It Was a Pumpkin!

In an earlier post I wrote about Ms. J's mystery plant, which we thought was growing a melon. But the vegetable grew even larger, and became orange instead of yellow, and then it obviously was a pumpkin. It had grown hanging down inside a tall tomato cage, which was even taller because it was in a large pot. Ms. J. is very short of stature, and I have a very touchy back, so we talked a strong young man we know into lifting it up and over and out of the tomato cage. He had to lift it up over his head, so I am sure Ms. J. and I could not have managed it, even as a joint effort. She hasn't officially weighed it, but we estimated it to be at least 20 pounds.

Meanwhile, my summer squash plants have only recently begun to slow down production. One yellow straightneck squash managed to hide in the clover near the edge of the garden, and was over a foot long when I discovered it.

I went searching on the internet for ideas, not being sure what to do with such a large squash of that variety. I found this website, and decided to try making the stuffed squash. I successfully removed the seedy part, and then cut away the remaining flesh, leaving enough for a good "wall."

I chopped up the flesh I had removed and sauteed it with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. I added some leftover diced chicken, mixed it all up, and scooped it into the "boats." It seemed a bit colorless, so I sprinkled on some paprika.

Following the instructions, I covered it loosely with foil and baked it at 375 degrees for about half an hour. Steam blurred the photo of the finished product.

It was tasty enough, but the stuffing fell apart very easily, making it difficult to eat without making a mess. Another time I would think up something to hold it together better, like maybe tomato sauce.

All photos taken on my Android phone.