Here’s what I’m thankful for: ridiculous foodie friends. This is what’s on the menu for today:

Thanksgiving at Acadia

Menu:

Appetizers 4pm

• Mulled Apple Cider
• Acadians (cocktails)
• Brie/Walnut/Honey Appetizer
• Soup – fresh pea
• Soup – hearty and brothy with smoked ham, heirloom beans and cabbage
• Deviled Eggs
• Cookies – mollasses and chocolate chip
• Rum Cupcakes

Dinner 5pm

• Turkey
• Gravy
• Corn Bread with Honey Butter
• Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans
• Salad – goat cheese, pickled beets, orange, and sunflower seed
• Yams
• Stuffing – w/Hot Sausage, Granny Smiths, Cranberries
• Mustard Cranberry Sauce
• Iowa Corn Casserole
• Baked Potato Awesomeness

Dessert 7pm

• Pie
• Popovers
• Ginger Apple Upside-Down Cake
• Yummy Dessert (Wanda)
• Fernet Branca w/ginger

Here’s a great piece about a guy who was able to produce a bumper crop on a vacant lot in Tuscon, Arizona by harvesting runoff from roofs and streets around the lot. It’s a nice bit of daydreaming for the wannabe urban farmer.

Here’s a map of the growth of his terraced gardens over the years, which I include because it’s a lovely small-multiple visualization:

The Evolution of the Russ Farm

I just had lunch at Amanda’s (“feel good fresh food”), right next to the downtown Berkeley stop. They’re like a McDonald’s you don’t have to feel guilty eating at. The food was delicious (I had a mushroom-walnut veggie burger, baked sweet potato fries, and a salad), cheap ($6.95 for the combo), the interior of the restaurant was really nice, and service was super friendly.

I hope they do well and expand to the city and beyond.

Amanda’s in Berkeley,
originally uploaded by mightyohm.