Superfood

In this country you hardly ever see pumpkins or winter squash except for the awful orange monstrosities that appear in the shops for a week or two around Halloween that taste terrible and nobody eats anyway. Despite their lack of popularity they are a great vegetable to grow partly because they come with such a brilliant natural packaging. These ones were picked in October last year and are still waiting to be eaten in my kitchen - as long as you don't cut the stalk too short and give them a couple of weeks in the sun to dry out properly they'll last right through the winter. They do take up an awful lot of space on the allotment but if you grow a little one like Golden Apple, which is the one at the front of the picture, they'll be perfectly happy growing up a trelis. As a rule summer squash have a softer skin and need to be eaten as soon as they are picked but winter squash and pumpkins will keep all winter in a cool but frost free place.

The ones in the picture are Lady Godiva which is grown for its seeds that are perfect for eating - they have no husk and a fabulous almondy taste. The tiny ones are Golden Apple which are amazingly productive plants but feel so rock hard that you think you'll never be able to eat them. If you start them off whole in a very hot oven they get soft enough to cut the top off and mix something tasty in with the flesh before finishing it off in the oven for about ten minutes more - my favourite is rice, mushrooms and cheese. Their skin never gets soft enough to eat but that's great because it cuts down on washing up makes it a great bio-degradable bowl.

Comments

[Allotment Lady]

I am still eating my pumpkins and butternut squash that I grew last year, and they may even see me through to when this years are ready - well perhaps not, but just to let you know that they do last a very long time and are just as delicious

Dashing off up to my allotment whilst the sun is shining

[wendy]

Great site - book marking you hope thats ok!