 The phone lines were fuzzy that day, she thinks, because of an
electrical storm. That's the only reason she can think of that she
was stuck with 800 pounds of squash. She thought she was ordering 80
pounds, you see, but there was static ... oh well....So the
banner went up across the front of the market. It was so thick you
had to duck under it to get in the store. "Giant Squash Recipe
Contest," it read.
This was fascinating, because science and mothers have been
trying for centuries to make squash edible to normal human beings.
Some thought it wasn't possible, but those folks probably think we
didn't land on the moon, either. In most of us there is this innate
belief that someone would someday make squash into an edible
vegetable.
Of course, we've been wrong before.
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column]
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To enter Annette's giant squash recipe contest, you had to first
register at the store and then pick out the kind of squash you want
to transform into food. Then you bring the completed dish in on
Saturday at 11 a.m., along with the recipe all written out. The
entries would be tasted by blindfolded locals whose wives had
volunteered them for the task.
By Tuesday the squash began being sold so fast that Annette's kid
had to continually bring more from the back of the store to refill
the bins.
Zucchini was a favorite, closely followed by crookneck.
On Saturday, quite a crowd had gathered, because it turned out
that many of the local cooks thought their family recipe could turn
gourds into a meal. The blindfolded judges were unanimous in picking
Carla Martinez's squash dish, which had enough chili in it to
disguise brunch at Lucretia Borgia's. After the applause, Carla
proudly drove home with her prize: 100 pounds of squash.
We sure have fun around here.
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
Brought to you by the folks at Cabela's, the
outdoor outfitters. Visit them at
www.cabelas.com.
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