Squash

Most people on this side of the Atlantic Ocean grew up knowing pumpkins in four main ways: as jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween, as blue-ribbon winners at state fairs, as crack-and-spit seed snacks and as the primary ingredient in Thanksgiving pies.Oh yes, we mustn't forget Cinderella's coach.Every now and then, a daring soul puts pumpkin soup on the table, but unless diners are properly primed, the proffered bowl is met with, at best, polite skepticism.As much fun as it is to carve, grow and show pumpkins, there are myriad other uses for our round orange friends: fritters, waffles, muffins, breads, soups, stews, puddings and casseroles.

Q. Several of my trees suffered broken branches and split trunks from all the nasty storms we've had. I don't want to cut the trees down. What can I do to repair the damage?A.Remove broken branches where they join a healthy branch. Get help from a pal or hire a tree-care service if the limbs are very large.You should plan to have the trees removed, however, if the trunks are split or most of the large branches have been badly damaged. Such trees could present a hazard to life and property.

AS A FORMER bread squasher, I was happy to learn that the practice of flattening white bread was not only back in practice, it is now considered trendy.Back in the days when I dined in the elementary school cafeteria, I would regularly deflate the airy white bread on my bologna sandwiches, and, in an occasional attack of orneriness, reach out and squash the sandwich of a classmate who was irritating me.So the other day, as I watched Ellen Brown flatten a piece of white bread, it brought back memories.

WASHINGTON -- William H. Fitzgerald is standing in the bowels of an exclusive private club, hanging over a rail with his eyes fixed on an intense game below, not flinching as a speeding black ball with a yellow dot is whirring close to his distinguished head."

On the dinner plate or in the garden, zucchini is one of those things in life that's most appreciated when there's just enough of it, less so when there's an overabundance.Still, it's a good idea, given zucchini's prolific nature, to prepare to handle a bumper crop from the backyard garden or a neighbor's largess.Tips:* Fresh zucchini (green or yellow) should be firm, with no brown spots. Smaller squash (6 inches or less) are usually sweeter than larger, more mature ones. Store in a loosely closed plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Bryn Mawr squash coach Amanda Mann looks a little nervous. For the first time all season, she's worried that the Mawrtians could lose a match."When two of your top five players are out, it's a little nerve-wracking," said Mann. "There are a lot of unknowns."Usually, there are no unknowns at the top of the Mawrtians' lineup. Sisters Anna and Lynnie Minkowski are unbeaten at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.On this day, however, Lynnie sits on the floor at the Racquet Club of Roland Park, crutches by her side.

My young squash are turning yellow and falling off before they mature. What can I do?This might be the result of the low bee activity we've been experiencing recently.Members of the squash family require pollination from bees. Young fruits that are not pollinated may turn yellow or become malformed before dropping off prematurely. Low bee activity has become an alarming trend across the state recently because of two mite parasites infecting both domestic and wild beehives.Gardeners can transfer the pollen from male squash flowers to female flowers (which have a swelling at their base)

How do you feed your family well night after night? Many concerned parents succumb to the short-order cook syndrome, preparing several dishes to accommodate the varying food preferences in the household. Of course, when time and energy are short, there's usually a dish or two that will please just about everyone, but how many nights a week can you eat pizza?In speaking with parents, we discovered that another family favorite is tacos: the more finicky members of the group can take what they do like and leave off that which they don't.

I came late to the squash fan club. Although my childhood was spent in the Southwest, where some of these versatile vegetables originated, I don't remember eating more than pumpkin on a regular basis.My mother did her vegetable gardening in the canned goods aisle at the local grocery store, and pumpkin was a staple only because all our neighbors were Mexicans who didn't wait around for Thanksgiving to eat it. They baked it into sweet empanadas all year. They savored the seeds, roasted and salted, as pepitas.

On Thanksgiving morning, let your energetic school-age kids create humorous place-favors with personality.Long, curvy gourds or squash are best for this project. Before the children begin, an adult should trim the wide, rounded end of the vegetables with a knife so they stand upright on the table. Keep the short green stem at the opposite end intact.To make Pilgrims: Cut white paper into a 3-by-4-inch rectangle. Fold it in half widthwise. Cut out a hole in the middle of the paper, large enough to fit over the neck of the gourd/squash.

Late in the afternoon, a time of day when many teenagers were chilling, those in Wendy Parker Robinson's class were still in school, still sweating. Clad in chef's whites, they were chopping squash, searing chicken breasts, forming balls of goat cheese and beautifying butter. They were getting ready to feed 200 people dinner at the National Academy Foundation High School, housed on the Digital Harbor campus in Federal Hill. It was the school's first Restaurant Night, when students in its hospitality and tourism classes would serve a three-course meal to anyone quick enough to book a reservation.

No matter how much wrestling was on television when I was younger, there still was no such thing as too much wrestling. Now that I'm older, another wrestling show to keep track of is the last thing I need. That's why I wasn't thrilled to learn WWE is creating a new program. WWE Superstars will begin in April on WGN America. There are no details yet. For my sanity, I am hoping the new program isn't must-see TV. Perhaps a show consisting of nothing but squash matches, with no advancement of story lines.

SAMBUCA FRIEND SQUASH The more casual side at Cinghiale - the enoteca - keeps getting more accessible. So get a plate of late-summer bliss - firm yellow squash enveloped in a crispy batter, pleasingly salty with just the faintest whiff of anise. Better yet, have them as an accompaniment to executive chef Julian Marucci's Roman fried chicken (R.F.C.), where the tempura-like batter seems to be suspended in air over the juicy skin beneath ($16). Eat it outside, with a glass of Frascati. Try the Sambuca Fried Squash at Cinghiale, 822 Lancaster St. 410-547-8282.

When Charlie Gailunas harvests zucchini from his lush Catonsville garden, he might overlook a specimen camouflaged beneath a canopy of leaves. "Sometimes you miss one," he says. By the time he finally discovers the hidden squash, it may have grown to baseball-bat proportions, far beyond the zucchini's capacity for tenderness and a pleasing, mild taste. Gailunas, a retired hospital administrator who has cultivated his 700-square-foot garden for 30 years, doesn't toss the zucchini, nor does he pawn it off. He makes Gagutz, a Sicilian soup introduced to him by a neighbor's mother who lived in Little Italy.

Every time a baby squash starts to grow, it dies. I water the garden every day with a hose, but my squash still dry up. How can I stop this? Most vegetable plants don't like wet foliage. Choanephora wet rot is a fungus encouraged by rainy years but also by watering overhead and too often. The fuzzy black or brown fungal growth occurs in squash (and pumpkin) blossoms, causing them to abort or, at the connection of the blossom to the young fruit, to wither. Try watering at the base of the plants, only to supplement rainfall.

In a space not much bigger than a hamster cage, longtime squash players David Jung and John Dewis look like human pinballs -- moving in lightning-quick steps, deftly avoiding each other as they change course, wielding their feather-light squash rackets like overzealous exterminators. They're a blur of motion and flying sweat as they take turns slamming the ball into the wall, dashing out of the ball's way and positioning themselves for a rapid-fire return. In the course of their 45-minute game, they will burn more than 700 calories, according to calories perhour.

"Unbelievable" is how Patapsco's Tony Maggard described last week's four-game effort by junior third baseman Vincente Tiburzi. It was unlike any individual performance Maggard had seen in his six seasons as coach. Tiburzi sparked victories by a combined score of 72-13 over Dundalk (twice), Chesapeake and Carver A&T, helping the Patriots clinch the Baltimore County Division III title. Tiburzi went 8-for-12 with 24 RBIs, including three grand slams. Tiburzi scored 11 times and in the first win over Dundalk had seven of his 10 RBIs in one inning.

Liver Foundation 5K Show your concern for liver disease by getting out and walking this weekend. Thousands are expected to gather in Columbia Saturday in Centennial Park for the American Liver Foundation's 5K Walk/Run to raise awareness and research funding for the American Liver Foundation. Walk with a team or on your own for the American Liver Foundation's 5K Walk/Run. It starts in Centennial Park at 9 a.m. The park is at 10000 Route 108 in Columbia. Registration is $25 per walker/runner in advance and $30 the day of the event.

If you type the word "squash" into an Internet search engine, the results will likely be recipes for vegetarian casseroles. But increasingly you will also find information on the indoor racket sport that Beth Fenwick plays and coaches at the Merritt Athletic Club on Fort Avenue. Squash has emerged from the elite private clubs and colleges where it had been played pretty exclusively since it was invented around 1830 at Harrow, the British school whose notable graduates include poet Lord Byron and Winston Churchill.

What is your favorite fall food? Candied apples Chili Lasagna Pumpkin pie Squash soup Sweet potatoes Last week's question: What is your favorite thing about autumn? 2.4 percent Back to school (1 votes) 29.3 percent Football!! (12 votes) 9.8 percent Pumpkins and squash (4 votes) 22 percent The changing leaves (9 votes) 4.9 percent The smells (2 votes) 26.8 percent The sweater weather (11 votes) 4.9 percent I hate fall (2 votes) 41 total votes Vote at www.sunspot.net / live.