A few weeks ago I went to visit some pigs out at Well Fed Farms. They were happy, handsome pigs, rooting up grasses on the fertile Skagit flats and being fed with apple pressings.

A couple of weeks later we got the call from Silvana Meats, and we picked up half a pig’s worth of fresh pork, neatly packed for the freezer. The smoked meats will be ready later (we’re very excited about bacon).

For Thanksgiving, we wanted to do something festive that wasn’t turkey, so I thawed the picnic roast from our pig. We studded it with garlic and rubbed it with fennel seed, salt and pepper, then put it on a bed of rosemary sprigs and fennel fronds from my garden and roasted it. We ate the pork with creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprout slaw and cranberry sauce, and a kickass bottle of French red wine.

The next day we made sandwiches of the cold roast pork with mayo, lettuce, and leftover cranberry sauce, all piled on thick slices of sour potato bread from the Breadfarm.

Here’s to local farmers, butchers and bakers! We’re looking forward to making good use of our remaining pork.