Thanks Shoe :). never the less, where i came from we call them gourd. the way i cook them. peel them. cut into disks, about 1/4" thick. cut the disks in half. cut across about 1/4", u'll come up with almost julienned pieces.
lightly brown 5 cloves of garlic [roughly chopped] in 2 tbsp. olive oil. add onion slices, sauté a few minutes till the onion is sautéed, then add tomatoes. this time u can add either pork/shrimp [depending on ur preference, or can add both]. when pork/shrimp is sautéed. add the gourd.
if and when there is too much juice from the gourd, i add glass noodles that has been presoaked. allow glass noodles to absorb most of the juice. season with salt and pepper to taste.
that size gourd can be cooked into different dishes. sometimes, we boil beef shanks with ginger, onions, black pepper corn and a bay leaf till it get meat is softened. then cut chunks of the gourd, add to the meat, and some green onions and Italian parsley leaves towards the end of the cooking for extra flavor. either way u cook it, it is delicious.
after so many months, we finally got rain!!! a nice easy day to get organized around here. specially after the fire, when stuff got messed around being in a hurry to pack and be safe.
Shoe would u be interested in Kabooka squash seeds? the fruit is nice and very nutty. u can sauté or baked in the oven. it is very sweet. i got lots of seeds i saved. this one is one of my favorite.
basing from common sense, where i came from gourds are considered to grow long on a vine that grows on trellises, whereas squash vine grows on the ground. the fruit is round and has sections around it. i hope i am making sense as i do not know how else to explain.
TIA Shoe :)!
