I just love squash. I've grown a few different varieties in the past, my favorite being the small round zukes. But this Spring I got to try a new one, and now I have a new favorite. My friend Max gave me the finger. Now I'm giving it to you.
Giving me a start in a four inch pot, he called this crazy beast something like a "Yugoslavian finger squash" and said it's an heirloom variety. The handwritten tag said "Yugo finger." I put it in the coveted boxey space out front where there is a bunch of light and freshly amended soil. The plant took off. Climbing all around, little and fuzzy, they look delicate, but this plant seems hardy enough.
As soon as there were some for picking, I showed my sis.Check this thing out!
"Hey, you're growing those? That's my new favorite squash!"
Yeah, my friend said they were really good and gave me one. I think it likes it here.
"What did he call it?"
Something like a finger squash.....I hunted for the tag and found it. Yup.
They are firm and what is that, "nutty?" Better flavor than most summer squash in my opinion. But the skin, oohhh the skin. Somehow robust yet thin, delicate and tough if it can be both, it squeeks fantastically. Squeaky squash. You hear a high-pitched little "errt-errt-errt" when you chew. The kids love it too:
"Daddy! Listen to my head when I chew the finger squash!"
And then my absolute favorite:
"Yeah, we're having finger squash again!"
But wait, they get even better, because unlike the two and a half foot long, seven to eight pound "medium" zucchini I came home to after a week of backpacking, these guys don't get outrageously huge. Sure, they're almost as big as the head of a three year-old, but still, I'd rather have a few of these than one of those truly huge zukes that we all know about and strive to either make something with (I made it through 2/3rds of the medium beast I came home to) or simply give away with a shrug.....
8 comments:
such a cool shape!
I've never heard of finger squash. They are so neat!! Thanks for sharing!
I would love to try some...xxoo's
Save me a seed, would you?
Kat: Totally. Like a squash that tried to be a star.
Mimi: Yeah cool huh? How could I not share.
Ma: If there end up being any more, I'll save you some.
Chile: I'm working on it.
Damn - that is truly crazy! Wonder how they make these things - I envision a mad horticulturist out in the garden with a bag of strong elastic bands as the new squash begins to form. Yeah, that must be it!
And it even tastes good too?
Dr: Ca-ra-zee! Yeah, I envisioned something along the lines of a miniature bear trap as the form they grew in. And yes, they taste rather fantastic. I'll try and find out where my friend got the seeds and let you know.
That'd be great - many thanks. Although Luther Burbank is one of my heroes, my horticultural skills are limited to being able to make a second generation cantaloupe taste just like a cucumber! I can't even imagine how the plant pros make stuff like this happen!
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