Pumpkins of Mystery

Tonight I made a pumpkin pie from squash grown in our own backyard. I know, “big deal – everyone in West County grows their own food.” What is remarkable about the pumpkin in this pie is that we have no idea where the seed came from – Sage found it in our seed box and dropped it in the garden last spring. But it didn’t come from any seed pack we purchased or any that we could find in the box. It was a mystery seed. We have theories but nothing we can prove. This was no ordinary variety either. The single seed produced more than 90 feet of vines and no fewer than 20 basketball-sized squash. I estimate at least 300 lbs. of biomass. I had assumed that, because it looked like an ornamental, the pumpkins would probably be bland and dry. We gathered them up and made a nice display on the front porch, but I didn’t even bother opening one. Last week, however, our friends Brant, Bronwen, and Cassidy invited us over for pumpkin waffles. Gwen volunteered to bring the pumpkin (we grew pie pumpkins as well) and baked up one of the tan beasts for fun. Verdict? It was great. Much tastier and sweeter than the pie pumpkins. So suddenly the pile of decorations on the front porch is a food cache and I have been daydreaming about all the interesting things you might do with sweet, vibrant orange squash puree. Already there have been pumpkin muffins, pumpkin waffles, and tonight a proper pumpkin pie. Each hefty fruit yields more than a gallon of puree! And yes, we are saving seeds!