[yorkiegal]

had a look at my 9 courgette plants today and i have at least two courgettes on each plant ready for harvest now. As a single person I don't think I'm going to be able to eat the entire harvest. So I really hope my neighbours are courgette fans lol. Is it true that the average harvest for a courgette plant is 50? I hate chutney so I can't make that from it and I know they don't freeze well unless I grate them.

[shokkyy]

Ratatouille?

[BabbyAnn]

Every year I grow too many courgettes (I don't seem to learn) and end up with far more than I need to but luckily I have lots of people who are happy to take the surplus off me.  This year I decided to grow different varieties and after planting up one of each, the person who wanted to take my spare plants was unable to.  At the same time a big bed that I had planned on growing outdoor tomatoes was looking bare as the risk of blight was too high to consider planting them so I popped the rest of the courgettes in there to make it look cultivated ... a total of 14 plants.  I've been harvesting an average of 3 courgettes a day this past week and not all the plants are producing yet 

I use a lot of courgettes to bulk up meals - I dice/shred rather than slice and add them to meals such as hot pot, spaggy bol etc.  And they go very well with garlic or chilli or with a cheesy sauce topping (a bit like cauliflower cheese)  The other thing I've noticed is that when the courgette season begins in earnest I lose a lot of weight even though I'm eating loads more with keeping up with all the crops that are ready.  I call it the "courgette diet"   

[tosca100]

One of our favourite veggie meals uses courgettes. It is simply sliced courgettes and potatoes layered with feta, garlic and mint, olive oil and a little cream cheese or greek yoghurt to help bind it together. Baked like a hotpot and served with tomato and olive salad. Yum.

I have found it is easiest to slice the courgettes into a bowl, add chopped mint and garlic, salt and pepper and lots of olive oil, and mix well, then layer with the taters and feta and a little cream cheese or yoghurt if you want to use it. The more courgettes you use the more "juice" you get, so less oil.

[lizziesdad]

Hi Lizziesmum here - not lizziesdad as the courgette plants are my babies. Have already picked eight decent sized courgettes from just three plants - I shared them with my neighbour as we wouldn't be able to eat them all. They are one of the few things on the allotment that are romping away! Never mind - the sun's shining and the next few days promise good weather so maybe everything else will stop moping and get a growth spurt! Oh yes - cut the courgettes length ways, brush with olive oil, grill them cut side down until skin browns, turn them over, top with chilli tomato chutney and any cheese you like ( grated cheddar, mozarella) and grill untill bubbling and brown. Just lovely!

[Mrs Bee]

Those recipes sound lovely Lizzies Mum and Tosca.

Will try those as soon as we get any courgettes. Have a few tiny ones showing at last.
I can never get enough of them as I make oodles of chutney with them.

I like making courgette, feta and mint fritters which freeze reasonably well.

I also fry them and preserve them in vinegrette dressing as well as the usual recipes.

Oh yes and I make a courgette and cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting too.

[JayG]

It's only in the last few weeks mine have apparently decided to live - I can see a few flower buds appearing but they look like boys to me!

Because they were struggling I started a couple off in the greenhouse as well, so with any luck I'll be rat-tat-twoing and courgette-caking along with the rest of you soon! 

[tosca100]

Oooooo yes, made some courgette muffins one day, got the recipe from the internet. Yummy!

JayG, the slugs have left me one weedy plant. But I have left it in to see if the weather can work miracles.

[JayG]

JayG, the slugs have left me one weedy plant. But I have left it in to see if the weather can work miracles.

Only two plants (out of 3) survived in the garden, and one of those had its stem half eaten through by a slug, but it's now 3/4 of the size of the other - I think I can call that a minor miracle, if only mathematically! 

[sunshineband]

One of our favourite veggie meals uses courgettes. It is simply sliced courgettes and potatoes layered with feta, garlic and mint, olive oil and a little cream cheese or greek yoghurt to help bind it together. Baked like a hotpot and served with tomato and olive salad. Yum.

I have found it is easiest to slice the courgettes into a bowl, add chopped mint and garlic, salt and pepper and lots of olive oil, and mix well, then layer with the taters and feta and a little cream cheese or yoghurt if you want to use it. The more courgettes you use the more "juice" you get, so less oil.

I shall add this to our repertoire, soon I hope 

Had our first courgette of the year yesterday -- bring on the  glut

Please

[arugula]

Some nice ideas there, thanks.

[yorkiegal]

thanks for that. some great recipes there!

[Madame Cholet]

flowers coming las tue hoping to see some babies on Wed. Roll on a glut of anything apart from slugs.

[jokey333]

courgette soup - yum, courgette bake with cougette (obviously) tomatoes, mini corn, garlic and motzarella cheese (spelt wrong)  - courgette grated with carrot and/or koh rabi with a teaspoon of white wine vinigar and mayonaise makes a lovely coleslaw.

once my cougettes make a faster appearance i may discover more recipes

jo

[mumofstig]

ideas here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=41377.msg488058#msg488058
here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=6221.msg72494#msg72494
and here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=41816.msg493016#msg493016


quite a few keep you busy