Beware the Burning Squash

There is a funny squash-like veggie down here called a chayote—it looks like an avacado-shaped butternut squash, and tastes a little like, well, squash. I was preparing one for a stew a while back when Gaby warned me "be careful handling that. It will burn your hands. You have to cut off the top & rub it until it froths."

"You're full of it, woman" I replied. "Vegetables don't burn your fingers. And if it did, frothing the end wouldn't do a thing."

Well, I don't know if it was a "burn" exactly, but I have to admit that after cutting it with a knife and handling it, my fingers turned green, went numb and the skin felt stiff. Like a chemical burn, anyway. It was very uncomfortable for about a day.

Gaby, of course, laughed at me the whole time, stopping only to waggle a curved index finger at me and say "I told you so!"

Shouldn't they put warning labels on those things?