This was published in the Capital Press.

Washington state’s food producers put more than 300 commodities on the tables of consumers around the world annually. The holiday season is no exception.

For many, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of several food-centric gatherings with family and friends from far and near. Take a moment to consider local foods to grace your table first.

Protein

Let’s start with the main event.

For many, turkey is the dish of the day. There are farms on both sides of the Cascades offering locally grown whole turkeys with the potential for shipping if you’re not close by.

Maybe beef is the centerpiece of the holiday feast for your family. If prime rib, brisket, or tri-tip is on your shopping list, look up a family ranch and you’ll find plenty of operations offering exactly what you’re after.

On the side

Whether it’s mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, honey glazed cooked carrots, roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, or all of the above, almost everything can be sourced in Washington state. Spuds are grown in abundance in the Evergreen State. Green beans, carrots and Brussels sprouts are all staple vegetables that can be found at markets around the state, too.

Sweet stuff

Washington state’s soft white wheat is highly prized for pastries the world over. If you want to be the envy of every acclaimed pastry chef, find locally sourced flour for your holiday pies, cakes and cookies. With just the right protein content, our wheat is something special and worth taking the time to find.

Don’t forget to look for eggs, butter and milk from a neighbor or local dairy. Washington state is home to several dairy co-ops — big and small — so finding milk and butter from local sources is easy to do. If raw milk is what you’re after, it is also available.

Eggs are one of Washington state’s Top 10 commodities, it’s hard to walk into any market or grocery store without finding eggs laid right here.

The beauty of Washington state’s bounty is in our ability to feed ourselves and those beyond our borders. Our agricultural community is vast and varied with coastal operations harvesting shellfish and dryland farms covered in lentils and legumes.

Our mountains are home to sheep and cattle; our valleys sprout corn and fruit all to feed friends and neighbors near and far.

It is the diversity of our agricultural commodities that makes this state truly unusual. That diversity also gives us something to be thankful for this holiday season. The cornucopia of abundance available to us is something to be enjoyed and shared with as many as possible.

So, this holiday season, take a moment to examine what is available close at hand and share the plentiful fruits (and vegetables) Washington state has to offer.

Thanksgiving turkey

• 12-25 lb turkey, room temperature

• 1 large onion, quartered

• 1 apple, sweet variety, quartered

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

• Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rinse turkey, remove any giblets packet or other internal items, pat dry. Season the inside of the cavity generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with onion and apple.

Loosen the skin on the breast, place approximately half the stick of butter under the skin of the turkey, distributing it evenly between both sides of the breast. Rub the rest of the butter over the top of the skin of the turkey. Season the skin generously with more salt and pepper.

Cover the breast with foil and place the turkey in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the foil and turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast the turkey until internal temperature of the breast reaches 165 degrees.

Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with foil and allow the turkey to rest for approximately 15 minutes before carving.