Seasonal Comestibles

For a couple of atheists, we somehow end up eating a lot of latkes and singing a lot of hymns during the ole festival of lights. And the season is far from over, as we move on to the dominant cultural paradigm and a surfeit of chocolate, gingerbread and fruit cake. In cases such as these, good vegetables are crucial for maintaining what I call gezunt des kishkas.

This week brought us two carnival squash, with which Winnifred will make a pumpkin kibbeh; and an unusual orange kabocha squash; plus some carrots the size of my arm. I'm not kidding: that bunch of four carrots is as long as my forearm and a bit thicker around. I think part of the fun of getting food delivered is being surprised by how pretty it is when you pull it out of the box. There's something sexy yet refined about the lobes on the carnival squash. The Chocolate Lady calls kabocha the Greta Garbo of squash; I might be tempted to nominate carnival squash as the Katharine Hepburn of squash.