For those of us that work with farms, food is a lens through which we view the year. We tend to think in terms of which crops did well, what weather each season brought us, and what we were able to put in your boxes each month.  So as the holidays approach and we take a moment to reflect on this year and years past, it’s natural that our memories of family and friends are tightly bound to food.

When we sat down this year to Thanksgiving dinner, we repeated a tradition that we started a few years ago. We call it the “Food Tour”. Since we tend to do our meal pot-luck style, we each take 30 seconds or so to describe the dish we brought, what ingredients went into it and where it’s from.  I had gone to pick up our heritage breed turkey from our local farm, so shared about the farmers and people we met there. Family recipes abounded: my cousin’s relish was made according to my grandmother’s recipe;  the stuffing was my friend Adam’s family recipe, complete with mushrooms from the farmers’ market.  There was a sprinkling of new foods as well— pumpkin bread from a recipe online & delicata squash cooked in a new way.

Although not everything at our table was from close by, (note the cranberries,) it was hard not to notice the abundance our local farms had yielded. And as each person shared, our ties to those farms and to our family members were clear.

We hope that this season will bring you a sense of warmth and connection to family, friends and food. We at Capay Valley Farm Shop are so grateful for your support and we look forward to bringing the best food from our valley to your table in the coming year.

by Roxanne Crittenden

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