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The courgette glut finally hits me
Yesterday a colleague, Michelle, who has an allotment came into work with a
large bag and a desperate look on her face. She's in a different team from me but we worked together a few months ago and she sought me out. "Would you like a marrow, I know you'll say yes?" I said yes please, and she seemed very grateful, another member of my team accepted one too, so we are both going to cook stuffed marrow tomorrow, hers will be the veggie version and mine traditional and we'll compare. It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette and caused amusement among the general public in the street when I carried it out to my car. "Blimey - that's a big 'un" was the least ribald. Poor Michelle went off looking for more people to have one "I don't know what to do with them all.." I expect she found homes for them, but it's not as easy as you might think. It seems that a lot of people with busy work lives that can extend into the evening do not want to cook from scratch, and I don't blame them for that. Besides, marrow is not on the top of the list of what to eat if you've never been taught to cook at school. It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. With adventurous ingredients like a marrow ;-) Tina |
The courgette glut finally hits me
On 08/09/2010 19:03, Christina Websell wrote:
Yesterday a colleague, Michelle, who has an allotment came into work with a large bag and a desperate look on her face. She's in a different team from me but we worked together a few months ago and she sought me out. "Would you like a marrow, I know you'll say yes?" I said yes please, and she seemed very grateful, another member of my team accepted one too, so we are both going to cook stuffed marrow tomorrow, hers will be the veggie version and mine traditional and we'll compare. It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette and caused amusement among the general public in the street when I carried it out to my car. "Blimey - that's a big 'un" was the least ribald. Poor Michelle went off looking for more people to have one "I don't know what to do with them all.." I expect she found homes for them, but it's not as easy as you might think. It seems that a lot of people with busy work lives that can extend into the evening do not want to cook from scratch, and I don't blame them for that. Besides, marrow is not on the top of the list of what to eat if you've never been taught to cook at school. It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. With adventurous ingredients like a marrow ;-) Tina Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
The courgette glut finally hits me
"David in Normandy" wrote in message r... On 08/09/2010 19:03, Christina Websell wrote: Yesterday a colleague, Michelle, who has an allotment came into work with a large bag and a desperate look on her face. She's in a different team from me but we worked together a few months ago and she sought me out. "Would you like a marrow, I know you'll say yes?" I said yes please, and she seemed very grateful, another member of my team accepted one too, so we are both going to cook stuffed marrow tomorrow, hers will be the veggie version and mine traditional and we'll compare. It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette and caused amusement among the general public in the street when I carried it out to my car. "Blimey - that's a big 'un" was the least ribald. Poor Michelle went off looking for more people to have one "I don't know what to do with them all.." I expect she found homes for them, but it's not as easy as you might think. It seems that a lot of people with busy work lives that can extend into the evening do not want to cook from scratch, and I don't blame them for that. Besides, marrow is not on the top of the list of what to eat if you've never been taught to cook at school. It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. With adventurous ingredients like a marrow ;-) Tina Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) LOL! I'm not successful at growing them - slugs nip them off so I was pleased with my marrow-sized courgette. As for your offer of half a ton, 20lbs would be enough! Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? |
The courgette glut finally hits me
On 08/09/2010 20:07, Christina Websell wrote:
LOL! I'm not successful at growing them - slugs nip them off so I was pleased with my marrow-sized courgette. As for your offer of half a ton, 20lbs would be enough! Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? The freezer is full and there are only so many I can give away. I've grown five plants this year and that has made far more courgettes and marrows than we can eat or give away. So now I'm afraid once they get beyond courgette size I put them in the compost bins. It has now reached the stage that several marrows go into the compost every week. I dislike wasting food but I'm starting to think of such surplus along the lines of lawn clippings - it is just an excess of organic matter to compost. Same with runner beans. My French neighbour runs away now if he sees me picking runner beans. There are those who say give them away to people who have no gardens etc but it is a question of logistics and cost. If someone turned up once a week to collect the surplus or if there was a convenient drop off point in the village then they could all be given away. However, I'm not going to go door knocking throughout the village asking everyone if they want courgettes or runner beans! Such is life. There is either a glut or a shortage of certain things. -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
The courgette glut finally hits me
"David in Normandy" wrote in message r... On 08/09/2010 20:07, Christina Websell wrote: LOL! I'm not successful at growing them - slugs nip them off so I was pleased with my marrow-sized courgette. As for your offer of half a ton, 20lbs would be enough! Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? The freezer is full and there are only so many I can give away. I've grown five plants this year and that has made far more courgettes and marrows than we can eat or give away. So now I'm afraid once they get beyond courgette size I put them in the compost bins. It has now reached the stage that several marrows go into the compost every week. I dislike wasting food but I'm starting to think of such surplus along the lines of lawn clippings - it is just an excess of organic matter to compost. Same with runner beans. My French neighbour runs away now if he sees me picking runner beans. There are those who say give them away to people who have no gardens etc but it is a question of logistics and cost. If someone turned up once a week to collect the surplus or if there was a convenient drop off point in the village then they could all be given away. However, I'm not going to go door knocking throughout the village asking everyone if they want courgettes or runner beans! Such is life. There is either a glut or a shortage of certain things. At our allotment there is a table for surplus produce. Not that you would get anyone to take courgettes, but in a village perhaps there could be a spot where you leave excess produce for others to help themselves. A few houses around here leave bags of produce (such as Victoria plums) for passers by. Cheers Dave R -- No plan survives contact with the enemy. [Not even bunny] Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
The courgette glut finally hits me
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
... Yesterday a colleague, Michelle, who has an allotment came into work with a large bag and a desperate look on her face. She's in a different team from me but we worked together a few months ago and she sought me out. "Would you like a marrow, I know you'll say yes?" I said yes please, and she seemed very grateful, another member of my team accepted one too, so we are both going to cook stuffed marrow tomorrow, hers will be the veggie version and mine traditional and we'll compare. It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette and caused amusement among the general public in the street when I carried it out to my car. "Blimey - that's a big 'un" was the least ribald. Poor Michelle went off looking for more people to have one "I don't know what to do with them all.." I expect she found homes for them, but it's not as easy as you might think. It seems that a lot of people with busy work lives that can extend into the evening do not want to cook from scratch, and I don't blame them for that. Besides, marrow is not on the top of the list of what to eat if you've never been taught to cook at school. It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. With adventurous ingredients like a marrow ;-) Tina Took a marrow cake into work today. Only one person asked what the green bits were, and I had to remind them to leave some for the boss, who was having the day off. -- Kathy |
The courgette glut finally hits me
On Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:45:15 +0200, David in Normandy
wrote: It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) If you've got something other than long green ones then yes! I've left one on one plant (could be it's last) to grow and grow - and another two plants are still doing well. A friend on the allotment gave me a plant last year - diamante round one which was nice but didn't do as well as these at home have this year. I too think kids should have cooking lessons at school. My son did but only for a term - and one day the teacher didn't turn up which meant they couldn't cook so the poor kid in the class who was relying on having his cookery project for lunch was very hungry! -- http://www.bra-and-pants.com http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk |
The courgette glut finally hits me
On 08/09/2010 19:07, Christina Websell wrote: "David in wrote in message r... On 08/09/2010 19:03, Christina Websell wrote: Yesterday a colleague, Michelle, who has an allotment came into work with a large bag and a desperate look on her face. She's in a different team from me but we worked together a few months ago and she sought me out. "Would you like a marrow, I know you'll say yes?" I said yes please, and she seemed very grateful, another member of my team accepted one too, so we are both going to cook stuffed marrow tomorrow, hers will be the veggie version and mine traditional and we'll compare. It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette and caused amusement among the general public in the street when I carried it out to my car. "Blimey - that's a big 'un" was the least ribald. Poor Michelle went off looking for more people to have one "I don't know what to do with them all.." I expect she found homes for them, but it's not as easy as you might think. It seems that a lot of people with busy work lives that can extend into the evening do not want to cook from scratch, and I don't blame them for that. Besides, marrow is not on the top of the list of what to eat if you've never been taught to cook at school. It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. With adventurous ingredients like a marrow ;-) Tina Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) LOL! I'm not successful at growing them - slugs nip them off so I was pleased with my marrow-sized courgette. As for your offer of half a ton, 20lbs would be enough! Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? I have just put on the slow cooker with Ratatouille. Gets rid of the glut of courgettes, Toms, Peppers & onions - wife doesn't like Aubergines in Rat so don't grow them any more. Portioned into the freezer for the winter months -- Corporal Jones "Don't panic don't panic" Life will go on albeit somewhat reduced |
The courgette glut finally hits me
On 09/09/2010 12:58, Martin wrote:
On Thu, 9 Sep 2010 03:53:14 -0700 (PDT), Judith in France wrote: David Marrow and ginger jam is my absolute favourite of all jams, I made enough one year, canned it, and it lasted me for a couple of years. Recipe please! Yes indeed. Recipe Please! :-) -- David in Normandy. To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the subject line, or it will be automatically deleted by a filter and not reach my inbox. |
The courgette glut finally hits me
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
"David in Normandy" wrote in message It was not a marrow as such, just a massive courgette Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? A very, very versatile veg is courgette (aka zucchini). Below are a few recipes which I can vouch for. Zucchini Cake: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7013/zucchini+cake Zucchini slice (eaten hot or cold): http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/5546/zucchini+slice Zucchini Fritters: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1608...chini+fritters |
The courgette glut finally hits me
"mogga" wrote in message ... On Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:45:15 +0200, David in Normandy wrote: It should be essential, IMO, for all children to be taught to cook at school. Sounds like you are in the market for some courgettes and marrows. I'll have half a ton delivered to you tomorrow! ;-) If you've got something other than long green ones then yes! I've left one on one plant (could be it's last) to grow and grow - and another two plants are still doing well. A friend on the allotment gave me a plant last year - diamante round one which was nice but didn't do as well as these at home have this year. I too think kids should have cooking lessons at school. My son did but only for a term - and one day the teacher didn't turn up which meant they couldn't cook so the poor kid in the class who was relying on having his cookery project for lunch was very hungry! -- Although I didn't particular like cookery lessons at school it was mandatory from when I was 11-14. Every bloody week, twice a week for 2 hours. I really appreciate that now because it's enabled me to be a confident cook and make a meal out of anything. It's stood me in good stead for ever, really. Removing cooking from the national curriculum was a bad move, IMO. I did a stuffed marrow from my huge courgette, cutting it in rings and filling it with previously fried lamb mince, onions, tomatoes and celery plus spices. I meant to put mushrooms in but forgot. After 15 mins in the oven I put grated cheese on top for another 15 mins. It was not quite enough time for the first stage, the marrow was still too firm even after 30 mins, but as I'd started baby potatoes and fresh peas and they were ready, I ate it anyway. It was incredibly filling. I still have some left for tonight, so I will make sure the marrow is softer, by cooking it more and another thing I'd do is put some sort of gravy inside as it was drier than I wanted. Otherwise it was brilliant. I felt so full I fell asleep.. Tina |
Quote:
I learnt my cooking from my mother, and she was always worked from general principles, telling me, not just what to put in, but what the function of each ingredient was, and basically how and why everything worked. So I can adapt recipes and know what I need to do to counteract any ill effect of substituting any of the ingredients, and I can create a palatable dish from whatever selection of things the pantry and garden happens to throw up tonight. I've used the same approach when teaching my children, both of whom are competent cooks in their different ways. Trouble is, we seem to have broken the link (just as we have in gardening) with a generation that bought into the whole convenience food ethic and now in turn are unable to teach their children because they've never learnt themselves. |
The courgette glut finally hits me
Christina Websell wrote:
Seriously, unless you buy an extra freezer (I found courgettes freeze OK for use in stir fries) what do you do with them if you have a glut - apart from haunting friends and neighbours ;-)? Mine have slowed down considerably now, so I'm getting a reasonably tolerable flow. The round yellow ones are still doing much better than the green bush type, despite there only being 2 of the former and about 6 of the latter. I think the best idea with a potential glut is to make sure you pick them early. If you pick them young enough you can just steam and eat 5-6 at a time for a meal, which soon sorts them out, ime. |
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