Search
Polls
Latest Forum Posts
| Taking a Knee unclebuck 15-11-08 13:51 |
| Re:Football unclebuck 07-10-08 15:24 |
| Re:Football unclebuck 02-10-08 12:59 |
Login Form
| Her Voice |
|
|
| Written by Elizabette Guecamburu / Hometown Girl | |
| Wednesday, 21 November 2007 | |
|
Gorging on Thanksgiving gourds  Elizabette Guecamburu / Community Columnist Autumn introduces a whole host of food items that are unavailable the rest of year. The fall also affords us a national holiday, when it is not only permitted — but expected — to eat as much of those foods as possible without making oneself ill. Of course, I’m referring to Thanksgiving Day. Some folks take the challenge seriously and eat more than any pack of Rolaids could feasibly cure. My mouth salivates instantly at the scent of Thanksgiving foods, especially stuffing and mashed potatoes. I’m not afraid to admit I love carbohydrates. In fact, when I see something at the grocery store that says “carb-free,” I have to squelch a gag reflex. After all, what is the point of a carb-free Oreo? There is one autumnal food I love above all others: pumpkin. I feel as obsessed about the pumpkin as Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue, from the movie “Forrest Gump,” felt about shrimp. There are pumpkin pies, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin breads, pumpkin scones, pumpkin soups and even pumpkin-spice lattes from Starbucks. It’s all wonderful. While drinking a tall-nonfat-pumpkin-spice latte the other day, I got to thinking: for a person who loves pumpkin so much, I really didn’t know much about it. Sure it’s hearty and orange and can weigh a quarter-ton if it grows too big, but as I stared into my swirling and steaming latte, I wondered, is pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable? I knew pumpkins were related to other gourds, including squashes. So, I consulted my most valuable research weapon: Google. (In case you’re curious, entering the keyword “pumpkin” into Google will return 45.4 million hits.) It turns out the pumpkin is a fruit — as are all other gourds and squashes, including cucumbers and zucchinis. Such fruits are part of the Cucurbitaceae plant family, made up of 825 species. So, there you have it. Whether your Thanksgiving is carb-free or not, have a wonderful holiday. And when you reach for the Rolaids while cursing yourself for eating that extra piece of pumpkin pie, you can blame it on those fruity gourds. Elizabette Guecamburu, 26, is a writer and native Patterson resident. She accepts e-mails at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 158 Comments
(0)
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed