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

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.

"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 ;-)?

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.

"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

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

"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

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

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

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.

"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

"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

I don't think I recall anything particularly useful from school cookery lessons - too formulaic (and my father, who had school cookery lessons during the war, is certainly no cook!).

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.

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.