While inspecting the progress of curing (allowing the stems and skins to dry out and harden, in preparation for storage), I noticed one of my biggest squashes had a soft wet spot at the blossom end; luckily all the others seem to be curing just fine. This one, since I spotted it quickly, was also fine: for cooking immediately.
The husband took it outside and split it into big chunks with the hatchet--it was certainly too big for any knives and cutting boards we own. The inside was slightly slimy near the soft spot, but after cleaning out the seed cavity and washing thoroughly, it was ready for cooking--no bad smells or colors. I wasn't able to weigh it whole, but I weighed each chunk separately: 16 pounds total! Definitely a record for me. If you look at the photo in the previous post, this was the red-orange squash at the top right.
I decided not to save seed from this one, as one trait I hope to select for is long storage ability. There are several more squashes of a similar size which will hopefully be better candidates; the chickens got their pick of the seeds and stringy bits.
I put more than half to boil in my big stock pot on the wood stove, then most of the rest to simmer in a slow cooker on my countertop. There is one chunk remaining, waiting its turn later on today, after the others are pureed and in the freezer. Though I did tell the family I might make a pumpkin pie...
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