of Fig Jam.
Wash it all down with a stand -up red such as Roxy Ann Claret or Red Lily Temperanillo.