The all-food post

When I cook, I try to use as much local or homegrown food as I can, not so much for the politics of the matter but because I like to cook with good ingredients, and fresh and untraveled is always better. Eventually, seeing as this is Maine, fresh produce becomes impossible. But I'm happy that I have at least made it till Thanksgiving. So here, forthwith, is tonight's dinner menu, with sources.

* A brace of chickens, casserole-roasted with my own garlic, parsley, and rosemary. The chickens are unfortunately from Vermont, but they are organically raised and I did buy them through our coop. I do have chickens of my own in the freezer, but they aren't meat birds per se, so they don't have much breast meat, which is what my mother prefers.

* Brussels sprouts, picked today from my garden: a joyful feeling.

* Yorkshire pudding, made with local milk and our own eggs.

* Cranberry relish, with local cranberries and apples.

* Baby greens from the greenhouse.

* Oatmeal rolls, brushed with egg and olive oil.

* Apple-ginger-lime pie, with local apples.

* Homemade eggnog for the boys, also with local milk and our eggs.

Naturally, the citrus and the flour and the olive oil and the spices aren't local. (Nor is the wine my parents have plentifully provided.) But it still makes me happy to see a spread like this on my little Formica table.