Your Squash is Showing

On the last morning of this very hard but responsible and adult year, I took a yoga class. In the opening stretches, when we lifted the arms to make room for the digestive organs, I thought of last night's squash soup. It was so good and naturally sweet.

Then I thought about squash in general. What a weird plant. Who was the first person to see these things and think, "Friend not enemy. I'm going to eat this." What a funny thing to say too. "Squash, squash, squash." It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. In further reading, I discovered the squash is a vegetable in cooking but a fruit in classification--the food is a seed receptacle much like a melon or tomato.

Last night, I cut up my first butternut squash, a milk-colored food that resembles a 1960s craft project or an ancient fertility symbol. I had no idea how to cut my two bottom-heavy fruits. Quick research suggested I cut the upper half from the top, rather like the "cutting the lady in half" trick. That made the squash more manageable for lengthwise cuts and skin peeling, but I'm open to suggestions.

For a little squash comedy, check out the Muppets and Carl the Squash smasher.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_k-qhPkkwY&feature=related