30 Days of New Foods Recap

When I originally started this “30 days of new foods” challenge, it was soon after Election day, 2016. The past three years have shown me that my gut instincts were correct: President #45 and many of his followers appear to be scared of things that are different. In general, conservatism tends to be like that: stick with the tried and true. As a progressive, I seek out and embrace things that are novel and different from the norm. I am excited by new foods, new types of music, and different ways of dressing. I like to listen to foreign languages and try to learn them, try out new ideologies and religions, and push boundaries on gender stereotypes. I’m not saying everyone has to be like me, but…imagine a world without tacos, Phở, Thai iced coffee, crispy orange chicken, or samosas. I contend it would be a much blander world.

Even pizza was once considered an exotic food, as in this 1944 article from the New York Times.

 

30 days of new foods: Day 30: mystery squash

Recently I found I was having a hard time pulling dinner together. I have lots of recipes and cooking experience, but when my daughter would ask, “What’s for dinner” and I realized my plan didn’t go farther than broccoli and corn chips, I realized I needed a little help.

So I subscribed to Sunbasket, a meal kit that offers lots of gluten-free and dairy-free options. One week, this white lumpy guy showed up in my box (tomato for scale):

 

They called it a summer squash and indeed, that’s how it seemed to be: similar to a zucchini or yellow summer squash.

 

Cooked up with oil and seasonings it looks like something like this:

 

My best guess is that this is a white pattypan squash, just oddly shaped. Do you know?