It seems we’re the only ones who weren’t able to grow zucchinis this year!
Diana grew giant yellow ones, my friend Becca was over-run with them, and last week Pete’s baby sister Penny sent down the doozy of them all! For a couple of days, the “monster” just sat on the kitchen bench (it was too large to fit in the fridge), but by Saturday morning I’d built up my chi enough to tackle it.
Not a single bit of the zucchini went to waste! The top and tail, plus all the seeds, were eaten with relish by the chooks. The bottom half was sliced into large chunks and roasted with potatoes, turnips and capsicums as an accompaniment to our Saturday night roast.
And on Sunday, the top half was turned into two large zucchini slices, enough to feed the neighbourhood!
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One of the foodie treats that I always buy from Harkola is this Lebanese fig marmalade – a delicious chunky paste of figs, sesame seeds, anise and sugar. It’s ridiculously cheap ($4.95 for 800g) and packed to the brim with large pieces of fruit. The sesame seeds give the marmalade an unusual flavour, and make it perfect for incorporating into savoury dishes.
Last weekend I had a jar of this to use up, plus a bag of turkey breast offcuts from Paesanella, so I made a filled focaccia. The basic recipe is here, and my add-ins for this batch were:
- 200g turkey offcuts, chopped
- 200g fig marmalade
- 65g Picasso sheeps’ cheese
It could have used a little more cheese, but this recipe is always made with whatever I have leftover in the fridge, and that was all I had.
The resultant loaf was a seductive blend of sweet and salty flavours – Pete and Uncle Steve loved it!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 