Wild Turkey by Patricia Drury
Kansas really has the best food. Now maybe you’ll not agree, but, before you shout me down, take a look at the feast of local food available for a Kansas Thanksgiving. When you get to the end, then you can tell me if I don’t have your mouth watering. Oh, and a few of these come from over the border in Missouri, but I won’t tell if you don’t, because in the Kansas City metro we’re good neighbors. Local food is the foundation of green communities and sustainability – get eating. Enjoy!
Snacks and Starters
When you’re busy cooking lots of food on a holiday you might want something simple for lunch. My kids enjoy snacking on little savories – it’s as much a part of the holiday as the big meal. Here are some local Kansas foods to put on your menu:
- Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds – pumpkin seeds you can easily roast yourself at home, sunflower seeds come in a variety of flavors including honey toasted sunflower nuts from the Sunflower Food and Spice Company in Riverside, MO.
- Salsa and chips – Kansas gardeners harvested tons of tomatoes this year. I still have fresh tomatoes, tomatillos, green onions and parsley from my garden; great ingredients for some homemade salsa. Drive a few miles from my home and you’ll find fields full of corn. Strangely, I can’t find a supplier of locally grown or ground corn. If you know of one, please do let me know. Several local Kansas City companies produce tortilla chips. One my family enjoys is L’iL Guy.
- Bread and cheese – home-baked bread is great, but for some labor saving, local bakery bread is better. Farm to Market Bread Co. make wonderful artisan breads. Or for both local and organic, or gluten free, artisan breads try Bread of Life Organic Bakery. Local Kansas farms such as Green Dirt Farm make a surprising variety of cheeses, with enticing names like Queen of the Prairie.
- Apples – the fresh crunch of apples goes particularly well with bread and cheese. Pome on the Range Orchard and Winery sell apples from their own orchard and from an alliance of independent orchards from neighboring states.
Turkey and More Meats
It’s no secret that Kansas men enjoy hunting and fishing. Oh yes, there are women who go hunting too. In fact the outdoor stores in Kansas are about camouflage rather than climbing, tracking rather than trekking. For some, wild turkey will be on the menu, but not for me.
If meat is on your Thanksgiving menu, consider the following local Kansas choices:
- Turkey direct from the farm – heritage and pastured turkeys are available from many farmers in both Kansas and Missouri. With prices as reasonable as $3.90 per pound there seems no reason to buy a “mutant”, breast-heavy, indoor-raised, injected turkey bird… except that you’re probably too late to buy direct from the farm for 2009 – after calling three different farms I came up empty-handed.
- Good Natured Family Farms is an alliance of over 150 local family farms within 200 miles of the KC metro area. They supply free-range chickens, heritage turkeys and other meats to grocery stores in the Kansas City metro. According to their website, heritage turkeys are gone for 2009. So, get planning for 2010!
- Local meats – since heritage and free-range turkeys seem to be gone for this year, consider local beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat, bison, emu, hams, or sausages. You can download a full list of local farms who supply a wide variety of meats in the pdf Kansas City Food Circle Directory.
Bring Out the Wine, Juice and Beer
There’s plenty choice of locally produced drinks for your Kansas or Missouri holiday table whether you’re serving alcohol, soft drinks, or both.
- Wine, wine, sustainable wine – check out some of these local vineyards, there’s plenty of choice: Somerset Ridge Winery (award winning and sustainable), Jowler Creek Vineyard (critter cam included), Riverwood Winery (with nearby hiking suggestions), and Pome on the Range (apple wines with cranberry, blackberry and other fruits). More Kansas wineries.
- Apple Cider and Soda- take a trip to the Louisburg Cider Mill where you will find delicious apple cider, freshly made cider donuts (great for a holiday breakfast, if you don’t eat them first) and locally made soda in bottles. You might even get some gift shopping done while you’re there.
- Boulevard Wheat Beer is a favorite in Kansas City and throughout the Midwest. If you have time in your schedule you can tour the production facility while picking up your supply for the holidays. Otherwise, Boulevard beers are widely available at local outlets from convenience stores to supermarkets – search for Boulevard beers near you.
Thanksgiving Farmer’s Market
Your best bet for finding a variety of local Kansas and Missouri farmed food in the one spot is the Badseed Winter Market. They are running a special pre-Thanksgiving Market in downtown Kansas City on Nov 20th.
Part 2 of Local Thanksgiving, Kansas Style includes vegetarian suggestions, vegetables and sides, alternatives to cranberry sauce, and desserts all from locally produced foods. Also see, Get Kids Involved in Holiday Food for ideas on letting them help without you tearing your hair out.
Subscribe to Loving Nature’s Garden by e-mail or RSS (buttons top right) and make sure you don’t miss a post. Thanks for reading.
Related posts:
Alison, this is so fun and full of great ideas and information.. and (as I am usually inspired by what I read here) I just might try to do this for Rhode Islanders too! Thanks!
Shannon ´s last blog ..Dancing Leaves
[...] This post was Twitted by CB4wildlife [...]
Sorry Alison – South Jersey has the best food, but yours sounds pretty good, too. Nice post. It sounds like you have a nice little wine trail going there.
Robin, I can’t entirely agree with you, but then again perhaps I can. South Jersey has the best food for you – that’s where you’re at. Kansas has the best food for me. So we really do agree, perhaps. Cultivating a taste for local foods is where it’s at.