Jack Schmidling wrote:
>
> The book series "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" (Botswana)make frequent
> references to pumpkins as some sort of "food of the gods". Little kids
> go bonkers when they learn there is pumpkin for dinner.
>
> What on earth sort of "pumpkin" could they be talking about?
>
> I have made reasonable efforts to eat pumpkin but other than pie and
> soup, it leaves me cold compared to sever squashes which I really love.
> I find what we call pumpkin barely palatable.
>
> On the other hand, the books are probably the best I have run into since
> Dickens. I have only heard them on tape and the narrator really is half
> of what makes them wonderful.
>
> js
>
>


Aren't they fun? I have read them all and at first found it hard to
believe the author was male. He captured the emotions of the female
characters so perfectly.

I suspect strongly that the pumpkins were some variety of hard-shelled
squash. Hard to tell. I found out that the "bush tea" that the ladies
drink is available in the U.S. It is herbal, called "rooibos" tea and
in my experience it is pretty awful. I bought a package at a local
health food store where there was a choice of three or four brands of
the same herb. There's no accounting for tastes!

gloria p