Dining, Food & Wine Article
Green Party
Give your Thanksgiving celebration an eco-chic flavor with these sustainable staples.
By Christie Matheson
- Photo by Carl Tremblay. Styling by George Simmons.
A typical American Thanksgiving is an orgy of consumption—which is fun in the moment but rather harsh on the planet. Starting with the holiday and continuing through the end of the year, Americans throw out an extra million tons of garbage each week. Combine that with the inconvenient truth about climate change, and this season the coolest way to entertain is the eco-friendly way. Here’s how:
THE AMBIANCE Skip the cut flowers (unless they’re organic, they’ve been grown with lots of pesticides) and decorate instead with small pots of organic herbs; check out farm stands in your town or the Herb Farmacy in Salisbury. In lieu of paper place cards, collect fallen leaves and write guests’ names on them with a paint pen. For lighting, take a cue from Krista Kranyak, owner of Jamaica Plain’s Ten Tables restaurant, and use beeswax or soy candles instead of the petroleum-based kind.
THE TABLE If you don’t have enough tableware, pick up vintage plates, napkins, and serving pieces, which come with less packaging than new items—plus, the energy used to produce them was expended long ago. Lavender Home & Table has an excellent selection, and also carries napkins made from 100 percent linen rather than cotton (which when grown conventionally uses more pesticides than any other crop on the planet). Look for plates, bowls, and trays made from sustainable or recycled materials like bamboo and acacia wood, such as the Ekobo bowls at Lekker and the Scrapile repurposed-wood trays at Bliss Home.
THE FOOD Cook with local ingredients. “The traditional Thanksgiving menu lends itself to eating this way,” says Rob Pelletier of Choice Catering in Needham. Apples, cranberries, winter squashes, pumpkins, and free-range organic turkeys are all available from nearby farms. Verrill Farm in Concord and Barbara Lynch’s new Plum Produce in the South End have extensive selections of fruits and veggies, and Boston-area Whole Foods stores stock all kinds of organic products, many locally sourced. (Even Wal-Mart now carries a host of organic produce, meats, and dairy.) Forgo the Butterball in favor of an organic bird from a local farm like Moon in the Pond in Sheffield, which raises heritage turkeys; the free-range American breeds have more flavor than mass-market birds.
THE DRINK Introduce guests to wines made from organically or biodynamically grown grapes, which are pesticide-free and grown naturally on biodiverse land. Vintages in West Concord and the Wine Bottega in the North End offer solid selections, but most shops carry at least a few bottles—just ask. California’s Coturri Winery and the Rhône Valley’s Château de Bastet produce good lineups of well-priced organic wines.
THE CLEANUP Attack your mess with all-natural, biodegradable cleaning products such as the Caldrea line, available at Bliss Home, and wipe with reusable cloths or recycled paper towels. Recycle plastic containers, milk cartons, and wine bottles, and consider donating unused, unopened food to a local shelter. Store leftovers in environmentally friendly containers such as glass jars and cellulose bags, which biodegrade, unlike plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Bliss Home, 121 Newbury St., Boston, 617-421-5544, blisshome.com; Herb Farmacy, 30 Elmwood St., Salisbury, 978-834-7879; Lavender Home & Table, 173 Newbury St., Boston, 617-437-1102, lavenderhomeandtable.com; Lekker, 1317 Washington St., Boston, 617-542-6464, lekkerhome.com; Moon in the Pond, 816 Barnum St., Sheffield, 413-229-3092, mooninthepond.com; Plum Produce, 106 Waltham St., Boston, 617-423-7586, plumproduce.com; Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Rd., Concord, 978-369-4494, verrillfarm.com; Vintages, 53 Commonwealth Ave., West Concord, 978-369-2545, vintagesonline.com; Whole Foods, wholefoods.com; Wine Bottega, 341 Hanover St., Boston, 617-227-6607.
THE AMBIANCE Skip the cut flowers (unless they’re organic, they’ve been grown with lots of pesticides) and decorate instead with small pots of organic herbs; check out farm stands in your town or the Herb Farmacy in Salisbury. In lieu of paper place cards, collect fallen leaves and write guests’ names on them with a paint pen. For lighting, take a cue from Krista Kranyak, owner of Jamaica Plain’s Ten Tables restaurant, and use beeswax or soy candles instead of the petroleum-based kind.
THE TABLE If you don’t have enough tableware, pick up vintage plates, napkins, and serving pieces, which come with less packaging than new items—plus, the energy used to produce them was expended long ago. Lavender Home & Table has an excellent selection, and also carries napkins made from 100 percent linen rather than cotton (which when grown conventionally uses more pesticides than any other crop on the planet). Look for plates, bowls, and trays made from sustainable or recycled materials like bamboo and acacia wood, such as the Ekobo bowls at Lekker and the Scrapile repurposed-wood trays at Bliss Home.
THE FOOD Cook with local ingredients. “The traditional Thanksgiving menu lends itself to eating this way,” says Rob Pelletier of Choice Catering in Needham. Apples, cranberries, winter squashes, pumpkins, and free-range organic turkeys are all available from nearby farms. Verrill Farm in Concord and Barbara Lynch’s new Plum Produce in the South End have extensive selections of fruits and veggies, and Boston-area Whole Foods stores stock all kinds of organic products, many locally sourced. (Even Wal-Mart now carries a host of organic produce, meats, and dairy.) Forgo the Butterball in favor of an organic bird from a local farm like Moon in the Pond in Sheffield, which raises heritage turkeys; the free-range American breeds have more flavor than mass-market birds.
THE DRINK Introduce guests to wines made from organically or biodynamically grown grapes, which are pesticide-free and grown naturally on biodiverse land. Vintages in West Concord and the Wine Bottega in the North End offer solid selections, but most shops carry at least a few bottles—just ask. California’s Coturri Winery and the Rhône Valley’s Château de Bastet produce good lineups of well-priced organic wines.
THE CLEANUP Attack your mess with all-natural, biodegradable cleaning products such as the Caldrea line, available at Bliss Home, and wipe with reusable cloths or recycled paper towels. Recycle plastic containers, milk cartons, and wine bottles, and consider donating unused, unopened food to a local shelter. Store leftovers in environmentally friendly containers such as glass jars and cellulose bags, which biodegrade, unlike plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Bliss Home, 121 Newbury St., Boston, 617-421-5544, blisshome.com; Herb Farmacy, 30 Elmwood St., Salisbury, 978-834-7879; Lavender Home & Table, 173 Newbury St., Boston, 617-437-1102, lavenderhomeandtable.com; Lekker, 1317 Washington St., Boston, 617-542-6464, lekkerhome.com; Moon in the Pond, 816 Barnum St., Sheffield, 413-229-3092, mooninthepond.com; Plum Produce, 106 Waltham St., Boston, 617-423-7586, plumproduce.com; Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Rd., Concord, 978-369-4494, verrillfarm.com; Vintages, 53 Commonwealth Ave., West Concord, 978-369-2545, vintagesonline.com; Whole Foods, wholefoods.com; Wine Bottega, 341 Hanover St., Boston, 617-227-6607.
Originally published in Boston magazine, November 2006
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