If the blow-up Santas and in-your-face Christmas shopping ads don’t remind you of this every day, we’re coming up on the holiday season now. The holidays mean food, food and more food – but winter produce doesn’t seem to make an appearance on the dinner table often enough.

This is most likely due to the fact that it’s a bit intimidating. Give someone a turnip and they don’t always know what to do with it.

“People are generally apprehensive of anything that they are unfamiliar with, so they will be less likely to cook or eat it if it’s not something they know,” says Seattle nutritionist, Leika Suzumara.

From beets and rutabagas to winter squash and potatoes, there’s tons of variety among winter veggies out there and plenty of underrated choices because people are scared of trying new things – especially when it comes to a subject as delicate as cooking.

The truth is that there are many upsides to buying in-season veggies and it isn’t as complicated as it may seem.

Seasonal produce can be found locally, making it more fresh, tasty, and nutritious.

“[Produce] is going to be at its freshest when you eat seasonally because it’s in its natural cycle of life and being picked and eaten (ideally) soon after it’s been harvested,” says Suzumara.

With local produce, “time between harvest, purchase, and consumption is going to be minimal. As soon as food is harvested, it begins to lose its nutrient value, so the quicker you eat it, the more nutrients you will get from it.”

More fresh also means, simply, the food will taste better.

Short transportation benefits the environment as well. Fossil fuels emitted during the shipment of food and food products are major pollutants.

Suzumara says that seasonal produce will also be cheaper because “it doesn’t have the added cost of shipping and greenhouse costs that an out of season food requires.”

An obvious benefit of buying local is how it supports the local economy. Your money is going to a local farmer, not a large corporation.

This also means you have more knowledge of where your food is coming from and what kind of conditions it has been grown in/the labor conditions of the people growing the food.

Seattle farmer’s markets, local grocery stores and co-ops all tend to have good selections of wintery veggies, if you are so brave to dare try one of these simple classics:

Baked Acorn Squash

prep time: 5 minutes
bake time: 1 hour
serves 2

Ingredients
1 medium acorn squash
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Lay both sides face down on cookie sheet and bake them until they soften – 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Remove the squash from the oven and turn both halves over onto a plate, hollowed sides facing up. Fill each half with ½ Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
4. Place the squash into a baking dish and bake for another 30 minutes.

Beet Salad

prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 1 hr
serves 4

Ingredients
Salad:
3 large beets, trimmed
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
½ (8 oz) package baby spinach leaves
1 tomato, cut to bite-sized pieces
1 avocado – peeled, pitted, and cut to bite-sized pieces
¼ red onion, chopped
½ (4 oz) container crumbled feta cheese

Dressing:
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ tsp Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. In large bowl, drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and black pepper over the beets.
3. Lay out on a large square of aluminum foil. Fold the foil into an envelope, sealing the beets in the packets. Place the packets in a baking dish.
4. Bake the beets until tender, 1 to 1.5 hours. Check for tenderness after 1 hour by piercing a beet with a fork.
5. After removing, open the foil and allow the beets to cool until they can be handled. Peel and slice them.
6. On the serving platter, lay out spinach leaves. Sprinkle tomato and avocado pieces over the bed of spinach. Top with chopped red onion. Lay sliced warm beets over the salad and top with feta cheese.
7. Mix together balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil and Dijon until smooth or use a pre-made balsamic vinaigrette to spread over the salad.

Pureé of Turnip Soup

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
makes 6 8-oz servings

Ingredients
1 lb white turnips (about 4 medium turnips)
1 medium Russet potato
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
½ cup dry white wine
1 qt vegetable broth or stock
salt and pepper

1. Cut turnips into same-sized pieces, roughly ½ to 1 inch thick.
2. Peel the potato and cut into pieces sized similarly to the turnips.
3. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat butter over low to medium heat.
4. Add onion, garlic and turnips. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until onion is slightly translucent, stirring continuously.
5. Add wine and cook mixture for 1-2 more minutes until wine seems to have reduced by half.
6. Add the stock and potato. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until turnips and potatoes are soft enough to be pierced by a knife. (Don’t let them get mushy, though!)
7. Remove from heat and purée in a blender. (Since we are blending hot items, start on a slow speed with the lid slightly ajar to vent any steam and then seal the lid and increase the blending speed)
8. Return puréed soup to the pot and bring to a simmer again, adding more broth/stock to adjust thickness if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with croutons.

While  cooking our meals & interesting in new recipes, everyone’s excitement makes a better outcome for the food.  Putting a little heart & time into the meals makes it extra special.  Coming to an end on our dishes we sit together like a family.  We introduce ourselves and say what we are thankful for.  It reminds us of liberty & culture.  Making our stomachs happy we together F.E.E.S.T.

Opinion article by FEEST journalism intern, Celina Jackson

The dusty cookbooks are getting pulled off of the shelf and the grocery stores stocking up on turkeys. It’s that time of year again – Thanksgiving; and many Americans are preparing for however their family may or may not celebrate the holiday.

As everyone learned in elementary school, the tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to the 17th century, when European immigrants were settling in the Native American lands of the “New World”.

The Pilgrims were British members of the English Separatist Church who faced religious prosecution in England during this time. They fled to the Netherlands and then America in search of a new home where they could freely practice puritan Christianity.

After landing at Plymouth Rock in December 1620, the Pilgrims experienced a difficult first winter. More than half of the settlers died within the first year. However, the help of the Wampanoag people helped ensure a bountiful harvest for the Pilgrims the fall of 1621. This success was celebrated with a Thanksgiving feast between the whites and the Native Americans.

This harvest celebration didn’t become a regular affair until the late 1660s, by the time of which it didn’t include Native Americans.

We were all shown the happy storybook pictures of Pilgrims and Native Americans joining together over their meal. Unfortunately, this isolated occasion wasn’t the common experience during this time.

The entirety of the relationship between European settlers and the Native peoples was much different. The way that the media portrays Thanksgiving and the symbolism surrounding this holiday is misleading and wrongly implies a sense of unity and companionship between the two groups.

It’s true that there were times when the white and Native American people formed alliances; but overall, the settlers’ actions resulted in devastation of the Native population and destruction of tribal culture. The near-genocide of native peoples during the founding of this country is one of America’s greatest shames.

It is for this reason that some people annually boycott traditional Thanksgiving celebrations and instead opt for an alternative approach.

One of these people is local Seattle artist, Gabriel Teodros, who has helped host several “ThingsTaken” celebrations on the fourth Thursday of November for several years now.

“The types of events we’ve done over the years for ThingsTaken range from small dinners with chosen family to larger musical events in Seattle and Los Angeles, bringing people together in the spirit of celebrating Indigenous peoples continued resistance,” said Teodros.

The intention of these gatherings is partly to bring people together through music and food, but also to acknowledge the original people whose land we now occupy.

“I think it’s important to recognize what was given and what was taken and I believe it’s crucial for all people who in any way fight for their freedom in this land to also fight for Indigenous sovereignty.”

On the other hand, Thanksgiving is typically one of the biggest home-cooking holidays of the year, when families and communities come together over a meal and give thanks for all that they have in their lives. Home-cooked family dinners are much more rare now than they were in the past.

The biggest reason for this is most likely time management. Many parents work busy schedules and don’t have the option of coming home in time for dinner, let alone the time to cook a full meal.

With hectic schedules, many people find convenience in time efficient options such as fast food or frozen dinners. These options won’t be as wholesome or nutritional as food you cook at home.

Family dinners have also been linked to lower risk for obesity, as parents watch what their kids are eating instead of the children snacking in front of a TV. Similarly, meals around the dinner table make eating disorders less common.

Most importantly, family dinners offer time for communication and relationship building. This is even more crucial for families who don’t have usually much time to spend together.

So when you are sitting down to eat dinner on Thanksgiving, in which ever you may or may not celebrate the day, remember what the holiday is truly representing. Don’t buy into the Disneyfiedversion of the story, acknowledge what really happened and how we all came to be on this land.

Take the holiday into your own hands and use this opportunity to spend more time with your family or friends or members of your community. With the day off of work and school, it’s a chance for people who don’t always have the luxury of eating together to do so. Family meals are more important than they may seem.

Lena
High School: Evergreen High School
Senior
Senior Intern
I joined FEEST because….
I was a Journalism Intern for two years and was asked to stay as a senior intern. I originally joined FEEST to be a kitchen intern but after my interview Cristina created a new internship for me as a journalism intern. After the first year I really liked the experience and all the opportunities that opened up for me because of my internship. I also realized how much I changed after the first year and how many skills I had accumulated over the course of my internship.
interviewed by maaza tsegai

Marlishs
High school:Evergreen high school
Freshmen
BOOM
i joined FEEST because….
i wanted to make a change in the way we eat our food i wanted people to know that you can eat food that is good for you and that tastes good. i also wanted people to know you that its important to get healthy food into your body because the way you eat now can affect you later.
interviewed by maaza tsegai

Leoma
Junior
High School: Bishop Blanchet high school
BOOM
Why I joined Feest…
Because I thought this would be a very interesting experience for me to be involved not only in my communtity but in someone else’s ! , I love food and I wanted to get more background and detail about what I consume. Ive only been here for a few weeks and I already feel , like my food habits have changed and I’m moving closer and closer to a healthier lifestyle.
interviewed by maaza tsegai

Lina
Freshmen
High school: Evergreen high school
boom
i joined FEEST because…
i wanted to raise awareness of where your food comes from.To help the community. to keep people knowing what to do.
interviewed by maaza tsegai

Katt
Junior
High school: Evergreen school
gardening intern
i joined FEEST because….
i want to help people learn to be more excepting to others. i want to make food that helps my body. i am wanted to meet people who are interseted in helping others like me.
interviewed by maaza tsegai

DURETI
Denny International Middle School, 8th grade
FEEST Kitchen Intern
Dureti loves hanging out with her friends, dancing, writing, and doing zumba. She is participating in FEEST because she wants to develop her teamwork skills and learn how to work with food. She is interested in increasing her own knowledge about where our food comes from and ways to prevent unhealthy eating habits in the lives of people around her.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson

APRIL
Evergreen High School, 9th grade
FEEST Party Planning Intern
April enjoys running and singing. She joined FEEST because she wanted to meet new people and work with kids from other schools. Her goal this year is to come out of the program with better teamwork skills and to gain more confidence. She also hopes to do more volunteering in her community.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson

DESIREE
Chief Sealth International High School, 12th grade
FEEST Senior Intern
Desiree is a volleyball player and cross country runner who likes photography, graphic design, and art. She joined FEEST because she was drawn to the idea of people coming together as a community to cook and eat good food and learn from one another. This year, she wants to plan the best Youth Summit ever with an awesome group of people and to help FEEST grow by spreading the word so everyone knows who we are.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson

ADRIANA
Chief Sealth International High School, 10th grade
FEEST BOOM Intern
Adriana loves singing and playing the ukulele and guitar. She joined the BOOM program because she is interested in expanding her knowledge around food systems and helping out in her community. Adriana wants to make a change, regardless of the size, by educating the people around her about where our food comes from. Her goal for the year is to raise awareness and use the BOOM internship to the best of her abilities.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson

MAAZA
West Seattle High School, 9th grade
FEEST Journalism Intern
In her spare time, fourteen year old Maaza loves to read, sing and watch television. She joined FEEST in order to meet new people and learn more about cooking quality food that is both healthy and delicious. Maaza also plans on using the journalism internship to become a better writer.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson

HERNAN
HS3 Evergreen, 10th grade
FEEST Garden Intern
Hernan lives with his three brothers, mother, and father. He enjoys hanging out with friends and family and likes to try new things. He is joining FEEST for the second year in a row and hopes to have fun working on the BOOM Summit with the other interns. Hernan hopes the confidence he gains from FEEST will help him in an effort to make positive and sustainable change in the community.
Interviewed by Celina Jackson