100-Mile Challenge
What cute Turkeys! I like to see them scuffling through the leaves in the woods, not on a plate!
Treehugger encouraged folks to get their whole Thanksgiving meal within 100 miles of their homes in the aptly named 100-mile Challenge, and though I’m not entering their contest, I am trying to get most of the tasties for my feast locally. I think this is a great idea, and especially for people who don’t cook much (that would be me!) and really do it up on Thanksgiving.
So here’s my menu, and my local (or not so local) choices. FYI, I live in Southwestern Connecticut:
-Homemade Tofurkey (my favoritie tofu is made in Middlefield, CT, 54 miles away, seasonings I already have, and are from all over the place)
-Bread stuffing for Tofurkey (bread is from bakery less than a mile from my home, though I don’t know from where their ingredients come from…)
-Cranberry sauce (cranberries are from Massachusetts bogs- over 100 miles away, regional)
-Pumpkin Bisque soup (pumpins are pick-your-own from farm about 60 miles away, organic cream is from New England dairies)
-Mushroom Quiche (eggs from New Hampshire, less than 200 miles away, mushrooms are from California, cheese and cream is from New England dairies)
-Tat Soi (like Bok Choi, but darker- from my garden!)
-Pumpkin muffins (uhh….from the box!)
-Mashed potatoes and gravy (Idaho organic potatoes and premade gravy from California)
-Green salad with dressing (greens from California)
-Chardonnay (from California)
-Cherry pie, apple pie (apples are local, I buy organic pre-made crust, cherries are from the can! but organic)
-Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla Ice cream (fair trade beans, but not really local…but at least regional- from Vermont, about 200 miles away)
Ok, so that’s my dinner. I am glad to see that the bulk of my food is actually from the Northeast, at least. Maybe I’ll nix the salad….I haven’t bought some of my ingredients yet, and I’m headed to the farmer’s market on Wednesday, so maybe I’ll see if I can get onions, potatoes and some mushrooms there instead of Wild Oats, which would make my meal much more regional and would support Connecticut farmers.
Happy Thanksgiving to All the Eco Chicks (and guys too)!
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
