Someone had to post Freedom from Want for Thanksgiving.
1943-03-06-saturday-evening-post-norman-rockwell-article-freedom-from-want-430-digimarc.jpg

With Thanksgiving next week, most people's thoughts turn to turkey, which is not exactly the very best thing to eat (with some exceptions) if you're trying to eat locally, especially if you're going for one of those big, hormone laced Butterball deals found at the Safeways of the world.  Of course, vegetarians have managed to celebrate Thanksgiving for eons, but recently the issue was brought to light again--at least for me-- when reading The Top 15 Palin Book Leaks at the Daily Beast.  Palin (or her ghostwriter) wrote:

If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat? I love meat. I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou. I always remind people from outside our state that there's plenty of room for all Alaska's animals—right next to the mashed potatoes.

While I'll be eating a free range heritage turkey, I'd be quite happy without eating any, since the sides are definitely the best part of any Thanksgiving dinner.  But, If you feel like eschewing the turkey this year--for the sake of being a vegetarian, vegan, personal tastes, or to spite Palin-- you may want to keep an eye on the New York Times series, Going Vegetarian for Thanksgiving series, which will offer daily vegetarian recipes for your holiday meal.

If you happen to have a special recipe that you plan to make for Thanksgiving that uses locally sourced ingredients, please feel free to post it below.  Thanks.

November 18 Update: Reader Mark told me, righly so, that turkeys with hormones are illegal in the U.S.  And, he's right.  My apologies, I should have relied on more than rumors.  However, you can get a better and more humane processed turkey elsewhere.  If you want to more about how Butterball turkeys are raised, check out this article, Time to mothball the Butterball.