A Thanksgiving Weekend Observation

It occurred to me, as I was stashing away the various leftovers last night, that there's a really cool thing about Thanksgiving dinner traditions, one that I really think is special to Thanksgiving: So much of what makes Thanksgiving dinner special is the vegetables. Sweet potatoes and green beans seem to be the most canonical, but in general it seems that people prepare more vegetable side dishes, and take more care with them, for Thanksgiving than for any other meal of the year.

Furthermore, despite the common notion that vegetables aren't as yummy as a lot of other things, I think a lot of us look forward to those vegetable side dishes. When a friend asked if she could bring something to dinner last night, what she wanted to bring was sweet potato casserole. Another mentioned that the dish she was most excited about was the roasted brussels sprouts. The green beans almandine also drew praise.

Perhaps we should take a cue from this, and pay a little more attention to the vegetables the rest of the year -- though, please, let's skip the cream of mushroom soup. Butter and nuts and bacon are tastier anyway.

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