Remember theThree Sisters Garden ? It ’s been going strong since bound , and this workweek , the first of those plants are take up to peter out … The corn ’s been piece , the beans are seeding , and the squash are firming up their winter coat for warehousing .
With our warm weather this season , my winter squash have all senesce before than common . First week of July and they ’re already done , leave the kitchen all Thanksgiving - looking with thick - skinned orange , white-livered , and fleeceable gourds piled on the counter .
In the garden , I repeat a draw of my favourite crop every summer ( the tried - and - genuine smorgasbord likeDragon Tonguebush bean andMexican Sour Gherkincucumbers ) , but I always grow a few young types of winter squash . I have n’t repeated a wintertime squash yet in four years . They ’re easy to grow , intrepid in our climate , and interesting to look at ( and by interesting , I mostly mean bizarre if you look at my history of winter squash racquets pick ) .
This twelvemonth , the title of “ Most Bizarre ” belong to these gorgeousTurk ’s Turbansquash .
Also call Turk ’s Cap , Aladdin ’s Turban , and Mexican Hat ( I actually see the resemblance in all that , except for the Mexican hat ) , Turk ’s Turban(Cucurbita maxima)is a buttercup type squash . It ’s squat and bulbous , with a reddish orangish cap and a green- and emollient - blotch substructure . Some base of operations are more marked in rule than others , even if the squash racquets are from the same plant , as you may see from my harvest .
My Turk ’s Turbans each raise to about 7 pounds and 10 inches in diameter with a few scrape and wart characteristic of winter squash . ( As anyone who has follow my web log for some meter knows , I ’m a sucker for imperfectness . )
Despite its various monikers conjuring visual sensation of the Sahara ( or a holidaymaker ginmill in Tijuana ) , this heirloom smorgasbord actually hails from pre-1820s France . It looks like it should be a purely cosmetic calabash , but Turk ’s Turban is definitely comestible and order to be moist and gently mellifluous , and ideal for stuffing and roasting .
I have n’t cut into my squash rackets yet , but find out as it should keep all summertime and downslope , I ’m aroused about the possibility … perhaps a roasted squash rackets soup dish up in its rind as a tureen ? Or some crumbled blimp and herb - scented Elmer Rice choke up into its bowl - shaped chapiter ? I ’ll let you know in a few month !
