My First Thanksgiving

My husband and I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year, and I can't think of a single thing about it that I didn't enjoy. I got to have my mom, dad, sister, brother (and brother's family) here for three days, and I got to cook a fantastic feast from scratch and share it with people I love. So family, I've decided that we're having Thanksgiving here from now on!

I didn't shoot for the 100-mile Thanksgiving this year (maybe next year), but I think we did pretty good at sticking to our values despite the holiday.

(One minor incident...As my dad was setting the table, he passed out paper towels for everyone instead of the cloth napkins we normally use in my house and accidentally ended up using all the paper towels. But now I'm wondering how long I can go before buying more paper towels. Maybe this will be the motivation I need to finally go off paper towels completely!)

My sister and dad, ready to dig-in

On the Menu

• pasture-raised turkey from Rainbow Meadows Farm
• Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing
  
• mashed potatoes
• gravy
• mesclun salad mix from our CSA with Coon Rock Farm
• ranch dressing
• cornbread
  
• Pumpkin Gingersnap Pie
• chocolate pecan pie