Vegetables are a hard sell around the holidays.

I’m not saying there aren’t some delicious green bean casseroles out there. No traditional Thanksgiving buffet would be complete without one. But when it comes to foods I get excited to eat around the holidays – let’s just say they’re not the first thing that comes to mind.

However, there is one vegetable-adjacent dish that always starts to creep into my subconscious cravings as the holidays grow closer. One dish that, even though it is not on most Thanksgiving tables, has always been one of my favorite parts of every holiday. Dear readers, I would love to introduce you to my grandmother’s carrot souffle.

I call this dish vegetable-adjacent because even though the main ingredient is carrots, trust me, you’re not going to feel healthy eating it. This side dish walks the line between vegetable and dessert in terms of sweetness. And my tastebuds go buckwild for it.

I can’t explain why I love it so much. I don’t just LOVE carrots. But starting when I was maybe seven years old, this became my favorite holiday food at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And once my brain got addicted to it – picky eater that I was – it became a problem.

Carrot souffle was one of the only dishes I truly loved at our holiday buffets to the point that I hardly wanted to eat anything else. I remember one Thanksgiving, my mother told me to save some for everyone else, because I just wouldn’t stop loading my plate with it. Thus began my favorite childhood holiday tradition – circling the carrot souffle like a hawk, waiting for a chance to get seconds after everyone had gone through the buffet line.

I’ve changed my ways a lot since those first few years of carrot souffle addiction. I have started serving it to myself in smaller portions like a reasonable adult. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still love it. In fact, I’ve only come to appreciate it more over time.

I don’t remember when we had the conversation exactly, but a few years ago, my grandmother was in her apron working in her kitchen, arranging the turkey, sides, steaming rolls and the huge variety of desserts she always makes. She was chatting with my mother and my aunt as she arranged things. But in the middle of everything, she caught my eye, smiled at me and peeled back the tin foil from the top of the carrot souffle, showing off its bright orange top.

“You know I make it just for you,” she told me with a laugh and a mischievous look, before covering it again and going on with what she was doing without missing a beat.

It’s hard to communicate what that moment meant to me. I guess I had assumed that my grandmother made carrot souffle because she liked making it, and it was a yummy way to eat a vegetable outside of a casserole. But after all those years, it felt like I had been let in on a secret. My grandmother’s silent love language.

My grandparents are starting to get older, and I know that over time, some of our traditions may have to change because of it. My brothers and I will have to pick up some of the slack and start learning some of these recipes to contribute more to the buffet. But no matter what happens, I know there will always be a lot of love at our table. And carrot souffle.

CARROT SOUFFLE

(Recipe courtesy of Sandra Abney)

Ingredients:
1 pound carrots, cooked, drained and pureed
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
■ Stir together all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased 1 quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until set.

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