Fall colors

At this time of year, it's not only leaves that display beautiful colors. Some amazing hues can be found in the produce aisle, as well.

One example is these orange-and-green acorn squashes, purchased from Whole Foods.

I haven't cooked them yet. I don't expect the preparation or flavor will differ from more ordinary-looking acorn squash, but they're certainly pleasant to look at.

A second example is purple -- yes, purple! -- sweet potatoes. These also came from Whole Foods and were grown in California. In this photo, I've cut the end off one of them, so you can see that the flesh inside is purple, just like the skin.

A sign in the store suggested boiling or steaming to preserve the color, but I went ahead and baked them as I usually do with sweet potatoes: about 45 minutes in a toaster oven at 400 degrees. They were still quite purple after cooking, as you can see from this one that's been baked and split lengthwise.

The flavor was like that of orange sweet potatoes, with one odd difference: the sweetness wasn't uniform throughout each potato. I noticed one end of my potato was very sweet, while the other end was only moderately sweet, with more of a starchy flavor. My wife found the same was true of hers.

One tip for handling these sweet potatoes: they exude a deep red-purple juice when cut while raw, almost like a beet. Even after baking, some juice of the same color dripped when they were cut open. I imagine the juice could stain fabric if you're not careful. On skin or a cutting board, though, it rinsed away with no fuss.

Interestingly, both these beautiful produce items didn't come with premium prices. Each was around $1.50 per pound, a good deal considering they were a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.