1.Plan ahead- You may need to place an order for pick-up or delivery or shop at a retail location up to a week in advance to make sure you have everything you need for your holiday table. Do a little research on what is available near you, make a plan and mark your calendar.
It’s mid-November. The leaves on the trees have all fallen, with the exception of the few that still stubbornly cling to their branches. It’s getting colder. Clocks have been moved back an hour, so night comes early. Migratory birds are gathering or headed south. And it’s crunch-time for animals like chipmunks, and non-migratory, resident bird species (e.g. chickadees, cardinals, jays, nuthatches, some woodpeckers, and crows) that, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, have been stockpiling or caching food for a while now, in preparation for the coming of winter.
For many of us, the Thanksgiving holiday marks the onset of winter. The holiday brings family and friends together for warm, memorable reunions, time-honored traditions and scrumptious, festive meals. We relax, celebrate our good fortune, and just enjoy one another’s company, pausing to appreciate the things we hold dear. We say grace and give thanks, as the turkey is carved and the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes are passed around. And Mom… It smells delicious!
By Mary Godnick, Communication Coordinator, Adirondack Harvest, CCE Essex
There is no sugarcoating it: a locally-raised turkey will cost more money than the big birds at the grocery store. So why spend more on something you can get so cheaply?
The average grocery store turkey will likely cost around $1.27 per pound this year, according to the American Farm Bureau. The unbelievably cheap turkeys sold at big box grocery stores are often injected with a solution that includes water, salt, and other additives. This process, known as “enhancement” or “plumping,” is done to improve the flavor and juiciness of the meat, and to increase its weight, which can make the turkey appear larger. You may be paying much less per pound on these birds, but you’re paying for a lot of salt water.
By Melanie Reding, Associate Director, Adirondack Diversity Initiative
Like many contemporary holidays and celebrations, Thanksgiving has become a holiday where oversimplification, misrepresentation and myths tend to dominate the narrative. The history and significance of the day is often overshadowed by commercialism and merry-making. Holiday shopping and Black Friday sales, which increasingly begin on Thanksgiving Day, have become a distraction from the celebration of family and togetherness.
Furthermore, when it comes to Thanksgiving, there is a deep and tragic history that for centuries Americans have refused to accept — choosing instead to perpetuate a harmful myth. Unlike the depiction in the 1912 painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, the relationship between the Wampanoag Tribe native to Massachusetts and the Pilgrims of that “First Thanksgiving” was anything but the school-taught myth of happy little Indians and Pilgrims sitting together enjoying a meal. In my school days, the lesson was taught with construction paper feathers, pilgrim hats and books where “I was for Indian” was accompanied by colorful images of smiling party guests.
Have you considered buying a local turkey for your Thanksgiving meal this year? Buying a pasture-raised turkey from a local farm is one way to offer gratitude for the people and land that nourish your family. Locally raised turkeys are also usually raised in more humane conditions, and are much more flavorful and delicious. Most local farms and retailers require customers to pre-order and place a deposit on their turkeys in advance, generally from September-October. Browse the list below to reserve a local turkey for your Thanksgiving table.
Adirondack Beef Company, Croghan, NY
1- Keep your dollars in your community: The average farmer only makes $0.17 for every $1.00 spent on the food they grew. Buying directly from a farmer means they will receive 100% of the profits they earned.
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m taking today and the next few days off for the holiday. In case you are looking for some last-minute recipes or food inspiration, here are a few treasures from the Almanack archive:
Kim and Pam Ladd, who wrote the popular “Happy Hour in the High Peaks: An Adirondack Bar Guide,” are two ladies who know cocktails. They put together some favorite Thanksgiving Cocktail Recipes.
Paul Hetzler has a piece on Native Foods on the Thanksgiving Table. Larry Gooley has one on an old-time ritual, Nutting Season.
If you’re not into eating crickets, maybe apples are your thing. There’s a recipe for a traditional Thanksgiving Apple Pie or Farmhouse Apple Crisp.
Ever wonder How Cranberries Get Their Color? Paul Hetzler’s piece All About Cranberries is a perfect primer on the native berry. Also try Annette Nielsen’s Adirondack Cranberry Compote.
The first Thanksgiving meal shared between the pilgrim colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans in 1621 included American eels!
Before you add eels to your menu this year, be sure to check NYS Freshwater Fishing Regulations.
When we asked Fisheries staff to share a recipe for a freshwater fish dish they traditionally prepare on Thanksgiving, we were hard pressed to find one, but we did receive a seafood recipe (below).
If you have a traditional freshwater fish dish you enjoy with your family on Thanksgiving and would like to share it with us, email fwfish@dec.ny.gov.
Farmhouse Apple Crisp
This has to be one of my favorite comfort food recipes of all times. When I was growing up, my mom would make apple crisp in a giant pan. As soon as the crisp came out of the oven, my sisters and I would descend on the hot pan like ravenous vultures, happily devouring every last crumb. Although this version won’t make the giant pan-sized apple crisp that my mom made, it will allow you to enjoy the exact same delicious apple crisp that my sisters and I did, and still do to this day. Enjoy!
Pawtuxet Wampanoag Tisquantum‘s story begins during the summer of 1605, when British sailors, under the command of Captain George Weymouth, commissioned by a colonial entrepreneur Sir Ferdinando Gorges, kidnapped him, along with four other Native American boys, and brought them to England.
In his diary, Capt. Weymouth wrote, “we used little delay, but suddenly laid hands upon them … For they were strong and so naked as our best hold was by their long hair on their heads.” » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Almanack will be taking Thanksgiving off, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a little light, but smart Adirondack Thanksgiving reading.
Check out a couple recipes, try a cocktail, and some stories from the natural world that makes the Adirondacks so unique at this time of year. » Continue Reading.
No matter how inundated my email is with apparently fabulous “not to be missed” offers or how jaded I get by mid-October from trying to avoid an early onslaught of holiday music, there is always one event or activity that shifts me from bitter and overworked to a warmer holiday mood.
After a retail juggernaut, it’s time to relax and embrace the arts with a holiday tradition, a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet. » Continue Reading.
“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” These are the words of H.A. (Henry Allen) Ironside; a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, member of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, and one of the most inspired Christian writers of the 20th Century.
For most Americans, Thanksgiving is exactly that; a time of giving thanks. But it’s also a time when we commemorate the success of the Pilgrims; the Separatists who came here from England to establish the Plymouth colony. And, next year, Americans will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower, and the Pilgrims, to the shores of Massachusetts. » Continue Reading.
The 22nd Annual Indian Lake Country Christmas Tour (CCT) has been set for Friday, November 29th, and Saturday, November 30th.
This year’s theme “Made in the Adirondacks” invites visitors and shoppers to an inside view of the lives and work of many local and regional artisans and crafters. » Continue Reading.
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We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.
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Just knowing that it has not changed,
In its essence,
One of the few precious things that continues,
Though the Who, What, Where, of it
Adjusts.
It remains a time to pause, breathe, remember,
Love, appreciate, thank,
Perhaps touch…
» Continue Reading.