Back to Basics: A Farm-Fresh Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has a way of bringing us back to the table.

But if you really want to get back to basics this Thanksgiving, it may be worth asking a simple question: What did our forefathers actually eat?

The first Thanksgiving looked a lot different from the Thanksgiving dinner we know today. The 1621 harvest celebration was a three-day gathering shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. We don't have a complete menu from that feast, but we do know that venison and wildfowl were served. Corn was an important staple, and the surrounding area provided fish, shellfish, beans, squash, garden vegetables, berries and nuts.

Food was simply food.

Back to Basics in the Kitchen

Getting back to basics doesn't mean we have to recreate a 1621 harvest feast in our own kitchens. It means taking a cue from the way our forefathers approached food.

They started with ingredients.

If they had corn, they cooked with corn. If they had squash, they cooked squash. If they had meat, they prepared the meat. Food wasn't something that had to come out of a box or a can before it could make its way onto the table.

And that is something we can still do today.

Instead of reaching for canned cranberry sauce, buy fresh or frozen cranberries and make your own.

Instead of a box of stuffing mix, start with a loaf of good bread, butter, broth and herbs.

Instead of a packet of gravy, use the drippings from your turkey.

Instead of buying a side dish that's already been assembled and seasoned, start with the actual ingredients and make it yourself.

None of this has to be complicated. In fact, that's the whole point.

You Don't Need to Overcomplicate the Turkey

The same idea applies to the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table.

Our forefathers didn't have a dozen different turkey gadgets to choose from. They had a turkey, some simple seasonings, and a way to cook it.

You don't need to deep fry your turkey in a giant contraption in the backyard. You don't need to cook it inside a plastic bag. You don't need to make it complicated.

Season it simply. Put it in the oven. Let it cook.

Sometimes the old way really is the simplest way.

And when you start with a good turkey raised by a local farmer, you don't need to do much to make it special. Good ingredients don't need to be buried under a long list of complicated steps.

Be an Ingredients Household

Maybe that's what getting back to basics really looks like.

Be an ingredients household, not a ready-made household.

Keep butter in the refrigerator. Keep meat in the freezer. Keep eggs, flour, broth, vegetables and other basic ingredients on hand. Learn how to make a few things from scratch. Then when it's time to put dinner on the table, you have what you need to actually cook.

Shopping for your kitchen staples and weekly groceries at Little Captain Creek Farm can get you back to the basics pretty quickly.

When your freezer and refrigerator are stocked with real food from a farm you know and trust, cooking from scratch becomes much more natural. You're not starting with a collection of ready-made meals. You're starting with ingredients.

And ingredients give you options.

A roast can become dinner. Eggs can become breakfast. Milk, butter and flour can become something warm from the oven. A chicken or turkey can provide more than one meal. A few simple vegetables can become a side dish instead of another item on a grocery list.

That's the kind of food system our forefathers understood well: start with what you have, prepare it simply, and make good use of it.

Keep Thanksgiving Simple

Thanksgiving doesn't have to be a competition to see how many dishes you can fit on the table.

It can be a turkey seasoned with a few simple herbs. Potatoes with plenty of butter. Vegetables prepared simply. Homemade stuffing. Gravy made from the pan drippings. Cranberries cooked on the stove. Fresh bread. A pie made in your own kitchen.

Real food. Simple ingredients. A meal made at home and shared around the table.

That's getting back to basics.

And perhaps that's one of the best things we can take from the food traditions of our forefathers. It’s not that we need to recreate their exact Thanksgiving, but that we can remember how simple food can be when we start with real ingredients.

So this Thanksgiving, don't be afraid to keep it simple.

Skip the box. Skip the can. Start with the ingredients.

And if you haven't preordered your Thanksgiving turkey from Little Captain Creek Farm yet, now is the time to reserve. Bring home a farm-raised turkey, stock your kitchen with good ingredients, and get back to the basics this holiday season.