Merry Christmas from Kerry’s Cooking Chronicles!

I am taking a break for the holiday, and will be back Monday, December 27 to share two new Christmas Eve recipes and hopefully a few other projects. Plus, I have to do a recap of 2010, and an important look ahead at 2011. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Last week, I attended a talk with Amy Cotler, who wrote The Locavore Way. I took some steps this year to eat more locally, like shopping at the Copley Square Farmer’s Market, trying local grass fed beef, and buying beets from a winter farmer’s market. And yet I feel that I can, and should, do so much more.

There are lots of reasons to eat locally which were discussed in this interactive session. Buying from local farmers keeps those dollars in the community, which is important for economic development. Local farms generally operate in ways which are more environmentally friendly, and use fair labor practices. However, it’s important to get to know your farmer so you can make sure. Eating locally often allows us to enjoy diverse foods, and whole foods promote good health. In the end, buying local food supports an alternative food system, and preserves our choice.

Much of the discussion focused on practical ways in which everyone, even college students, can eat locally. Amy stressed that you should focus on what you can do, and not try to be perfect. One key strategy, and perhaps the most important to me, is learning how to cook local food. There are endless recipe ideas across the Internet, and even on Amy’s blog, and she encouraged everyone to improvise with preparing local foods. While you may sigh when you get a large bunch of kale, again, from your CSA, once you learn how to cook it in different ways, you can better appreciate the vegetable. I really agree with this point, and by pushing my boundaries to shop more locally this year, I also learned to cook and enjoy some new foods, like pea tendrils.

Yes, it can be more expensive to purchase local food, but there are sometimes deals when food is purchased towards the end of the season, or in bulk. You can share the food among family and friends, or preserve it by canning, or by freezing. We got a deal on tomatoes and had a family bonding session this year making sauce. By sharing local food, and the meals you create, you’re also spreading the message and encouraging others to buy and eat locally too.

Like many people, my association with local food is mostly in the summer and fall. I think about delicious strawberries in July, fresh corn on the cob in August, and crunchy apples in September. Amy pointed out that there are options for local produce in the winter, including carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, cabbage, and onions. Those vegetables might not seem quite as exciting as a perfectly ripe tomato, but they can make a delicious meal. In fact, I’ve already picked a root vegetable recipe to make for Christmas Eve.

My question during the talk was about buying local meat. I do not want to support the commercial meat industry, and yet local meat is often prohibitively expensive. Amy suggested that I get together with a group, and think about purchasing a whole cow or pig from a local farmer. This generally reduces the overall price, and uses meat from the entire animal, rather than just the most popular cuts. I’ll think about that.

I am so happy that I found my way to this event, based on a tweet from Elizabeth. The Locavore Way is on my Christmas list, and if Santa delivers, I’ll do a book review. Thanks to Amy Cotler for coming to BU to talk about this with us!

I am off to celebrate Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving, and the Day after Thanksgiving. Each has it’s own recipes which I’ll share when I come back to the blog on Monday. Have a great holiday!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, everyone seems to be talking about their favorite holiday foods. To be completely honest, I could skip the turkey entirely. I could forget about the mashed potatoes. Gravy – meh. I do enjoy the turnip, but I could wait until St. Patrick’s Day. Nothing beats a piece of my Mom’s apple pie, but it might be even more fun to eat after a smaller dinner.

The one recipe that makes my Thanksgiving is this stuffing. The one that contains sausage and ground beef, with some Italian bread, cheese, and eggs. The one that’s even better when cooked outside of the turkey, and gets nice and brown on top. I’ve blogged for 2 Thanksgivings, and still don’t have a great picture of the stuffing, but I’ll try again this year. Trust me though, a picture will not do this dish justice.

What’s your must-have dish on Thanksgiving?

Today I wanted to highlight a post by Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point on freezer friendly meals. You all know that I think a well stocked freezer is the key to success in healthy eating for really busy people. And especially this time of year, we’re all really busy! She even highlighted this Fall Minestrone that I made a few weeks ago.

I forgot my packed lunch yesterday, and had to scramble to find something to buy. I ended up with a very lame sandwich. It made me so thankful that most days, I do remember to put a container in my bag, and can count on a healthy meal.

So go ahead and cruise my section on soups and stews, and find something to cook this weekend to enjoy in the work days before Thanksgiving, or to stock your freezer.

Remember the tomato sauce that my family slaved over a few months ago? Well, this week I took a small container out of the freezer, and made a simple meal of it with whole wheat linguine and grated Parmesan.

It’s a sign of the season that I went to 3 different coffee shops yesterday, looking for a place to study, and couldn’t find a spot to sit down. Good thing I had everything I needed to make the pumpkin spice latte at home! The recipe is fairly simple, using espresso, almond milk, pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, and spices.

There’s something special about the Pumpkin Spice Latte, or the PSL as those “in the know” call it. It’s like autumn in a cup. A reminder to slow down, and enjoy the season. But wait, you can make a version of the PSL at home!?!

I didn’t get to try this project this week, but I just couldn’t wait to share it with you. Let’s all try to recreate the fancy coffee experience, and we’ll compare notes later. Have a great weekend!

In lieu of a new recipe today, I thought I’d recap some of my favorite pumpkin recipes in honor of Halloween.

Maybe you’d like to make some pumpkin butter, to spread on toast or a bowl of oatmeal?

For lunch or dinner, how about pumpkin black bean burgers or some pasta with pumpkin tomato sauce or pumpkin chili?

And can you believe that I have never posted a recipe for pumpkin pie? I better go fix that!

In honor of the social event of the year – my nephew’s first birthday – I’ll be part of a team working to make the best birthday cake ever. You already know that I have an obsession with Smitten Kitchen, and she had to get all fancy, making the most adorable monkey cake, and now we’re going to try to replicate it.

I’ll be sure to tell you how it all went on Monday. Maybe you’ll see a picture of our monkey cake. Maybe you’ll see our backup plan. But I do promise a picture of the monkey himself, eating whatever cake it is that comes out of the kitchen.

Have a great weekend!