All kinds of novelties out there, from purple carrots to uncommon Asian vegetables.
Carrots: Lunar White, Solar Yellow, Deep Purple.
Pumpkin: Porcelain Doll (pink), Blue Doll (blue), Speckled Hound (multicolor)
Edible gourds: Cucuzzi, Bitter Gourd, Wax Gourd, Fuzzy Gourd.
Pak Choi, Michilli/NAPA Cabbage.
Beans. Asparagus, Winged, Broad, Edamame etc.
The options are unlimited.

Hmmm... blue doll pumpkins just look like Jarrahdales (which I plan to grow already).

Cardoon. Always wanted to grow some just for the 'wow' factor. It gets huge.

Here is a link that might be useful: cardoon

Oh now thats interesting, never heard of it before. So you can eat the stalk like celery, and the flower buds can be eaten like artichokes?

I'll have to look into that one, thanks.

Cardoon is in the Globe Artichoke family.
I first saw it as a flower in an award winning flower garden.
It was planted more for the leaves, like a fern.
I should try it too.
I have Horseradish,sunchokes,poke,opuntia & wild Garlic.
I consider the Wild Garlic a weed.
I have a few single clove garlic.
I am going to try leeks, too.

I have alot of Cushaw squash seeds. Wanna trade? They look like something out of the Flintstones. 15-20lbs. each. Taste like a mild butternut. Also I will be growing Japanese yard long beans. I can hardly wait until next summer!

Without a location, not sure which Zone 7 you are in Edymnion... I will assume Southern climate for the suggestions below. Maritime climate would be a whole different ball game.

There are a lot of interesting members of the gourd family:

* Bitter melon - whether you eat it or not, it's really eye-catching on a trellis, has fragrant flowers, and has several health benefits if you can stomach it.
* West Indian gherkins - eat like baby cukes when small; the spines then are softer than they appear, the fruit is sweet & crunchy without the bitterness so common in cukes, and the rampant vines bear forever if kept picked.
* Mexican Sour Gherkin - petite climbing vine looks like ivy, tiny 1" watermelon-like fruits that taste like a sour cucumber. Not a true gherkin, but tastes great in salads with them.
* Exploding gourd - climbing vine similar to Achocha, to which it is related. Can be eaten in salads when young.
* Tromboncino - looks like zucchini on steroids & can be used any way you use zucchini, up to 18" long while still 1-2" wide... and oh yeah, highly resistant to SVB.

Bean family:

* Bi-colored edamame soybeans (I have several)
* I'll second Farmerdill's recommendation for yardlong beans, they bear heavily when it is too hot for most snap beans, and are really eye catching whether hanging on the vine or served on a plate tied in knots (kids get a kick out of that). Furthermore, unlike snap beans, the purple yardlongs keep most of their color when cooked.
* Winged Beans - be sure to get a "day neutral" variety. Really pretty light blue flowers. The pods are best picked very young, before they develop fiber.
* Adzuki beans (there are colors other than red)
* Pole limas - in your zone, you should be able to grow one of the really large-seeded varieties (such as Dr. Martin) or one of the multi-colored varieties (such as Lynch Butterbean or one of the Hopi varieties).
* Peanuts (find an heirloom variety)
* Hyacinth bean - rampant climber, beautiful fragrant flowers borne late, loves heat, pods eaten when young & flat taste just like snap beans. I recommend one of the purple-podded varieties for eating. The mature seeds are toxic unless properly prepared.
* Sword bean - pole type, another long-season bean with beautiful, fragrant flowers, and huge pods. Pods can be eaten when young, but the mature seeds are toxic. Best used as an ornamental.

There are quite a few greens that do really well in hot weather. Egyptian spinach, Malabar spinach (there are both red- and green- leaved varieties), New Zealand spinach, water spinach (if it is not banned where you live), and Moringa (tree grown as an annual).

* Martynia - a.k.a. Devils Claw, unusual desert plant with pods that are edible when very young, and grow into decorative (but very sharp!) curved spiny pods.

Nightshade family:

* Ground cherries
* Litchi tomato - thorny but attractive plants, clusters of white 1" flowers borne non stop until frost, red berries eaten raw or used like ground cherries.
* Tomatillo

I grow most of those mentioned above (except some of the tropical beans) and would be happy to send seed for a few. Denninmi also grows a lot of the unusual stuff, hopefully he will weigh in on this thread. You will find a lot more info useful to your quest on the Unusual Vegetables thread I posted to this forum several years ago. I'll try to bump it up, but if that fails, it is still in the archives at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Unusual Vegetables

I grew one plant of a purple-fleshed sweet potato this summer. I was not impressed by the flavor/texture. It is cool looking. if you want to send me a SAS bubble-mailer I'll send you a tuber.

Zeedman, Can we trade a few seeds? I have Cushaw squash and blackberry lilies. They attract some cool looking bugs and a rare monarch butterfly. I would love to have some of your tromboncino, edamame, hyacinth bean and sword bean. I will have some more seeds in a few days. I've given alot of my seeds away and I need to figure out what I have now!

I grew trombocino this year. I think it's one of my favorite summer squash. I also grew Hyancinth bean but haven't tasted it yet. Thinking about trying it this week. Beautiful plant growing to the top of my huge palm tree.
Next year, I'm trying Pepino.
I always grow yardlongs, the only bean I can seem to grow in AZ. I love the beans steamed, not stir-fried like most people eat.
Trying the red Chinese noodle bean next year.

I'm not sure if this would "wow" you as much as it did my friends and family but, Sikkim Cucumbers from Baker Creek sure puzzled everyone that found it.

Good luck and thanks for sharing your gardening interests!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:118659}}

How about kohlrabi?

It was my father's old favourite though I never personally grew myself, but I did eat it raw before. It's cool season vegetable.

We certainly don't consider it unusual because we always grow it but we seem to be in the minority. Scorzonera is a must along with a short row of salsify, no, they are not the same. We are digging now as we need them and when thwe ground freezes solid will find them even better next spring.

I grew one plant of a purple-fleshed sweet potato this summer. I was not impressed by the flavor/texture. It is cool looking. if you want to send me a SAS bubble-mailer I'll send you a tuber.

What would I need to do to make it keep until warm weather?