The Green Fork is the official blog of the Eat Well Guide. Click here to Find Good Food.

It’s been a difficult year, and many of us are suffering. So let’s take the time this holiday to gather together and celebrate all that we love. In spite of the challenges, we still have a tremendous amount to be thankful for; these difficult times can strengthen our communities and allow us the time to pause, share more time at home, and offer our support to one another.

My greatest hope and vision is that Eat Well can help create more connections for you within your own communities; not only to help you find beautiful food, but to help you discover the stories and uncover the wisdom behind it. There is profound joy in these simple moments. Whether it’s giving business to a farmer who really needs it, watching a child’s fascination over a new squash, or sharing a meal with warm company that truly makes you feel blessed, let us honor each and every one of them.

Many of us are cooking at home more, and we’ll have to learn how to make less stretch even farther. At the same time, we still need to use healthy ingredients that will nourish our families; now is not the time to substitute cheap, processed ingredients in lieu of whole foods. It does, however, require us to be more selective and sensitive in regard to what we purchase and how we plan our meals. Thankfully we’ve received an abundance of wonderful recipes through our Thanksgiving Local and Organic Food Challenge to help keep the kitchen interesting.

You can still eat well within your budget, and even save money in the process according to Angela Davis during her free Nourishing Works tele-confence “Eating Healthy on a Budget.” In addition to her suggestions of cooking more and eating less meat, I’d also offer these suggestions: try adding extra cabbage, carrots, and grains to soups, sprouting those wheat berries and garbanzo beans, using non-traditional (and cheaper) cuts of pastured meat, including vegetable scraps, bones and fish shells in broths, and experimenting with kale salads (ever try raw kale rubbed with oil, squeezed with fresh lemon, and sprinkled w/ cranberries and pine nuts? Karen Correa, our new media developer, and I consider this as a staple!)

If the economic recession (or a personal decision) means that you’ll be going without a turkey this year, you can make that a proud decision and save money by making a delicious local dish. Replace that turkey with one of these recipes from our Consumers Union Eat Well Thanksgiving Challenge and make it a special occasion- or create a new tradition, inspired by Adbuster’s Buy Nothing Day. There are tons of soups, greens and other hearty recipes posted on our joint CU/Eat Well Thanksgiving site that can be made with affordable ingredients from your local farmers market so have fun. I experimented with a squash chili last night and it was incredible; I’ll happily eat it for the next 5 days (many thanks to Jennifer Wiacek, who made this simple recipe up). And if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, see my own recipe for pumpkin soup below, it can be made as a vegan soup, and will immerse your house with a wonderful aroma — tomorrow, Leslie will be posting a roundup of some of our favorites as well.

For those of you who are new to Eat Well and The Green Fork, we’ve come a long way this year — see our first official post, 20 Ways to Green your Fork, published back in April, on Earth Day. Over Labor Day, we also debuted our first publication, Cultivating the Web: High Tech Tools for the Sustainable Food Movement, available in digital format for download here (pdf). And we celebrated the launch of Eat Well Everywhere, our innovative new mapping tool, where you can not only find locally grown sustainably produced food throughout the US and Canada, but you can also map your way to these wonderful places.

We’ve had the opportunity to expand our partnerships with other food issue advocacy groups, including Food Routes, Slow Food Nation and the Consumers Union. All of these groups are doing amazing work and we are happy to offer a growing voice to the sustainable food movement.

And most exciting, the movement itself is growing. As Lisa Kleger, our compassionate IT director told me earlier today, “Remember, you don’t get love at the fast food store.” I couldn’t agree more.

With deep gratitude, Destin Joy Layne

Destin’s Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1-2 lb. Fresh Sugar Pumpkin, peeled and diced (substitute 100% canned organic pumpkin)
1 lb. Farmers’ Market Butternut or Acorn Squash, peeled and diced (optional)
4 Tablespoons of Chopped Fresh Ginger
4-5 Tablespoons of Diced Fresh Garlic
1 Sweet Yellow Onion, diced
1 Red Onion, diced for garnish
1 Bunch Celery, diced
1 Bunch Leeks, diced
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Can Coconut Milk
Spices: Cumin, Coriander, Clove, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Tumeric, Garam Masala, Crushed Red Pepper, Chili Pepper, Black Pepper, Sea Salt (to your taste)
Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Toasted Sesame Oil
Touch of Sweetner (Maple Syrup/Brown Sugar)
Vegetable/Chicken Broth (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dice and mix pumpkin, squash (optional), onion, celery, and leeks with garlic, ginger, spices, olive oil and salt.
2. Roast vegetables on baking sheet at 350° until soft (about 45 minutes).
3. Transfer half of roasted vegetables to food processor and add coconut milk. Blend until smooth. (For a very creamy soup, use all vegetables).
4. Transfer puree to saucepan on the stove and add remaining roasted vegetables, along with a splash of vinegar and toasted sesame oil. Adjust seasonings to taste add a touch of salt and sweetener.
5. (Optional) If the soup is too spicy or thick, add vegetable broth or organic chicken broth.

TIP:
Serve warm in individual bowls and garnish with chopped red onion, chopped peanuts, and parsley.