Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

Some time back Susan had posted about Chayote squash.

They are quite good sauteed and used as a sub for potato
in soups and stews.

They were somewhat expensive, so, I am trying my hand at
growing them.

They require a long growing season and have to be sprouted
directly from the squash, currently I have two with runners
about 4 feet long started in pots inside, with another month to
go before they can be moved outside.

In my zone it is possible for them to come back from roots,
year to year.
Hopefully this will turn into an abundant source of easy to
care for squash.

Thanks, Susan

basilisk

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"basilisk" > wrote in message
...
> Some time back Susan had posted about Chayote squash.
>
> They are quite good sauteed and used as a sub for potato
> in soups and stews.
>
> They were somewhat expensive, so, I am trying my hand at
> growing them.
>
> They require a long growing season and have to be sprouted
> directly from the squash, currently I have two with runners
> about 4 feet long started in pots inside, with another month to
> go before they can be moved outside.
>
> In my zone it is possible for them to come back from roots,
> year to year.
> Hopefully this will turn into an abundant source of easy to
> care for squash.
>
> Thanks, Susan

Be careful, I believe some of them grow tiny thorns,
particularly in and around the creases in the fruit.

pavane

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

On Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:01:02 -0500, pavane wrote:

> "basilisk" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Some time back Susan had posted about Chayote squash.
>>
>> They are quite good sauteed and used as a sub for potato
>> in soups and stews.
>>
>> They were somewhat expensive, so, I am trying my hand at
>> growing them.
>>
>> They require a long growing season and have to be sprouted
>> directly from the squash, currently I have two with runners
>> about 4 feet long started in pots inside, with another month to
>> go before they can be moved outside.
>>
>> In my zone it is possible for them to come back from roots,
>> year to year.
>> Hopefully this will turn into an abundant source of easy to
>> care for squash.
>>
>> Thanks, Susan
>
> Be careful, I believe some of them grow tiny thorns,
> particularly in and around the creases in the fruit.
>
> pavane

Will do.

I haven't seen any on the purchased squash, but they may have been brushed
off.

basilisk

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

On 02/18/2013 05:22 AM, basilisk wrote:
> Chayote squash


Had to look them up. Sounds yummy. Hope these links
save others some time.

"Chayote, fruit, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt":
7 grams carb
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/2842/2

Nice article on what a Chayote is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

On 02/18/2013 12:59 PM, Susan wrote:
> That's what I do, but there are quite a few anecdotes about people
> reacting badly to the raw skin when cutting them up, but not to cooked
> skin. Nasty rashes on the hands.

Uh Oh! Thank you for the heads up!

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"Susan" > wrote in message
...
> That's kind of what I posted earlier that basilisk was pinging me about.
> :-)
>
> I've read it can be used to make a mock apple pie filling, too.
>
> Susan

Yes. I got that idea from Ozgirl. The only problem that I had with them
was in peeling them. They exude a sticky, slippery, skin irritating
substance. I had to peel them under running water and they were really hard
to hang onto. I sliced them, cooked them in a pan with a little water and
cinnamon until tender and then in the days before Splenda, added a little
Aspartame after cooking. Last time I made them I did use Splenda so cooked
with it. Served it to my extended family. Did not tell them what it was at
first and they assumed that it was baked apple slices. Then when I told
them what it was, there was sort of a collective, "Um... Ew", and a
dropping of forks. My extended family are not adventurous eaters.

Although I liked them, they were a PITA to fix. I don't like apples all
that well and that is what these reminded me of, fixed like that. And baked
apples do not spike me, so there isn't much reason to fix them here. For
some reason they were dirt cheap in NY. So that was one reason to fix them
instead of apples. But here? Much harder to find and more expensive.

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

If you like apple pie you can boil them in slices in water that has
artificial sweetener of some kind. They absorb whatever flavour they are
cooked in. A piece of clove in the water is good too. Make a crumble
topping with cinnamon, butter, crushed almonds and a bit of sweetener.
Served warm with whipped cream - yum.

"basilisk" wrote in message
...

Some time back Susan had posted about Chayote squash.

They are quite good sauteed and used as a sub for potato
in soups and stews.

They were somewhat expensive, so, I am trying my hand at
growing them.

They require a long growing season and have to be sprouted
directly from the squash, currently I have two with runners
about 4 feet long started in pots inside, with another month to
go before they can be moved outside.

In my zone it is possible for them to come back from roots,
year to year.
Hopefully this will turn into an abundant source of easy to
care for squash.

Thanks, Susan

basilisk

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"pavane" wrote in message
...



"basilisk" > wrote in message
...
> Some time back Susan had posted about Chayote squash.
>
> They are quite good sauteed and used as a sub for potato
> in soups and stews.
>
> They were somewhat expensive, so, I am trying my hand at
> growing them.
>
> They require a long growing season and have to be sprouted
> directly from the squash, currently I have two with runners
> about 4 feet long started in pots inside, with another month to
> go before they can be moved outside.
>
> In my zone it is possible for them to come back from roots,
> year to year.
> Hopefully this will turn into an abundant source of easy to
> care for squash.
>
> Thanks, Susan

Be careful, I believe some of them grow tiny thorns,
particularly in and around the creases in the fruit.

pavane

They are best picked when they are small and the skin is smooth. Taste
way better than older ones. We grew them and they went berserk, right
along the entire fence, so we had the chance to pick them at their best.
Shops here in Australia usually sell them large and older.

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"Julie Bove" wrote in message ...


"Susan" > wrote in message
...
> That's kind of what I posted earlier that basilisk was pinging me
> about. :-)
>
> I've read it can be used to make a mock apple pie filling, too.
>
> Susan

Yes. I got that idea from Ozgirl. The only problem that I had with
them
was in peeling them. They exude a sticky, slippery, skin irritating
substance. I had to peel them under running water and they were really
hard
to hang onto. I sliced them, cooked them in a pan with a little water
and
cinnamon until tender and then in the days before Splenda, added a
little
Aspartame after cooking. Last time I made them I did use Splenda so
cooked
with it. Served it to my extended family. Did not tell them what it
was at
first and they assumed that it was baked apple slices. Then when I told
them what it was, there was sort of a collective, "Um... Ew", and a
dropping of forks. My extended family are not adventurous eaters.

Although I liked them, they were a PITA to fix. I don't like apples all
that well and that is what these reminded me of, fixed like that. And
baked
apples do not spike me, so there isn't much reason to fix them here.
For
some reason they were dirt cheap in NY. So that was one reason to fix
them
instead of apples. But here? Much harder to find and more expensive.

------------------------------------------------

Yes, they can be difficult to peel and I hate that sticky, milky goop
but worth it in the end :) I use Stevia at the moment. It comes in
sachets (equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar I think, or maybe two),
that way you don't overdo the sweetness.

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

On Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:12:26 +1000, Ozgirl wrote:

> If you like apple pie you can boil them in slices in water that has
> artificial sweetener of some kind. They absorb whatever flavour they are
> cooked in. A piece of clove in the water is good too. Make a crumble
> topping with cinnamon, butter, crushed almonds and a bit of sweetener.
> Served warm with whipped cream - yum.
>
Sounds good, thanks,
last year they were around $2 each in the stores,
a little pricey to experiment a lot.

Maybe the gardening will go well, and I'll have
a lot to work with.

basilisk

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"Ozgirl" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, they can be difficult to peel and I hate that sticky, milky goop but
> worth it in the end :) I use Stevia at the moment. It comes in sachets
> (equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar I think, or maybe two), that way you
> don't overdo the sweetness.

I read recently that they've found a new problem with stevia in combination
with some med. I think it is a BP med. Can't remember for sure. Lemme see
if I can find it on the Internet. Yes! But it's more than that. Can not
only interact with BP meds, but diabetes meds and lithium.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supple... tName=STEVIA

Chayote squash and a little OT & ping Susan
 

"Stevia might decrease blood pressure in some people. Taking stevia
along with medications used for lowering high blood pressure might cause
your blood pressure to go too low. However, it's not know if this is a
big concern. Do not take too much stevia if you are taking medications
for high blood pressure."

I take Stevia probably about once or twice a month. In a rare cup of
coffee or mixed through the occasional bowl of porridge.


"Julie Bove" wrote in message ...


"Ozgirl" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, they can be difficult to peel and I hate that sticky, milky goop
> but worth it in the end :) I use Stevia at the moment. It comes in
> sachets (equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar I think, or maybe two),
> that way you don't overdo the sweetness.

I read recently that they've found a new problem with stevia in
combination
with some med. I think it is a BP med. Can't remember for sure. Lemme
see
if I can find it on the Internet. Yes! But it's more than that. Can
not
only interact with BP meds, but diabetes meds and lithium.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supple... tName=STEVIA