Monster Vegetables!!!

Last week at the market I happened upon a monster vegetable. Seriously huge!!! Craig at Two Mule Farms grew some Cushaw squash or Cushaw melon, as it is also known. His lovely lady thought of me as she cooked some up the night before. They know how much I love winter squash. So I lugged this baby home.

Well, don't know that I could call it a baby. Maybe it is a toddler.

There. Pretty big huh?

The neck alone.

I started cutting. And cutting. And cutting!!! The neck alone yielded 6 quart bags full of cubed Cushaw!! Whao Nelly!!! I was in shock. I kept cutting.

One half of the bowl of the squash

The inside flesh. Very similar to a pumpkin.

seven quarts of Cushaw

Whew!!! One nasty blister and seven quarts later I was finished cubing my Cushaw. Isn't that fun to say? I love the sound of it. But I wasn't done. I still had half of a Cushaw to roast!!  Yes, this thing was a monster!!! I ended up eating about 1/4 of what I roasted and freezing the rest for soup or something like that.

This week I roasted my first batch of cubed Cushaw. I had read that some people treat it like potatoes. So I whipped up my spice blend for potatoes, mixed it all together and popped it into the oven. The result might have been better than potatoes. No lie!!! I can't wait to make more. Maybe some pie too!

Oh, and don't forget about the seeds!!! I used my same spice blend on the seeds and roasted them as one would roast pumpkin seeds. They were SO delicious! I think that they tasted even better than roasted pumpkin seeds. They are a little more crunchy. I want some more.

I might be crazy enough to buy another one if Craig shows up with more at the market. I will try not to get a blister next time!! Do you know of any unusually large or just unusual vegetables in your neck of the woods?