Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Shopping For Your Howard County Thanksgiving

Time to think about your Thanksgiving weekend -- whether you're hosting here in Howard County or carrying the holiday out of town.

I'm an advocate for non-traditional Thanksgiving.  Thai Thanksgiving comes to mind.  But that gets vetoed by my better half and my equally-traditional sister-in-law. Whatever way you go, you can get the good stuff close to home.


And if your family is open-minded, consider just spicing up your entire meat.  That Thai Thanksgiving would come from the H Mart.  Or you could go Mexican.  Lily's Mexican Market sells spices to rub on the turkey.  Mexican chorizo for the sausage.  Maybe cactus for a side dish?  I can't serve that here, but there's always hope for you!

7 comments:

  1. You still couldn't resist putting in some non-traditional additions, eh :-)

    Thanks again for reminding people that there are locally-owned operations (usually with locally-produced items) who will provide almost everything you need for the Big Meal. Support local businesses whenever possible. Even if some things are a bit more expensive, they are often fresher. Give them a try! Why pad the pockets of some distant CEO when local folks need the help and have GREAT stuff?

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  2. I've lived in Fulton about 14 years. Every year I take off work the day before Thanksgiving, get up at the crack of dawn, go to Maplelawn farm and buy my pre ordered 16-18 pound turkey. There's always a line. Most years it's very muddy so I wear my oldest boots. Parking is challenging but you walk by mooing cows and a barn with live turkeys.

    They actually process the turkeys in the same building you buy them. Strategically placed walls and large hanging translucent plastic strips hide the inner workings. The turkey are just sitting on a conveyor with tags announcing the weight. Before you get to the turkey room you pick a tag with the weight of the turkey you preordered written on it. You hand the tag to one of the workers and they pull a suitable turkey off the belt. You usually get a couple of choices.

    I always get some extra turkey parts for making stock that day. I use it in my dressing, gravy and any other dish that needs good stock. The turkey parts are in bags in boxes on the floor or counters. Some years they have whole turkeys that are damaged or just have the breasts removed that they sell at parts prices. Usually I just get bags of wings, tails and/or necks. The price for parts is dirt
    cheap. The farm usually has some kids that will help you haul your turkey stuff to your car. I always decline and haul 30 plus pounds of turkey stuff past the live turkeys, the mooing cows and up to my car. I always bring some boxes to put my haul into so that any leaks don't cause a mess.

    When my kids were younger, they would come with me and we spend some extra time talking to the cows and turkeys. Now I just go by myself and soak in the experience. I love living in HoCo.

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  3. I bought a Maple Lawn Farms turkey last year. It was the best turkey I've ever eaten. Love it there!

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  4. We tried the old bay chocolate crabs a few months ago as a dessert for a 'strange food'-themed dinner. They were actually pretty good.

    Thanks for the local vendor suggestions!

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  5. If people are interested in buying a turkey this year please contact us at www.maplelawn.com

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  6. Bon Fresco Serves Mapple Lawn Turkey now its really good.

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  7. @HowICook.....I love living in HoCo too. How lucky are we to have so many choices for farm fresh foods in our own county.

    I hope more people will support HoCo farms so they can to thrive and grow - instead of buying farm products from neighboring counties or states.

    Buying local HoCo is not only healthy for our bodies but it keeps our $ in our county to support the other things i love - open spaces, good schools and libraries. Plus, it reduces our carbon footprint.
    It's a win-win situation!

    Now, time to order my Maplelawn turkey.

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I love comments -- especially comments that specifically recommend dishes or items to buy. Tell people what you like and why. If you can, please don't leave it as "anonymous." Just choose "name/URL" below, type in a nickname and leave the URL part blank. I like following people's comments even if I don't know your name.