LONG PROMO:   I’ve got my safari hat on.  We are going on a safari in the produce department, specifically the winter squash department.  Have you noticed all the weird stuff in winter squash.  So we’re going to talk about winter squash – how to pick them out, how to store them, and how to cut these things…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  You and I, we’re going on a safari in the winter squash section.
                                                                                                         
WINTER SQUASH PART I(Monday, October 29):  You know when I first started in the produce industry 30 years ago this very year, 30 years ago, we categorized squash two ways – summer squash and winter squash.  Now we can get winter squash in the summer, in the spring, in the fall.  We get it year round.  We get summer squash all year round.  So now we classify them as soft squash.  That’s your summer squash like zucchini.  And we have the hard squash, hard winter squash.  Now there is a reason why we should eat winter squash more in the winter than any other time of the year.  First of all, calories.  These have higher calories.  What do our bodies need in the winter?  We need to stay warm.  That’s right.  And to stay warm you eat more calories so your body works more to chew up those calories so we stay warmer in the winter. Number 2 – Vitamin A, beta carotene.  Winter squash is loaded with vitamin A.  Why do we need vitamin A?  For our eyes.  That’s right.  It’s darker in the winter.  We need to see better.  So winter squash in the winter.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.    

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, why would you eat more winter squash in the winter?

WINTER SQUASH PART II (Tuesday, October 30): All right.  NCAA football has the BCS.  Well, here is the BCS of hard winter squash.  The top three ladies and gentlemen.  Here they are.  We’re going to start right down here.  This is probably the most popular.  It’s called acorn squash or Danish squash.  Most times it comes green.  A lot of times you’ll find other colors. You’ll find it yellow.  You can find it orange.  As it ripens it turns orange.  That’s really cool.  Actually it’s sweeter that way.  Here’s my favorite right here.  This is called butternut.  Look at the neck on this thing.  Oh my goodness, it has the neck of mean Joe Green from football.  In fact, that’s the best butternut when it has this big old thick neck on it.  And here is becoming really, really popular, especially with the kids because this is called spaghetti squash.  Why is it called spaghetti squash?  Well, when you cook it, you cut it in half and cook it, right, and you scrape it, it literally scrapes into strands of spaghetti.  So you get out your best marinara sauce, throw it on top of your spaghetti squash, and your kids will love it.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report…here they are, the top three of hard winter squash.

WINTER SQUASH PART III (Wednesday, October 31):  I’ve got my safari hat on because we are going on a safari right in the produce department in the winter squash section.  There is more to the world of winter squash than spaghetti and butternut and acorn.  Take a look at these.  Look at the shapes, the colors, the sizes.  These are absolutley gorgeous.  This one right here, by the way, its called kabocha.  Kabocha in Japanese means honey, honey squash.  That ought to tell you what it tastes like.  Oh, here’s one of my favorite.  Oh, ho ho!  Oh, my goodness!   It’s actually one of the easiest hard winter squashes to deal with because its actually one of the softer winter squash.  This is called delicata.  It has a fabulous corn flavor.  Look at this cool thing.  It’s called a turbin.   So many different varieites of these hard winter squash.  What I love to do -  I stock up on them right now that way I can use them as decorations throughout the fall and winter months.   Then when I’m ready to eat them like in a soup or saute them, they’re ready to go.  I’m Michael Marks.  Why don’t you go on a safari right here?  I’m Your Produce Man.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, we’re going on a safari in the hard winter squash section.

WINTER SQUASH PART IV (Thursday, November 1):  You know, all this week we’ve been talking about hard winter squash.  It is the season.  You walk down the produce aisle, down the farmer’s market, and man you’re seeing all kinds of different varieties of hard winter squash.  I love them.  They’re so good for you.  They are so healthy.  Plus all the different flavors! They are really, really cool, but how do you pick all of these out?  You know, every produce item will tell you a little bit about itself if you know what to look for.  There are two things you’re going to look for on hard winter squash.  First of all, what’s the first name of this stuff?   Hard.  That means the shell had better be hard.  That’s right.  So turn them over and look at the blossom end.  Just feel the blossom end.   It had better be hard.  If it’s not hard, it hasn’t been cured properly, and it won’t have the right flavor.  The next thing, use your eyes.  You ready for this?  Color.  The more vibrant the color, the more vibrant the flavor.  Now, isn’t that simple?  So you’ve got hard and then you’ve got color.  So where do you store these?  Never, ever  in a million years should you store these in the refrigerator.  It turns all the sugars back to starch.  It changes the flavor.  Keep them out at room temperature.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, how do you pick out all of these different kinds of winter squash?
  
 WINTER SQUASH PART V (Friday, November 2):  All right.  I should actually get my hard hat on because, you know, dealing with these hard winter squashes in the kitchen can be really difficult.  Remember, they’re hard.  How in the world do you cut those things?  Well, get out your rubber mallet.  That’s right.  Get out this good old rubber mallet.  What we’re going to do whether it’s acorn or any one of these others, the first thing we’re going to do, we’re just going to cut off a little bit of one of the sides.  That way now it just sits there straight.  If I didn’t cut that off, it would just roll around on me.  So now what we are going to do, we’re going to take the biggest knife that you have in your kitchen.  If you don’t have a big knife like this, go out and get one.  And then we’re going to take this rubber mallet.  All right?  Are you with me so far? This is going to keep you from cutting yourself, right?  So now you’re just going to bang the knife right on down, and you’ve got it made.  Now, when you cook this you’re going to just scoop all the seeds out.  The best way to scoop them – get a melon baller.  Oh man, it just scoops it right out.  And when you bake this, bake them face down so they don’t dehydrate.  You want all the moisture in there to stay moist, so bake them face down.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. 

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