A Thanksgiving Rainbow

Last night, mom and I were talking about who was making what when we are in Colorado. We share cooking so neither of us gets pissed off by ALWAYS having to cook. It’s a good system.

I went to my trusty Pinterest app and started perusing my recipes to see which meals were quick, easy, filling and something I could pull off when we are roughing it… and by roughing it I mean staying in a cabin where the only REAL hardship is that the store is more than 5 minutes up the road and MAYBE we don’t have all the kitchen contraptions readily available…

As with most Pinterest adventures, I got side-tracked from my true missing and stumbled upon this:

And it got me thinking… What better time than Thanksgiving to create a rainbow of foods for your banquet table.  How lovely to have an assortment of color on the table to help combat the possibility of gloomy grey skies that many of the country with see with the latest wintery weather I keep hearing about on the news…

Some are obvious but in case they aren’t, I wanted to offer a few suggestions for how to add a bit more color to your table.

Tomatoes are a great source of Antioxidents and while I don’t really know why, I do know they are good for you.  It’s also generally the one thing that doesn’t really show up at the thanksgiving table at our house… what better way than a glorious Tomato Basil Salad to wow your taste buds?

Orange is easier… Yams are a staple at our house… and while most of our meals are handmade from scratch, this is one we rely on the canned yams to make our Thanksgiving Feast complete.  With the big marshmallows that are probably left over from the summer time s’mores… or more likely, we’ll buy a new bag because we forgot that we had them leftover…

Another option to consider for your feast might be Roasted Carrots.

As an aside – if your family doesn’t like veggies, try roasted… you’re welcome.

Yellow is normally a summery color in my mind… Lemonade, Summer Squash, Sweet Corn… but there are still ways to bring some yellow to your table.

I know that it SAYS a Summer Veggie Tian but I still see yellow squash in my grocery store… maybe even add in some YELLOW Bell Pepper rings for added flavor and color… just a thought.

I know I’m not the only family with greenbean casserole gracing the table this turkey day, am I?  of course, that doesn’t exactly qualify as green… It’s pretty muddy in color once the creamy mushroomy goodness bakes on… unless you are like Evin from Food Good Laundry Bad who is convinced that eating mushrooms is akin to cannibalism… don’t ask. What about some other roasted goodness to bring some green to your table

Or even a Raw Spinach Salad in case your oven is double booked and you need something fresh

Ok, so the only Blue Food I could think of that WASN’T artificially colored was blueberries.  I do love blueberries… I remember as a kid going to my grandparents house for vacation.

A few things were constant there – one of which being that Blueberries and Milk was also on the breakfast menu. or a great snack

Strange?  Perhaps… but it’s a great snack…

Anywho, I’m not suggesting a big bowl of blueberries and Milk on your table… but what about these delectable treats?

 I’m stretching a bit on Purple because I’m not sure if it belongs in purple or red… the Cranberry Sauce recipe I’ve referenced before is a perfect addition REGARDLESS of color… but if you consider it Red, how about PURPLE POTATOES!

Color makes me happy.  Thanksgiving makes me happy.  A COLORFUL THANKSGIVING?  I can’t think of anything better… Except for cheesecake but that’s a different post.