whatdidjado with your leftovers?

Hello World!

So, whatdidja do with your leftovers and how was your feast?

The fam and I started our day with the many-years-running and for-sure famous, Alexandria Turkey Trot. Great photos on the left; man, I look just like that darn turkey. Good thing it is sort-of cute. I ran with Clare, Caroline ran with the Samba U12 soccer team, Kate ran with Cubby -- the dog who still tries to pee on my curtain and is lucky to still be alive -- and her friend Liz; Chris ran solo. We all had fun and ran what we wanted to and for sure helped with the soon-to-be-consumed calories.

So really, what did you do with your leftovers? We had 12 at our table this year. Brined turkey -- fabulous, -- stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, beet and orange salad, brussel sprouts, rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy -- all homemade and yummy. Wine, maybe a little too much of that, and dessert. I ask favorite sister-in-law to bring a dessert, one dessert. She shows up with three desserts and two homemade sweet breads. She looks at me and smiles and says "hey, I'm Italian!" And you know what, that works for my make enough, but not too much, mindset. Kinda expected that she couldn't just bring one. LOL. I've just now frozen the half of the apple pie and the remainder of the blueberry. We've just about eaten through the pumpkin bread and will start on the zucchini bread right after that. Thanks Lisa!

Back to the leftovers and to my turkey carcass. Haha, not my carcass but the unfortunate one who gave its life for my table. It is now in a large pot simmering on my cooktop with all of my unrecognizable CSA root vegetables and anything else that I needed to get rid of in the 'fridge. Look, I grew up in the '70's with Tang and Doritos, so I still look inside my vegetable delivery bag and wonder what the heck half that stuff is and even if I do recognize it, I'm not sure that I'd have voluntarily bought it. Umm, parsnips anyone? All this adds to the adventure though and my stock will turn out to be a heavenly mix of flavors. Much deeper and more nutrient rich than any store-bought stock...

So you ask, what does this have to do with running, Brooke? I thought your blog was a running blog. Well, let me tell ya. You get out of your body what you put in it. Eat well -- good, nutritious food that your grandmother would recognize -- and your body will preform well, with good strength and stamina. Put junk inside your body and well, you know what you'll get.

This leads me to my next thing. A big 'shout out' and special thanks to Laurie and Mark at the Local Flavor - Farm Buyer's club. These two collect local products from Virginia farmers -- meats, veggies, fruit, honey, coffee, eggs, chutney, etc, etc -- and brings it all into the city. Except for a few Whole Foods side-purchases, these two supplied my entire Thanksgiving feast. Good people supporting good farmers with good farming practices. I've included excerpts from their last email, so you all can see for yourselves the value in what they are doing. They mention moi in the last paragraph ;) Check them out!

Cheers and it is a beautiful day for a run!

RunningBrooke

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Mark & I thought it appropriate to give a hearty thanks to everyone who makes the Local Flavor Farm Buyer's Club possible.

First & foremost, we'd like to thank our farmers & producers for their tireless work. Our farmers share in our philosophy of caring for the environment and humanely raising the animals, working with the earth instead of against it. Day in and day out, no matter what the weather, they're raising our produce, meats, honey, eggs and so many other goodies. Their efforts are truly a gift to the world, and we are fortunate and thankful to be a part of it!

Mount Vernon Farm, Sperryville, VA (http://mountvernonfarm.net)

True Grit Farm, Amissville, VA

Ayrshire Farm, Upperville, VA (http://ayrshirefarm.com)

The Farm at Sunnyside, Washington, VA (http://thefarmatsunnyside.com/)

Oak Shade Farm, Rixeyville, VA (http://oakshadefarm.net/)
Heritage Farm, Culpeper, VA (http://thefarmgarden.com/)
Waterpenny Farm, Sperryville, VA (http://www.waterpennyfarm.com)
Whipple Farms (http://whipplefarms.com)
Hopkins Ordinary B&B, Sperryville, VA (http://hopkinsordinary.com/)
Belle Meade Farm, Sperryville, VA (http://www.bellemeadeinn.com/pages/farm.php)
Central Coffee Roasters, Sperryville, VA (http://www.centralcoffeeroasters.com/)
Remington Pepper Company, Remington, VA
The Virginia Chutney Company, Washington, VA (http://virginiachutney.com/)
Windsong Apiaries, Castleton, VA
Handmade by Noah, Amissville, VA

Flavor Magazine, Sperryville, VA (http://www.flavormags.com)

We'd also like to extend a big, hearty thanks to our drop hosts. Without you, we'd have nowhere to deliver! We can't thank you enough for offering us a place to meet our customers, month after month!

National Realty, Reston, VA (http://nationalrealty.biz/)

The Wine Seller, Herndon, VA (http://www.thewineseller.com/)

N.E.W, Sterling, VA (https://www.newcorp.com/)

Wellness Pathways, Leesburg, VA (http://wellnesspathways.com/)

Barrel Oak Winery, Delaplane, VA (http://barreloakwinery.com/)

Howard, Morrison, Ross and Whelan, Warrenton, VA (http://www.hmrwlaw.com/)

Dr. Wayne Whitley, DDS, Fredericksburg, VA (http://wwhitley.net/)

Curry's Auto Service, Gainesville, VA (http://www.currysauto.com)

Sarah & Christian, Fairfax, VA

Mary & John, Annandale, VA

Rob & Lisa, Alexandria, VA

Elizabeth & Chris, Arlington, VA

Most of all, we'd like to thank our customers. Thank you for supporting our local, sustainable food system.Thank you for supporting farmers and their families who care so dearly about the environment. Thank you for supporting humane treatment of animals. Rain or shine, and almost no matter what has happened on the Beltway (or 95, or 66, or...), you're there to meet us and pick up your order. We can't thank you enough!

We'd also like to applaud Mount Vernon Farm, owned by Cliff Miller & his family, for winning the 2009 Conservationist of the Year award from the CSWCD. You can find the full article here.

December Deliveries

Our delivery schedule for December is going to be moved up a week. We'll be delivering to Gainesville, Reston, Herndon, Sterling and Leesburg on December 3rd. We'll be in Warrenton & Fredericksburg on December 10th. We'll be delivering to Fairfax City, Annandale, Alexandria & Arlington on December 17th. We hope to have lots of Mount Vernon Farm's 100% grass-fed beef & lamb roasts available for the upcoming deliveries. For a list of our delivery locations, maps & times, please go to http://www.farmbuyersclub.com/

A Marathon in Every State and Every Continent

One of our customers is running to raise money for local charities in Alexandria. Brooke Curran is running a marathon on every continent, every state and the five world majors...a marathon a MONTH! Now that is a commitment! For more information about Brooke, her great charities, and how to donate, please visit her website:http://www.runningbrooke.com/

Thanks as always for your support of local food!

Mark Reinhardt and Laurie Smith
-The Local Flavor Farm Buyer's Club
www.FarmBuyersClub.com