June 19, 2022

Title: SEASONAL FOOD

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

WINTER MELON (17A: Gourd used in a Chinese soup)

SPRING ONIONS (28A: They're like scallions but with a stronger flavor)

SUMMER SQUASH (55A: Zucchini, for example)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer is a FOOD preceded by a SEASON.

Things I learned:

• LAO (13A: Chinese for "old") This Chinese vocabulary was new to me, but attainable from crossing answers.
• PROUD (29D: "The ___ Family") The PROUD Family is an animated Disney TV series that originally aired from 2001 to 2005. A revival of the series, The PROUD Family: Louder and Prouder, premiered earlier this year. As you might expect from the name, the show is centered on the lives of the PROUD family. The main protagonist is the teenage daughter, Penny PROUD, voiced by Kyla Pratt.
• MISO (57D: Paste for tonjiru) Tonjiru is a Japanese soup. It is made with pork and vegetable, and flavored with MISO paste.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BTS (1A: Namjoon's group) Kim Namjoon, known professionally as RM (Rap Monster), is a member BTS, a K-pop group from South Korea. BTS has been in the news recently, as they announced the group is taken a break so its member can focus on solo projects. RM has released solo mixtapes previously, in 2015 and 2018.
• BLOGS (4A: Websites with posts) Sometimes I think about the many different BLOGS written on various subjects. There are so many! Thank you for taking the time to read this one.
• EDU (16A: www.carleton.___) Carleton College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. The school, which was founded in 1866, is named after William Carleton, a Massachusetts businessman and manufacturer of brassware, who donated a large sum of money to the college in 1870.
• WINTER MELON (17A: Gourd used in a Chinese soup) WINTER MELON is also known as ash gourd or Chinese preserving MELON. In Chinese cuisine, the gourd is combined with pork bone to make WINTER MELON soup, which is sometimes served in the scooped out gourd.
• BLEW (1D: Used a tissue or a trumpet) This is my favorite clue in this puzzle! 
• ANI (24D: Alex and ___ jewelry) The Alex and ANI jewelry brand was originally founded in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, who named it after her daughters.

Geography review:

• TAHOE (14A: Lake about an hour from Reno) Lake TAHOE is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is located on the California-Nevada border. Lake TAHOE is the second deepest lake in the United States, behind Crater Lake in Oregon.
• IRANIAN (33A: Tehran resident) Tehran is the capital of Iran. Since 2016, IRANIANs have celebrated October 6 as Tehran Day, marking the day in 1907 when Tehran officially became the capital. 
• OHIO (60A: Toni Morrison's birth state) Nobel prize-winning author Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, OHIO, a city in northern OHIO located on Lake Erie. 

WINTER MELONS, SPRING ONIONS, SUMMER SQUASH... After solving today's puzzle I began trying to think of foods that have the word "Fall" in their names. I haven't been able to come up with any. The closest I've come is "Fall potatoes," but that refers to the planting time, not a particular type of potato. Any ideas? Let me know if you come up with a Fall food. ENOUGH! (34A: "Cut that out!") Even without the inclusion of Fall, it is, of course, a delicious theme set. I also liked the "non-theme-related-but-food" answer SOUR GRAPES. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was an enjoyable way to start my Sunday.

One more thing: Yesterday I attended the first ever STL Crossword Puzzle Tournament. It was a great deal of fun, and I hope it becomes an annual event. Thank you to Patrick Blindauer and Shannon Rapp for a great event. To those of you that were at the tournament yesterday, it was a delight to be with you and spend the afternoon puzzling. Here's one photo from yesterday. This is Shannon Rapp, who guest blogs on Sally's Take (along with her many other activities in Crossword), myself, and Darby Ratliff, who blogs over on the Crossword Fiend site.