It is the day before Thanksgiving, so it’s time to start preparing for tomorrow’s feast of gratitude. I’m actually getting off easy this year. Usually, I cook the entire meal for my family. But as things turn out, my son is studying abroad and my husband is going to a family reunion Thanksgiving gathering. Up until COVID, my spiritual community had a tradition of holding a Thanksgiving service and then a group meal for anyone interested. My son and husband never wanted to go to a large Thanksgiving gathering, so I would go to the service but then come home to fix a meal for our family.

But the good news is this year my center is reviving their old tradition for the first time since 2019. And since my menfolk aren’t around this year, I can go! The minister always gets up early and makes the turkey, and the rest of us provide everything else. My responsibility this year is to make mashed potatoes in my Instant Pot and stuffing in my crockpot!

My gratitude starts early because of the wonderful work of the farmers at the Cary Downtown Farmers Market. Good food starts with quality ingredients, and look at the lovely ingredients I got this Saturday at the market. While they didn’t have everything I needed, the high quality of the things I got will enhance the taste of two of the cornerstones of our Thanksgiving meal.

What I forgot to put into the picture was a turkey back I got from Bull City Farm, which was selling heirloom turkeys both whole and in parts. The turkey back will be PERFECT for making the turkey broth for the stuffing. It will be enhanced by the Simon and Garfunkle herbs I got from Parker Farm and Well Fed Community Garden–the row of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme along the right edge of the picture. I also have both scallions (Well Fed Community Garden) and onions (LB Farm) to include in my stuffing. I know they will all contribute to an outstanding dish for tomorrow.

I included a few other items as well. The apples are from Gabor Farm, and I plan to make some kind of apple dessert TBD. The sourdough bread is for the traditional turkey sandwich on Friday to eat up the leftovers. And if you don’t recognize that stalk in the center of the picture, it is actually fresh ginger! By Saturday or Sunday, I’ll be tired of traditional Thanksgiving food, and plan to repurpose remaining leftovers into an Asian stir fry.

So today I’ll make my turkey bone broth and prepare things for cooking my contributions to the meal Thanksgiving morning. And I will also start the spiritual part of the holiday by expressing my gratitude to the wonderful small local “organic-ish” farmers who provide such delicious, healthy, and sustainable food for our table, not just on Thanksgiving, but all year round.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off our Thanksgiving celebration!