Farm-fresh Thanksgiving: If you're going to stuff yourself, you might as well do it locally

photo Caroline Johnson, left, and Ryan Bellino carry baskets of freshly picked mustard greens to be washed at Crabtree Farms in Chattanooga.

For some families, Thanksgiving resembles a particularly brutal competitive eating contest. Families stuff themselves until they are forced to flop down on a couch, bed or floor to sleep or stare at the TV until the food coma lifts enough for them to waddle outdoors and gulp in some fresh air.

Even with the gorgefest, think how happy everyone would be if they knew the food they were conquering was healthy, organically raised and fresh from a local farm. Chattanooga has many farmers nearby who produce every food needed for Thanksgiving, and do it with no pesticides, no hormones, no antibiotics.

Most of these farms can be found selling their wares in area farmers markets, but if you have time for a road trip before Thanksgiving, many are in beautiful locales.

Farmers are relentlessly hard-working and do not always have time to update their websites with what is currently on sale. Phone the farm before you drive there to verify what's for sale and when the farmers will be there. Remember, along with being out in the fields, they sometimes must man a farmers' market table or make deliveries.

photo Cheeses age in one of the "cheese caves" at the Sequatchie Cove Farm and Creamery.

Appetizers

Cheese plate: Sequatchie Cove Farm and Creamery's 300 acres sit 35 miles west of Chattanooga and a rare breed called American Milking Devon cows roams the pastures. The farm is certified organic and makes six different kinds of artisan cheeses.

Sequatchie Cove Farm and Creamery. 320 Dixon Cove Road, Sequatchie, Tenn. 423-942-9201, sequatchiecovefarm.com.

Big bird

Turkey: At Peaceful Pastures, turkeys are never, never, never fed soy or bone meal, the common fare for poultry on big commercial farms; nor are they crowded among thousands of other turkeys in huge warehouse-like buildings. They enjoy a menu of local grains and roam freely. Weights range from 16 to 22 pounds.

Peaceful also offers free-range ducks in the 5- to 7-pound range.

Peaceful Pastures, 69 Cowan Valley Lane, Hickman, Tenn., 615-683-4291, peacefulpastures.com.

Meat dishes and stuffing

Ham slices, sausage stuffing and liver pate: Dazi Acres on Walden's Ridge sold out of turkeys in August, says Suzanne Eltz, who owns the farm with husband David. "But we still have wonderful ham and sausage," The sausage can be bought seasoned with mild, medium or hot spices. And those who buy pork liver often ask for the Eltz's pate recipe to try at home.

Customers can also buy Dazi lamb, beef, pork or chicken that will be donated to the We Care Food Pantry, a Dayton, Tenn., charity that aids low-income, working families who have been hard hit financially.

Dazi Acres, 822 Summer City Road, Pikeville Tenn. 423-453-3294, daziacres.com.

Veggies

Sweet potatoes, beets, salad: Crabtree Farms has plenty of winter vegetables grown chemical-free. "We still have lettuce, kale, mustard greens, radishes and beets," staffer Anna Chill says. While the farm, located on East 30th Street, usually has a stand open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, it will be closed this week, she says. But Crabtree will have a booth at the Main Street Farmers Market, located at 325 E. Main St. and open from 4-5 p.m. today.

The market also will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 25, from 4-5 p.m. to give last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers an extra chance. Crabstreet Farms will be there, too.

Crabtree Farms, 100 E. Main St. 423-493-9155, crabtreefarm.org.

Fruits

Tomatoes, peaches, plums, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries: Jones Mill Farm's juicy produce is certified as naturally grown. J.R. and Judy Stroud became interested in organic farming about 15 years ago after her doctor advised her to eat a better, cleaner diet. In addition to the fruits listed above, they also have fingerling potatoes and horseradish.

Jones Mill Farm, 391 Jones Mill Road, LaVergne, Tenn., 615-459-4727.

Bread

Imagine a devoted farm family who grinds 24 different grains on a stone mill. Welcome to Food from God, less than an hour's picturesque drive from Chattanooga. The seeds are non-GMO. The farm also has an array of dried fruits if you want to buy flour and make your own special bread or fruitcake.

Food from God, 1900 Banks Pisgah Road, Smithville, Tenn. 615-597-1358.

Dessert

Ice cream: The Wright family was thrilled but baffled when road trippers began flocking to Mountain Valley Farm in Ellijay, Ga., to play with the baby animals and buy the Wrights' beef and homemade treats.

"We found out we got rave reviews from Tripadvisor and didn't even know what TripAdvisor was," Suzanne Wright laughs.

In addition to their dry-aged beef, the Wrights now sell Ultimate Ice Cream in several flavors: coconut, North Carolina strawberry, salted caramel, bacon maple syrup, hickory nut, mint chocolate chip and dark Valrhona chocolate. The Asheville, N.C., family that makes Ultimate Ice Cream buys ingredients from nearby farms using organic practices.

Wright says the ice cream should remain intact inside a cooler on the drive back to Chattanooga. But if it melts, she says, just stir the ice cream with a spoon, pop it in the freezer and it will come out velvety smooth because it's all-natural, unlike most store-bought ice cream.

Mountain Valley Farm, 2021 Homer Wright Road, Ellijay Ga 706-889-0999, grassfedgeorgia.com.

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