Step aside other squashes and pumpkins: butternut, acorn, delicata, pie, hokkaido, and friends; you're unwanted here. This large scaly light green-grey pumpkin is a Sweet Meat Squash.
Do not be afraid of its size and appearance. It's hands-down the most delicious squash. It's great for savory and sweet dishes, spiced or plain. Though the meat is thick, the seeds are plump and great for roasted snacks, too.
Look at that himbo
I try to get one or two (or three) every year, but sometimes they get wasted before I feel like using them or I leave them in a corner and forget entirely. They can be unwieldy to prep and take up a lot of fridge or freezer space once opened, so sometimes lesser squashes get preferred. This year I have two sweet meats, and the place to get more is closing for the season before I'll be back. Other varieties are also likely to appear in the house (there's already a red kuri, a pie pumpkin, and a few decorative [but still technically edible] squashes sitting around), but they won't resolve anything in this market.
The picture above is the big sweet meat, and it's big enough to make 2 full pots of soup, ~4 pies, a dozen or so large roasted slices as mains, or a mix of those and lighter dishes. I also have a second one that is modestly smaller that is hanging out front, tantalizing any local teens to cause trouble (not usually a problem). Please excuse the awful lighting and poor angles.
What will be made with these pumpkins? This stays open until the pumpkins have met their final fates, whether by flame or spoil, mischief or delight. Since they can make multiple dishes each, multiple can resolve YES. And since they make a lot of food and can last a long time even before freezing, most likely this market will end up being open through autumn and into early next year.
I'll try to photograph various stages of their journey, of course.
Feel free to add more options for my inspiration!
Update 2025-11-14 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): One of the squashes had rot on one edge, which was cut out. The first half has been sliced into big slices to roast. Roasting is an essential first step no matter what final dish is made. If the creator eats a roasted slice on its own (without making it into another dish), that answer will resolve YES.
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@Stralor There was rot on one edge. I've cut that bit out, with no harm to the majority, and sliced the first half into big slices to roast. Roasting them is an essential first step no matter what I make with them.
Rotten bit:
I could only fit half in the oven for the first go. I'm fully roasting this first set, instead of just softening them, so if I eat a slice on its own, that answer will resolve.
I'm undecided on the rotten answer. It was a fair bit of food lost, but only a tiny ratio of the whole squash. So I'm not resolving it now, but it might get a partial resolution in the end.
@Stralor ...several hours of cooking later... I ate a big ol' slice with butter and home-roasted hazelnuts, set aside a second large slice as leftovers tomorrow, roasted and salted the pumpkin seeds, made giant pumpkin ginger cookies, and bagged up TWO GALLONS more of soft and prepped pumpkin flesh for future forays, now tucked into the freezer.
Everything is tasty except the cookies. They're edible, pleasant even, but way below any reasonable standard of "good cookies." Luckily one pumpkin gave me so much flesh I might try doing cookies again sometime in between other more serious dishes.