Long Neck Squash - talk about food storage!

We think this squash is actually two years+ old now, but even if it is just one year old, it's still in excellent shape and I'm cutting into it today to make some pumpkin pies and Garbanzo Lamb Stew (recipe from my favorite dinner menu cookbook: Extending the Table). I've got organic chickpeas soaking. I love this variety of squash not just for its excellent keeping qualities, but it's taste, and ease of preparing as well. The seeds are in the small round cavity, and the entire neck is solid flesh.

I kept this squash and others in the basement on shelves and then moved it to the garage when we had company living in the basement for 5 months last spring and completely forgot about it until looking for some pumpkin to make dinner with tonight.

Echinacea

Something I like about echinacea is how tough the plants are once established. These just shot up out of the midst of a stand of peppermint and bermuda grass with no special care. I brought them from the other house 2 years ago and just stuck a shovel in the ground, dumped them in the hole and covered them up.

I love planting and growing plants with multiple uses, and while I've not used echinacea from my own garden yet for ailments, there is quite a list of common ailments that it can be useful for.