Korinky (コリンキー)

No running Thursday or Friday. Felt a little weird both days and anyway there's heavy rain on and off. There should be a window of not raining all the time Saturday. Also, no cake. Instead I tried to make meringue. That 90% failed and took a lot of time and exercise. I'll try again under ideal conditions (fresher egg whites, electric mixer, maybe I'll dehumidify the room).

Instead I put into record this thing, the korinky (not necessarily the official spelling):

As you can see, it looks like a squash, because it is a squash, related to the common Japanese pumpkin, kobocha (which is the same species as the giant pumpkin rather than the common variety). One source (and it's hard to find any: Wikipedia was no help in either language), says it was first recording in 2002. You can cook it, I think, but it's main feature is that you can eat it raw. Basically, it tastes like cucumber, so it can go a long way in salad. You don't have to peel it or seed it (although people probably do), just eat the whole thing besides the stem. It's pretty cheap too, as exotic produce goes, 200 yen at the local store and probably much cheaper in the region where they grow it.