The annual Radio Thanksgiving

*Note: it's been awhile since I blogged.

We fostered a baby, and then we had a baby. Enough said.

The grandest tradition we have here at Radio is our Thanksgiving feast. This was our fourth annual bash at the farm, complete with homegrown turkeys and over thirty friends and family.

Certain aspects of our celebration have evolved over the years: our first Thanksgiving at Radio included a Tur-duck-en, because we had raised both ducks and turkeys... and who doesn't like them all smashed together with stuffing? I thought that initial tur-duck-en was delicious as I sliced off a piece and tried to determine which meat was what, but subsequent years with store-bought ducks were not as tasty.

Eventually, all turkey recipes have been replaced by one simple and efficient cooking tool: the deep-fryer. We've concluded that a vat of boiling oil cooks the tenderest, tastiest birds. And you can't mess around with turkeys that you've raised yourself. They are quite the investment.

Our potlucking has evolved as well. We have gotten better about sharing the load of the Thanksgiving meal, and this has continued to increase the culinary handiwork displayed and consumed. This year we had friends bring some particularly delicious whipped yams with sage, of which I heard many inquiries for the recipe. Our newest housemate broke out his churro (or sausage) maker and deep-fried some jalepeño-chedder churros with a honey glaze that we could not eat enough of. And a certain good fortune brought a whole tub of mini-croissants leftover from a holiday office party that I put in a new stuffing recipe. It turned out delightful. The recipe is below, because this stuffing is too good to have just once a year.

Needless to say, before the food we were like

and then after platefuls of deep-friend Thanksgiving goodness we were like

What has stayed consistent, and by far is the best part of our Thanksgiving traditions is the eclectic group of people that joins us. We usually have family both near and far that pilgrimages to the farm for the food and grandchildren. We also welcome neighbors, friends, and friends of friends to come and join our feast because (literally) the more the merrier.

So if you ever find yourself wondering what to do on Thanksgiving, come and join the family here at Radio. We'll save a turkey leg or two for you.

churro making

kids and lemons

Turkey Time

Last post was about Food Day, but certainly tomorrow is the USA's true food day. We're having friends and family join us at the farm (lonely? let us know!) and this past weekend we harvested our turkeys in preparation for the feast!

Did you know that the turkey is the only animal native to North America that was domesticated? It's believed to have been domesticated in Mexico, and spread northward, ending up on our thanksgiving dinner plates. Did you also know that turkeys are some of the ugliest  strangest looking birds you'll ever see? They have all kinds of things hanging off them or bulging out of their face. Poor birds.

Our friends from She Shoots He Scores came to visit for the weekend and shot this amazing video of the farm.

Happy Thanksgiving from Radio Acres! May you eat good food and love those around you tomorrow.


Radio Acres Farm from SheShootsHeScores on Vimeo.