Marrow Matters - Marvelous Marinated Marrows

Another Thursday, another marrow recipe - my favourite one so far.

MARVELOUS MARINATED MARROWS

Take 5-8 baby marrows. Wash them well.

 Slice them lengthways into long strips. Coat them with olive oil and roast them in a hot oven (200'C) until they are tender, stirring every now and then.

While the marrows are softening in the oven, crush a clove of garlic into a casserole dish. Add a handful of freshly chopped mint leaves.

 Heat half a cup of vinegar until bubbling merrily.

Toss the softly roasted courgettes with the hot vinegar, garlic and mint in the casserole dish. Grind salt and pepper over the dish.

Cover and refrigerate overnight to mellow the flavours. 

Voila, an absolutely delicious accompaniment to any meal that is perfect for a hot Summer's day. 

Now to think of some ideas for the rest of the marrows that grew enormous while we were away. 

Marrow Matters - Garden Risotto

It looks as if Thursdays will be my Marrow Matters days. I hope to post a few more ELASTIC TIPS on some of the days in between but, for now, this is all that I can muster being so busy with processing the fruit of our harvests. 

I do not presume to pretend that I am a master chef and this so-called risotto is probably not at all like a real risotto, but delicious and, in Elastic Mom style, quick and easy. Best of all, it only uses one pan.

GARDEN RISOTTO

Sizzle some butter or oil in a large pan. Slice up and fry one onion, some marrows, a green pepper and a few slices of bacon. My bacon was shaved off a hunk of frozen bacon generously given to us by my father-in-law. I used a rather large yellow summer squash.

Once the onions start to soften, add some frozen beans, carrots and sweetcorn to the pan, or use vegetables that you have on hand. Fry them until defrosted.

The beans were my own, blanched and frozen and needing clearing from the freezer. I have memories of my long-suffering children helping me to slice crates of sweetcorn off the cob with my electric carving knife before freezing them last Summer. Now that the new harvest is coming, it's time to clear the last of them from the freezer too.

Shake up the remains of an almost empty jar of apricot jam with a half jar of hot water and pour it in. You could shake up any tasty almost empty jar - mayonnaise, jam, chutney or mustard. No suitable jars? Then just add a dollop of your favourite flavor and some water, or just use stock. 

All the while gently stir the mixture in the pan. Add some fresh cream, about half a cup. Liquid quantities are not important, as you will adjust them as you go.  

Sprinkle some risotto rice over the pan. My mother-in-law taught me to use a handful of rice per person and one extra for the pan. 

Keep stirring the risotto as it simmers. You will soon see if you need to add more liquid for the rice to absorb.

If it looks a little dry still, slosh in some wine and chicken or vegetable stock.  

Season with salt and pepper and add your favourite herbs or spices. I used some smoked paprika because its smoky flavor is great with bacon.

Keep simmering, stirring, and adjusting the liquid if you need to, until the rice is cooked through, but still with a bit of a bite to it. 

Tuck in to a tasty family meal. 

This recipe is truly ELASTIC and you can adjust it to whatever you are clearing from your garden. pantry, fridge or freezer. Avoid unwanted science experiments in your fridge. Plan your meals according to what needs using the most.

 USE IT, DON"T LOSE IT. 

I always try to choose flavours that compliment each other. Apricot jam and bacon sing together. 

ELASTIC GARDEN RISOTTO:

Be creative with flavor families. Use your basic garden vegetables, making sure to throw in heaps of marrows, but vary the spices, herbs and meat according to what you have and need to use.... 

Go THAI with coconut milk, green curry, asian greens and strips of chicken,

or ITALIAN with garlic, parmesan, tomato, peppers, oregano and bits of salami.

How about FRENCH with brinjal, peppers, tomato, mixed herbs, bacon and garlic.

For a VEGETARIAN version use cooked chickpeas or beans for protein. 

Mmm, I am thinking lentils and CURRY spices, but then that would need a different rice, basmati maybe....

The variations are as abundant as your imagination. In fact, the flexibility of this recipe makes it perfect to add to my list of BACK TO BASICS recipes. 

Marrow Matters - Summer Tart

As promised, here is another summer squash recipe. It is my personal variation on Grandma's Tart, a recipe that I found in a Waldorf School Recipe Book and a firm family favourite.  Our garden marrows keep on coming. I like to pick them small and tender. We seem to have a lot of yellow ones at the moment. This recipe is a winner, fast and easy, but delicious. 

SUMMER TART

Pick and wash a handful each of baby marrows and cherry tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. I use a pastry brush to oil my baking tray, then roll out some ready puff pastry to fit the pan. 

 Slice an onion and about six baby marrows lengthways. I use a vegetable peeler to make the slices really thin.

Wash and halve the baby tomatoes. Send a helpful family member, like my daughter, into the garden to pick some fresh rosemary.

Smear a large dollop of dijon mustard over the pastry. Be sure to take it all the way to the edge of the pastry. 

 Saute the onion and ribbons of squash in some olive oil. You could add garlic here if you like. After the marrows have softened, add the tomato halves and stir gently. 

Spoon the vegetables over the pastry. Crumble feta cheese over and sprinkle with blades of rosemary. Season with ground salt and pepper.

Bake in the oven until the pastry is golden, the vegetables are starting to brown slightly, and your family starts commenting on the wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen.

 Summer Tart is scrumptious served hot or at room temperature with a little salad on the side.

It is most enjoyable to eat this meal outdoors on a warm evening and it would be complimented by a chilled glass of light white wine. 

Marrow Matters - Creamy Courgettes

Barbara Kingsolver, in her wonderful book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, shares the woes of an overabundant zucchini harvest where one dare not venture out, as on returning home one will invariably find a bag of marrows on the doorstep, a doubtedly generous gift from a similarly overrun neighbour.

Yet again this summer, I am challenged to include these prolific green, yellow and stripy marrows into as many meals as possible without offense to my darling family.

Life frequently intrudes on my blogging intentions, but maybe a series of marrow solving recipes is in order. This recipe raises the humble marrow's status from sublime to sought after. It cost me no more than a trip to the garden and a little cream-begging from our dear sweet jersey cow, Rose.

CREAMY COURGETTES

 Melt a generous dollop of Rosie's butter in a large pan. Wash courgettes well and slice thinly. Keep them in rings or else they will break up during cooking.

 Add the courgettes to your bubbling butter and sauté until they are beginning to soften slightly and smell golden.

 Quickly run into your garden and pick some thyme and rosemary which you will need to rinse and finely chop.

 I use cream freshly skimmed, but bought cream is just as good, well almost.

 Sprinkle the herbs and pour the cream over the sizzling slices of marrow. Grind over some salt and pepper.

 Use enough cream to cover the bottom of the pan, but not to drown the courgettes.

 Bubble and simmer this mixture, stirring gently when you remember, until the cream has reduced right down and the marrows are very tender.

This dish is delicious served warm as a side dish for a main meal. It tastes so much better than my photograph looks. Even my marrow unfriendly son enjoys it.

Greening my Fingers

A vegetable garden is an essential item on the Elastic Mom lifestyle list, no matter whether it consists of a few pots of produce, or a cultivated field.

A vegetable garden provides:

Therapy for  overstretched emotions.
Something to feed those ever hungry mouths for barely there pantries.
Healthy vitamins to nourish our human treasures.
A hiding place for peace.
Encouraging rewards, reaping relative to sowing.

When life is stretching your capacity as a mom, a quiet visit to your vegetables can feed your soul. The process of touching soil, digging fingers into cool, moist sand is soothing. Many summers ago, I assisted with a toddler enrichment program. Each week we provided tactile stimulation in the form of baths of seeds, sand, cotton wool, and more. Each week the toddlers' mommies would sit around the baths, unconsciously running their hands backwards and forwards through the calming yet stimulating textures as they chatted. My gardening gloves usually end up in a little heap somewhere as I relish that bare handed contact with my garden.

The repetition of weed pulling, trimming, digging or picking calms any frazzled nerves. My precious  mum once advised me, her busy buzzy daughter, to make time for reflection on a daily basis. Slowing down to gardening pace always sends my thoughts into helpful rhythms of reflection. While my hands create order in the garden, my jumbled thoughts settle and anchor into gentle perspective.

A stormy conflict, when taken to that green place, subsides into thoughts of forgiveness and reconciliation as the accepting soil absorbs the angry adrenaline. Judgement evaporates in my garden. Sorrows weep into the soil and feed my plants. Comfort comes in the form of blushing tomatoes, abundant beans, those delicate spears of asparagus that surprise me with their sudden arrival. The predictability of plants is safe when life is painfully unpredictable.

In times past I have opened the pantry door with dismay, racking my brain for inspiration. The three relentlessly grumbling bellies that appear in my house three times a day stretch my creativity and resourcefulness on a daily basis. Whether I am low on flour, eggs, energy or enthusiasm, my garden never fails to inspire and equip me for the next heaped up set of plates on the table. This week my energy levels were low, so low that I had skipped my religious Wednesday trip to town, resulting in a rather pathetic store of basic ingredients. A pleasant walk through the vegetable patch resulted in an almost gourmet pasta dish...  with thyme scented creamy zucchini sauce sprinkled with halved baby tomatoes and chunks of feta, eaten on the patio,  accompanied by cocktails. Who would have known the cupboard resembled Mother Hubbard's.

The enzymes and vitamins contained in food that was growing twenty minutes before eating, is incomparable to days old produce that has travelled home in a hot car and sat in the fridge for a while. You can taste the crisp, fresh life in it. A nurtured tomato is so much sweeter than one out of a plastic bag. Sweetcorn picked and eaten raw within minutes is indescribable. I love knowing that my family are being nourished with the best quality food that I can give them,

 I love people, and some people dearly. My family is so precious to me. Yet occasionally the voices and the music and the busyness, and the demands, and the life of being a wife and mom starts to suffocate me. An introvert is refreshed by spending time alone. An extrovert is refreshed by spending time with people. My vegetable garden sometimes serves as a hideaway for much needed solitude and prayer. Sometimes it is also a place for quiet connecting and communicating with my man, away from two sets of inquisitive ears. We weed and trim and chat and pick and crouch side by side, just two again for a brief interlude. Being just one, or just two, is good in the garden.

Sometimes, to my dismay, the sowing into my children, their home education, my marriage, or my friendships, produces unexpected results. In the world of people sowing does not necessarily produce equivalent reaping. But my vegetable garden is comfortingly predictable. That predictable outcome suits my mathematical brain. Vigilance, sustained effort, diligence and sowing results in joyful reaping of delicious rewards. A little care results in a generous response. My garden is forgiving and gracious and good for my soul.

So however you are stretching your resources, I believe that every elastic mom requires a vegetable garden to feed her family and her soul.

Moving House

So we are moving house again, the seventh time in seven years. This time we are not going far, just to a different house on the farm we are on. The truth is, that no matter whether one is moving down the road, or across the country, the process takes pretty much the same amount of effort, and it causes pretty much the same amount of disruption in our lives.

Thanks to Fly Lady, I have a very helpful printed list of Moving Tips which I keep on hand for times such as these. This list helps me to keep my head in the chaos of an upside down house.

I have allocated us a school-free week to pack up house, move, and unpack. I know that unpacking will take quite a bit longer, but on arrival day I will make sure that the beds are made, the kitchen is functional, the clothes are unpacked, and the current school work is readily available in the study, in that order. Then slowly over the next few weeks, I will find places for everything and sort and shelve books etc. My fun-loving husband will make sure that the music system and computers are up and working before the washing machine and dishwasher - he always does. My daughter will have her bedroom unpacked and decorated within the first two days, and my son will see to his bed and leave the rest for me while he explores, if I let him.

While I pack and prepare, my children are under instruction to use this time to catch up any schoolwork that they have fallen behind in, and give me at least two hours of packing time a day. It helps them to have the time boundary, so that they are free to play when they are tired. Both of them have willingly given much more time than this already. I start them in their own bedrooms and then they move on to their books. I find them much more willing to help when they are packing their own things. Ever since they were tiny tots, I have always kept them very involved in each move that we have made. I find that it helps  them emotionally with the transition and it also really helps me a lot. They also tend to be more ruthless than I am when it comes to tossing out unwanted possessions.

My favourite moving tip is to mark each item with a coloured sticker coded to each room of the new house. Then when the boxes and furniture are being carried in, they are taken to the correct rooms, each marked with a coloured sticker, immediately. This saves me a lot of back-strain later. It also helps me to visualize where each item will belong in advance. I am not so good at decision making under pressure. I also always draw a quick sketch of the layout of the house and "place the furniture" before the move. Again, I can direct the heavy furniture to exactly the right spot to save my back. We can always rearrange it at a later stage.

This time we are packing a lot of our goods into solid plastic crates from the farm - usually filled with freshly picked vegetables or fruit. Thankfully we are at the beginning of harvest time, so there are plenty of spare crates available for the week. The crates are wonderful because they fit into each other without squashing their contents, perfect for breakables. Their only snag is that the move will be on open vehicles on dusty roads and the crates are slatted. I am planning to cover the lot with blankets to prevent a lot of washing later. Soft goods, like clothes and cushions go into clear garbage bags so that I can easily see their contents.

I plan ahead for meals for the move. sometimes we are blessed with meals from kind friends, which are always much appreciated. Monday's lunch next door was very welcome when I was just getting started with the packing up.  I also like to clear the fridge as much as possible so that very few perishables have to be moved. Over the last two days I have cooked quite a few extra meals to help when the pressure is on. Firstly I made an enormous batch of muesli which will feed us for breakfast for the week. I had some leftover stir-fried vegetables which weren't all that tasty. So I used half in a pasta sauce and half in a quiche. I also had a half bucket of milk which needed using, so I made macaroni cheese and yoghurt. Then I found some cream at the back of the fridge - about a liter, so I made butter and then bread with the buttermilk. There was also some cream that was turning sour, so I used it up in a batch of scones which the many children gobbled up with great gusto. It may seem crazy to be cooking so hard while packing, but in doing so, I have freed up the rest of the week and don't really have to cook again. It also gives me a chance to leave the boxes for a bit.

Another thing that I have learned to do, it to pack an Arrival Kit which is the first box that I unpack in the new house. It consists of cleaning supplies, snacks, a set of linen for each bed, pajamas for everyone, towels for the bathrooms, dinner for the first night, some tea, and the kettle. If that is the only box to be unpacked on the first day, then that is ok. My husband will make sure the coffee machine is up and running before I have managed to make the first cup of tea.

Oh, and we always have music playing while we pack and unpack house. No one can be grumpy when they are singing. I am really looking forward to a bigger house. I love taking a house and turning it into a home.

Restoring the Stretch in My Elastic

At the moment, the main thing that this Elastic Mom is stretching, is my energy levels. I have been flagging a little lately. You know, colds, moving house, admin, wonderful visitors and also saying goodbye to friends leaving. 

I know my limits, and so, I have been looking at ways to restore my bounce. I tried running again to boost the endorphins, but my leg injury acted up. I tried cutting out sugar, but my friend bakes the best chocolate cakes. I was encouraged to take a tonic, but it tastes vile, and then I found the answer.

Best of all, it doesn't cost a cent. 

I bet you are wondering what it is. 

I feel better than James Brown after this pick me up. 

It doesn't contain caffeine, alcohol or any other harmful substance. 

Have you guessed it yet?

And it is fantastic, quite safe and effective for restoring for flagging energy levels from tiny babies to those more senior frail people, and anyone else in between. 

The only hitch is that you need to use this energy restorer when you are completely alone, preferably behind a closed door.

That's it you got it!

 A good, deep, long afternoon nap. 

I took one today and it has worked wonders. 

I might even sneak one somewhere between the box packing tomorrow.