Hints for the vegetarian vegetable garden

By Gill Gibbs

Now is the time to get sowing seeds of courgette, squash and marrow. I particularly like spaghetti marrow because they store very well into the winter months. In fact I think the flavour improves with keeping.

I consign tights or stockings that are past their best to the wash bag, with a knot in one leg to remind me that once washed they can be used for tying jobs in the garden.

One Saturday last year I went off for a jaunt into the town leaving the washing machine trundling away. The laundry assistant (Hubby) promised to hang the washing out when it had finished.

When I arrived home I found a very grumpy laundry assistant. He said to me: “I’ve hung out the washing and how on earth did you get all those knots in your tights? It took me absolutely ages to untie them all!”

However, you can see here the results of my spaghetti marrow harvest hanging in my tights in the conservatory. I felt very proud of my efforts. 

Spaghetti squash has 2 grams of fibre per one-cup serving and is a good source of calcium, potassium, magnesium, and niacin. You can use it to replace spaghetti in your meal if you are watching the calories.

I cook it whole in the microwave on a plate to catch any juices. This could take 10 minutes or more. Leave until cool enough to handle (scrape out the seeds), and use a fork to separate the spaghetti-like strands, gently reheating them with a knob of dairy-free spread, salt and pepper. Delicious. The seeds can be roasted for a snack, but I haven’t tried this myself.