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momoese
10-04-2012, 12:33 PM
My rear neighbors are both Filipino and one of them is growing this and the other has let it trellis onto her side of the fence and now it's growing on my side of the fence. Some sort of Asian squash? The biggest fruits are about 5" long and they grow these false spike things at the base of the fruits. The flowers are pretty small as you can see. It's a climber that grabs on.

http://i45.tinypic.com/14w5e20.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/1z23sqd.jpg

momoese
10-04-2012, 01:10 PM
Is it some sort of Chayote?

sunfish
10-04-2012, 01:14 PM
Is it some sort of Chayote?

Yes

Chayote - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chayote)

Blue BlaZe Serenade
10-04-2012, 01:17 PM
[QUOTE=momoese;206280]My rear neighbors are both Filipino and one of them is growing this and the other has let it trellis onto her side of the fence and now it's growing on my side of the fence. Some sort of Asian squash? The biggest fruits are about 5" long and they grow these false spike things at the base of the fruits. The flowers are pretty small as you can see. It's a climber that grabs on.

Ah thats good Ol' Chayote i grow it myself its a kind of squash good for you and so amazingly easy to grow theres a few kinds spiky, non spiky, a kind of white one and a darker brownish green, can find them in mexican or oriental marts or if your neighbors give you a ripe one you can plant it and grow one yourself very care free plant hope that answers your question.:08:

Dalmatiansoap
10-04-2012, 01:45 PM
Chayote!
Delicious!
:nanadrink:

momoese
10-04-2012, 02:38 PM
I'm gonna do this!


Crab and Shrimp Stuffed Chayote
*duodishes.com*

Ingredients
2 medium sized Chayotes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk green onion, including white bits, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/3 pound cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup raw pecans, chopped
6 ounces of crab meat
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Instructions
Cut each of the squash in half lengthwise. Steam flesh side down for about 12-15 minutes or until center begins to soften. Set aside to let cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop out most of the pulp, leaving about 1/4″ of the shell. Save the pulp and discard or save the seeds. In a large skillet, melt about 2 tablespoons of the butter and saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, green onion and celery until tender, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, pulp from squash, herbs and Creole seasoning. Simmer for another 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Blend in the shrimp and crab meat. Remove from heat and mix in nuts. Mound mixture generously into the squash shells and arrange in lightly greased baking dish. Melt remaining butter and drizzle over each squash. Bake uncovered in preheated 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

dboo
10-04-2012, 05:01 PM
In Australia we call it Chokoe,

with the warm weather here and some regular watering it becomes a fercious vine capable of covering an entire roof of a house in one season.

the fruits are pretty bland but they are fantastic flavour absorbers, so you can put them in a spicy curry, grate them and put them in an asian salad with a strong dressing or cook them down is sweet pie stuffings and wallah. McDonalds used to put them in their apple pies here before they got to much bad press over it.

have fun with them.

Yug
10-04-2012, 11:31 PM
You can use the young vine tips in salads, and stews, but only go up to the 2nd leaf; if you cut more than that it is tougher and can get stringy. Trimming the vine tips encourages branching, and you will soon have more than you can keep up with. It only has one large seed, and you don't cut it out to plant it; you just lay the entire fruit on the ground, intact, and the new roots and vine will come out the back end and just commence to grow a new plant. If you want to cook with it, you don't use the large seed part; only the other parts of the fruit. The taste is mild and bland. Sometimes we use it as a substitute for green papaya in papaya chicken, but there is less flavor.

G.W.
10-05-2012, 01:49 AM
we use it is chicken soup and it tastes just like chicken LOL

it replaces potato or green papaya (like there is ever a papaya shortage)

I've had several rot after sprouting and just got one to take about 2 months ago.
They cost around $1 each except peak season.
During peak season you can often find them sprouting on store shelves.
This is how I got one to grow.

JuniPerez
10-05-2012, 07:11 AM
Chayote... my mom loves that stuff...