The Squash Family

I have to talk about SQUASH!!! And since there is so much of it around even after Halloween, I have had a chance to take some photos of WINTER SQUASH.
GOURDS are a Squash. Japanese don't know there's a Squash FAMILY, and they usually call these KABOCHA photographed below: "pumpkins".
But here, a SIGN- in a California supermarket, Americans DO call Kabocha "KABOCHA". (Japanese think it's a Japanese word, which it could very well be).
And orange pumpkins are called PUMPKINS. They are not tasty at all. CANNED pumpkins are what make the best pumpkin pies. KABOCHA pies are heavy, really too heavy if you ask me.

Kabocha is just wonderful for dinners, or tempura, sautes, etc.
And other sorts of SQUASH.
Butternut Squash.
Acorn Squash (you know, acorn= どんぐり,  kind of shaped like the acorn nut)
And a Japanese decorated PUMPKIN!!! I saw this at a temple in Ishiki, Japan. My son Zen says he thinks it's a Buddhist chant burned? onto the pumpkin. Nice, huh?!

So that's the Autumn Squash Lesson for the week!