Hello, For those in the U.S., may you all have a happy and fun Thanksgiving Day, or a peaceful and quiet one - whichever you prefer ! Because Lists are usually quiet during Holiday weeks, I thought I would mention a few veggies I just learned more about. The other day I took out one of my cookbooks and found a recipe for a special, mashed potato. It includes parsnip and rutabagga. Those are not veggies I usually cook, but my husband likes parsnips occasionally. It's a good thing that good supermarkets label their veggies and fruits, because I didn't remember what a rutabagga looked like. This morning I looked up that veggie and found it has an interesting history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga#Preparation And earlier this week I made "turkey-a-la-king," which is often made -after- Thanksgiving. :o) But the recipe called for pimento, which is also not a veggie I use. In fact, I had to ask the manager at the supermarket where to find it. I just looked that up on-line, also, and found out it is a "cherry red pepper." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimento And also found out it is a Portuguese word. My husband grew up with a grandmother making Portuguese soups. I've tried a couple, and they're not easy to make. I also tried making "Scotch Broth" once and that's not easy to make, either. So, I keep cans of it in the cabinet. (Because of genealogy, just last month I found out that my husband is not half-Portuguese / half-Irish, he is half-Portuguese / one-fourth Irish / one-fourth Scots/English.) :o) Are there other veggies that are more common in Canada than they are in the U.S.? Or, more common in one part of a country and not another ? I also stopped at an "apple orchard farm stand" yesterday to buy some "apple cider" for tomorrow. And they are still selling apples, and I saw some names of apples I haven't seen before. (I always liked the story of "Johnny Appleseed." I wonder what kind of apples he spread around the country. And, in history books, I think I remember reading that apples were some of the "staples" that the early immigrants would bring with them on the ships.) And pumpkins are a world-wide food item ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin Check out the "Fiction" paragraph there. And, how many people have families and/or relatives who always want the -same- food on the table on holidays? And, how many try to provide -something different- on the table, and it is not appreciated ? One small thing which we -always- had on the table was "small boiled onions." I tried bringing them to the new in-law's Thanksgiving table last year, and they said, "What's that ??" Some tried it, and liked it. :o) Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) List Administrator P.S. Learning about the Azores Islands I found out they are very big on -- veggies ! But they mostly put them in soup.