Pumpkins, Squashes, Gourds: The Bounty at Gordon Skagit Farms
October 11, 2013
Gordon Skagit Farms showcases over 60 varieties of pumpkins, squashes, and gourds: carving pumpkins, cooking pumpkins and squashes, specialty pumpkins, heirloom varieties, ornamental gourds, and apples, cider, ornamental corn and decorative cornstalks. And the colors! Sunset hues, to ghostly whites, sage, and blue greens. Warty and smooth. It’s worth the trip to revel in such bounty.
I found them quite photogenic, too.
Gourds and Squashes
October 5, 2013
What is the difference between a gourd and a squash? I know that squash, gourds, and pumpkins are siblings in the same family, but when do I call something a gourd and when a squash? I wasn’t looking for a technical understanding, and so I like this description from Vivian Larson at Everyday Flowers:
“Typically gourds are not edible. They are fibrous with a very hard shell. Squash . . . have a much higher water content, varies by variety and are all edible, not necessarily all good tasting though. Squash can be highly decorative but will usually not keep as well as gourds.”
Now I know (and I think I mislabeled the turban squash below!).
Fall Pumpkins
November 5, 2012
“What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?”
— John Greenleaf Whittier, from “The Pumpkin”
My favorite pumpkin pie recipe is really a sweet potato pie. I featured this recipe in one of my early blog posts. I make it often during the fall and winter, and always at Thanksgiving. Here’s a link to my old post: https://rosemarywashington.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/sweet-potato-pie/