Sunday, January 11, 2009

Found Treasure: Musquee De Provence

I was at a different supermarket just before sundown on Friday late afternoon, rushing to get a few last-minute items before shabbat. Can I just say I WILL be going back there again?? Out-of-the-way grocery, where have you been all my life??

In the frozen section, bags of mixed tropical veggies, ALL of which I put into my hubby's favorite calabaza soup...and very affordable. Now I don't have to buy all six items and worry about spoilage if they don't get used up in time. The prices overall for everything were lower, the square footage smaller, the selection larger, quantities smaller, meat fresher, health food section broader, and the fresh produce didn't have that pre-packaged pall about it. Hmmm...maybe I was just broke and hungry?

They still had winter squashes, too...something my nearer store does not. I found a calabaza, but then...oh THEN look what I found...

It was unmarked. I thought I knew what it was, but the checkout clerk did not. I'd have to wait till I got home to confirm my suspicions. hope hope hope hope

I've never seen one up close and personal... (the white patches are where the label came off and left some paper behind.)




and if you love mottled, mixed-media-colored, combination opaque-and-frosted-looking, deeply ribbed garden art in the form of winter squashes...this is it. I had to get it and to see if it matched my guess from only seed catalog dream list photos...

(yes, this is still my hanukkah tablecloth. so I'm the sort who hasn't changed out the holiday stuff yet... you should have seen how long my christmas tree stayed up in the days before I became Jewish, ha! I think February was a record...but I digress)

Here's a closeup of the squash art...are these color gorgeous or what?

I pulled out the seed catalog to see if my hunch was right...and...


sure enough...Musquee De Provence!! SCORE!!


I'll post an update when we actually eat it...we'll do the taste-test deliciousness scale once I can bear to stop gazing at it and muster enough courage to cut into it. And those seeds SHALL be saved, ohyestheywilllllllll....

I'm such a heirloom veg junkie.

More later...just had to share the sickness :)

6 comments:

Judy T said...

Hurray for your lucky find! Please do give an update on how it tastes. I've heard about them but never had one. Yummy.

Anonymous said...

How lucky!! Must find this in a seed cataloge. =)

Robbyn said...

fullfreezer, I was so happy! I will update about it when I cut into it. I just can't bring myself to yet :)

Annette, I know Baker Creek Heirloom seeds has it. I drool over their seeds daily!

Miriam said...

So if there are any at the market tomorrow I should grab one? Last week there was a few at one of the stands but I was still overloaded with Butternut and Delicta I didn't want to add to the stash.

Robbyn said...

Miriam, I'm just experimenting and have reallllyyyyyy wanted to see one of these hands-on. I've heard the flesh inside is ruby red and delicious, but so far I've not tried it. I like a lot of veggies others sometimes don't, and I think the warty, mottled, ribbed ones are beautiful because most of my life I've been used to the monoculture supermarket kind. If you do try it, I'd love to know what you think :) The other one on my list to try is the Galeux D'eysines (I think that's how it's spelled?) The warts on it are from the high sugar content...mmm!

Aim said...

Your excitement is contagious! Lucky find :)