Green Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying/have enjoyed filling, local meals with family and friends. After a lively Friendsgiving this weekend, the cats and I spent a rather quiet day at home today. I had a Thanksgiving breakfast of local cranberry walnut bread, three minute local organic eggs and free trade coffee with a friend while listening to Radio Times on NPR, and then settled in to a peaceful day of reflection, relaxation and studying. I have yet to change out of my pajamas, though I foresee some yoga and a bath in my near future. My "big" meal consisted of pulling out the Four Worlds cranberry walnut bread again (it really is delicious!) and making a heavenly sandwich of local cheddar cheese and crisp local organic apples. Yum! Later I might juice some carrots, beets and apples from my CSA share. Throughout the day I have been indulging in nibbles from a chocolate babka (also from Four Worlds): so tasty! Not a traditional Thanksgiving, but a pleasant day all the same.

While browsing through my usual food/news/eco links I saw that Green Options had a Thanksgiving post posing three "green" questions to be asked at the Thanksgiving table. The cats are sleeping, so I will provide answers for you. And if any of you readers feel like posting your answers to these questions in the comments, I'd love to read your responses!!

1. What new local food did you discover this year?
The Discovery of Michael Dollich's Four Worlds Bakery has certainly rounded out my local diet. Though I have trouble breaking away from his amazing mulit-grain levain, every other bread and treat (babka, croissants, bagels) I have tasted are equally wonderful.

2. What bad food habit did you give up or replace?
Not that it ever was a conscious part of my diet, but I have done a pretty good job of weeding out high fructose corn syrup (yuck!!). That evil ingredient hides in the most unlikely of places. I too have tried to become more conscientious in choosing fish off of the eco-best list (though I am all too often inconsistent in this!).

3. What’s your most memorable meal of 2008?
I find this question nearly impossible to answer! 2008 was a long year and I ate many excellent meals. Pointing out my failure at eating only the most eco-friendly fish or obstaining altogether, I could point out my birthday meal at Philly's Morimoto, where I indulged in the tastiest of sushi and heavenly dessert. Also questionable on the eco-best list could be the out-of-this world fish tacos and guacamole at Jose's Mexican Food (10th and Spring Garden....go now!). Totally not local. I can do better. I could pick any number of Wednesday dinners from the last spring semester. When I lived in Fitler Square I would pick up my Highland Farms CSA Wednesday afternoons from the Metropolitan Bakery and then make a meal based on these rotating ingredients for David and me. Always local, always tasty, always good company. Of course, my most memorable meal of the year might still be to come...I imagine that sometime between December 27 and Jan 2 (well, that would be 2009 then) I will eat many an ecovore dream meals. More about that next month!!

Enjoy the bounty of the season and of your region and take care.