Market watch: The squash family's ugly duckling

While browsing the Peter's Pumpkins stand last weekend, I made a depressing self-discovery regarding my deeply ingrained shopping habits. Farmer Peter Marshall was selling a striking array of winter squashes, nearly a dozen varieties, and what was my initial reaction? To head straight for the familiar acorns.

Get a life, right?

"I'll sell you that, but can I steer you in another direction?" he discreetly asked. By all means. He led me to a warted, pale green (a shade that old-timers like me think of as "Woolworth's green") 8-pound monster the size of a squished volleyball, and handed it to me with the pride of a sculptor. Hello, Hubbard squash, maker of silky soups and creamy pie fillings.

"You just don't see these in stores anymore; I think it's because they're so big," Marshall said. "A lot of people see them and ask me, 'What is that?' My mom, who is the best cook in the world, made some for Thanksgiving last year, and I was amazed at the texture and the flavor. It was nutty and sweet, and I asked her, 'Did you put brown sugar in this?' and she said, 'No, I did not.'"

Marshall and his spouse, Carmen, raise about 14 acres of pumpkins and winter squashes -- plus five acres of sweet corn -- on their farm just south of Shakopee. Along with running a roadside stand, they invite customers to pick pumpkins on the farm -- and lose themselves in a corn maze -- but it's the farmers markets they look forward to most.

"We get to meet a lot of people through our produce," said Marshall. "Farmers markets give people like us a chance to make a living, and it gives shoppers the ability to buy fresh, locally grown produce. It's a great thing for both sides, whether you're selling or buying. Everybody wins."

RICK NELSON