Local Thanksgiving, Kansas Style – part 2

Pumpkin Pie by Jason Riedy

In Local Thanksgiving – part 1 I covered snacks and starters, meat, and drinks. It’s time to think about veggies, sides, and desserts. Yum!

What kind of desserts can you create from foods grown in Kansas. Will you have to fore-go cranberries? Read on.

Veggies to Grace Your Table

The growing season is over for most, but there are plenty of Kansas veggies for gracing the Thanksgiving table. Here are some ideas to get the taste buds watering, and your creative juices flowing.

• Winter squash – both butternut and acorn squashes store really well, extending the season. They taste great either roasted or steamed and served with butter and salt.
• Greens and beans – greens from the cabbage family are still gracing my garden in mid-November and should be available from Kansas farms with mild micro-climates or protective tunnels. If you put aside green beans from earlier in the season, through freezing or canning, bring them out now.
• Onions – green or regular. Green onions are still good in my garden – stir fry them with fresh greens. Regular onions are wonderful caramelized. I’ve not had much success growing carrots, if you have carrots they’d be great cooked with the onions, butter and a touch of honey. Alternatively, the onions go well with winter squash.

No more Cranberries?

Try something new, go on, I dare you. I don’t know of any local sources for cranberries. If you want to plan ahead there are native serviceberries, mulberry, and American cranberry which you can plant for your own harvest for future Thanksgiving feasts. Meantime you might try some of these:

• Pineapple Groundcherry is a tangy little fruit which is related to tomatillos. While each fruit is small, the plants grow, spread and keep on producing through summer and fall. I have a bowl of them from my garden waiting to be transformed into relish.
• Apple Chutney – apples, onions, and honey can be cooked up into chutney using vinegar and cloves. Normally you’d expect to add raisins. Since I don’t know of any local raisin sources I suggest an alternative such as green tomatoes.

Bread, Potatoes, Stuffing

When it comes to starchy staples you’ll be lost for choice. Wheat, corn, and sweet potatoes all grow particularly well in Kansas. Potatoes, not so much, but some farms produce them. Whether you choose to make dinner rolls, cornbread, roast potatoes, stuffing, beer bread, or sweet potato casserole local ingredients should be a possibility.

Nuts and Beans

Pecans and chestnuts are both local nut choices. Try Golden Ridge Farms for the pecans you need for pies, snacks and non-meat roasts. Kansas chestnuts are available from Chestnut Charlie. Given that Kansas is a huge producer of soybeans you’d think local ones would be easy to find. I don’t currently know of a Kansas farm-direct source for dried beans, peas, or lentils – if you haven’t grown your own you could be out of luck.

Cake, Pie and Sweet Stuff

The meal is finishing and you’re ready for the best part. With local Kansas and Missouri ingredients of wheat, butter, cream, honey and eggs you’re sure to create something fabulous. What about these?

• Pecan pie – get some wheat flour, butter, pecans and honey and get cooking.
• Pumpkin pie is sure to delight if you saved a pumpkin from the Halloween farm trip to use with local honey, cream, and eggs. The only thing that can’t be local is the spices.
• Cream and Jam Sponge Cake – nothing beats a delicious and simple sponge cake filled with jam and fresh, local cream. Try Mama Mary’s Kansas jams and jellies and cream from the Shatto Milk dairy.

Did that tickle your tastebuds? If you still need ideas for your menu, sources of Kansas, or Missouri ingredients, or recipes for any of my ideas give me a shout in the comments below.

And for the KC folks a full list of items at Badseed Funky Friday Thanksgiving Farmer’s Market.

Related posts:

1. Local Thanksgiving, Kansas Style – part 1
2. Local Food for Independence Day
3. What do people eat in Kansas?