Wednesday 3 October 2012

Little and Large



Courgettes  3rd October 2012
It had been a few days since I had picked any courgettes so I trudged along to the vegetable garden this morning with my ancient Swiss Army knife at the ready to see what vegetable largesse was ready for excising from the courgette patch. At this time of year I am anxious to crop the tender vegetables as soon as they are ready as even a moderate frost can cause devastation.

I had cut seven courgettes when I noticed an eighth which was more or less hidden by the foliage. Clearly I had missed this particular specimen on previous visitations. It was no longer a courgette. It  had very definitely grown  to be a marrow. With so much effort being put into its  growth I have probably lost out on several small courgettes but I am not unhappy. This large specimen, which weighs just under a stone, will have quite a thick skin and will keep in the cellar quite happily for eight or ten weeks. I will however have to decide how I should ultimately process it. Stuffed and baked is one option, although it would require several people to dispose of it at one mastication session. Alternatively it could be used in the manufacture of marrow and ginger jam. I remember my maternal grandmother making marrow jam from one of my early ventures into vegetable growing in the mid 1960's. I liked the jam at the time, but that was probably because I had grown the main ingredient. It does seem a long time ago. That's probably because it is!

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