SC - Gulf Wars Challenge

[Michael F. Gunter]

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
>I've been checking through the Spanish sources, since they seem likely
>to contain late-period pumpkin recipes.  the trouble is that the Spanish
>word for pumpkin "calabaza" also refers to various gourds and
>squashes.  I did find one recipe that looks promising.  It's various ways
>of stuffing calabazas.  The first variation calls for scooping out the
>insides of the calabaza, and filling it with a mixture that includes ground
>veal or pork, bacon, cheese, eggs, raisins, spices,  small chickens, and
>stuffed pigeons.  Is there anything in the cucurbita family that's large
>enough to accomodate this assortment, other than a pumpkin?

Thank you for looking. I thought that Spanish might have adopted some 
New World squashes and pumpkins, but i don't have resources to hand 
and don't read Spanish...

Can you send me a recipe or at least a reference to a resource, 
please? I'm making a little collection of recipes to mull over and 
maybe adapt.

I used to live where there was a zucchini plant taking over 1/3 of 
the back yard. Occasionally we'd discover a real monster hiding under 
the leaves. I'd scoop out the seeds, steam it somewhat, scoop out 
some of the meat, and mix this with seasonings and either meat or 
grain, stuff it back in and bake. IIRC, they'd be about 1-1/2 to 2 
feet long and about 6 inches in diameter.

Now zucchinis as we know them appear to be not-period, but are they 
related to Old World plants or are they derived from New World stock? 
I suspect they are New World in origin, based on some reading i've 
been doing on this topic, but i'm no botanist and could easily be 
confused.

Those long-necked pale-green Italian gourds in Tacuinum Sanitatis are 
really big. If i can find something like them at a local market...

Hey, Lord Ras, how easy are they to grow? And where'd you get the 
seeds? And how were they to eat?

I am in your debt,
yet i remain,
Anahita al-shazhiyya