Galeux d'Eysines Pumpkin

My grandma (she was a farmer) called those "sugar scars". Any fruit or vegetable with lots of them are supposed to be sweeter than usual.

Peanut shell warts covering Creamsicle-colored flesh make the Galeux d'Eysines look like its suffering from a disease. The pumpkin was discovered in 1996 in Tranzault, France. The flesh is sweet and silky, no strings like many other pumpkins and squashes.

Galeux d’Eysines squash has salmon-peach colored skin that is covered in peanut-shell like protrusions. When maturing from green to orange, sugars in the flesh begin leeching through the skin which is what causes its unique, wart-like bumps. As the sugar content grows, the more nodes appear on the outside of the squash. The more peanut-shell like protrusions, the sweeter the squash. The flesh is a bright orange with a medium-sized seed cavity. Galeux d' Eysines squash has a sweet flavor, with a smooth velvety texture free from the fibrous strings found in many other squash varieties. Galeux d’Eysines can grow to be between ten and twenty pounds.

This pink-skinned pumpkin is lighter in density than most other pumpkins and is mild and fluffy when baked. It can be eaten straight out of the oven and is also good for soups and stews and baked with a pot roast.

Apple/Pumpkin Upside-down Cake.

In a warm oven, put 2 T butter to melt in a 9×13 or similar sized cake pan while you prepare the upside-down topping.  Peel and cube two large apples, retrieve the warming pan and toss the apples in the butter with 2 T sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon; wrap up sides to grease them, then distribute the apples evenly on the bottom and set aside.

Cream 1/4 cup of butter with 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your squash puree is); crack 2 large or 3 small eggs into the mix and continue to blend until smooth.  Stir in about 2 cups of pureed pumpkin or other winter squash and a cup of yogurt or buttermilk. Set aside.

Sift together 2 cups flour with 1-1/2 teaspoons each of baking powder and baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, along with another 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice.  Add this dry mix to the wet and stir together.  Add milk to thin if it seems very stiff.

Bake in a 350* oven until a toothpick stuck in its center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.  Let cool slightly, run a knife around the sides of the cake, place a cookie sheet or large platter atop the pan and invert them, tapping the bottom of the pan to free it.  Adjust the apple chunks along the top and try not to eat in one sitting.