• I'm thankful for locally produced butters -- such as Hope Butter, Pastureland Butter and Castle Rock Organic Dairy churned cream -- that make my cakes, cookies and other goodies taste so much better than my skills would otherwise dictate.

• I'm thankful for food- and dining-minded politicans. For example, this nonsmoker is forever grateful to the elected officials who pushed the statewide restaurant/bar smoking ban. Now will denizens of Minneapolis City Hall do the right thing, join the 21st century with the rest of us and pave the way for street-food vendors?

• I'm thankful for the ever-growing list of new titles from Minnesota's ever-growing club of cookbook authors, including Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg ("Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day"), Robin Asbell ("New Vegetarian") and Beatrice Ojakangas ("Petite Sweets," the latest of more than two dozen titles); their ingenuity and enterprise do our state proud.

• I'm thankful for Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

• I'm thankful for our region's audacious entrepreneurial spirit, which keeps us all well-fed. Where to begin, right? I'm thinking along the lines of Ames Farm owner Brian Fredericksen, who, with an assist from nearly 300 bee colonies spread across a half-dozen Minnesota counties, produces some of the country's most extraordinary single-source honeys.Or Keith Adams, who left the bagel bakery business to produce a stunner of a Camembert-style cheese out of a former pizza production facility in Mankato. Or the Ebnet family, for supplying a peerless line of naturally raised turkeys and ducks from their Wild Acres Game Farm in Pequot Lakes, Minn. Or Rogue Chocolatier owner Colin Gasko, one of the nation's few artisan chocolatemakers. Or retailer Jason Alvey, who showcases the glory of craft beers at his St. Louis Park shop, Four Firkins. That's just for starters.

• I'm thankful for Al's Breakfast in Minneapolis. Whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself, I take a coveted seat at its well-worn yellow counter and revel in a little pancake love (blueberry-walnut, swimming in forbidden butter and maple syrup). Toss in a side of hash browns, and suddenly, magically, all is right with the world.

• I'm thankful for Taste's generous, enthusiastic, passionate, devoted, adventurous, eagle-eyed readers.