The Culinary Arts, Chapter 241

So I tried something new the other day. Acorn squash. The little dark green squashes that look like....well, acorns almost. I had picked one up at the farmer's market last week, and it was sitting there on my countertop, begging to be cooked and eaten, but how? Never having eaten or cooked one before I turned to...what else? The internet. Read about how they do better with a sweet preparation over a savory, herb preparation, read about how to cut, scoop seeds, roast, serve, etc... Armed with all this new knowledge, I sliced it in two, scooped the seeds and strings out, salted a bit, smeared the exposed halves with softened butter, and drizzled them with pure maple syrup. Into the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. I have to admit, it did smell good. With the smells of Fall wafting through the open windows of the late mountain afternoon, the roasting squash added a warm, nutty aroma. I pulled them out of the oven and put a half on my plate and on Mark's plate - the flesh was nice and soft - easily scooped out with a spoon - couldn't wait to try it.....and YUCK!!! Okay, to be fair, Mark really liked it. So did Matthew. Jonathan refused to even try it (big surprise there....but I digress). As for me? Well, I've always been a texture person. And my idea of "delicious" does not in any way include a mouthful of what felt like stringy custard. The taste wasn't all that bad - slightly sweet, rather nutty, sort of like a sweet potato, but maybe not as strong. But oh gross, the texture was just sick. I couldn't eat but one bite. Not wanting to make too much of a big deal out of it, lest Jonathan copy me and have new ammunition for not eating, I just moved on to other stuff on my plate and fed Matthew little pieces of it. But I came close to gagging and spitting it out. Maybe a little harsh judgement for the poor little (cute!) acorn squash. But if you're a texture person, you know what I'm talking about. I'm starting to think that Jonathan inherited my issues with texture, and that is some of his problem with eating. I think I needed this kick in the pants - I hadn't eaten anything in awhile that gave me such a reaction - I think in the future, I'm going to be more sensitive to his ideas about food. So all in all - a good lesson learned. And I apologized to Mark - as much as he liked it, he'll have to order it in a restaurant if he wants it that badly from now on - Sorry, Mark!