Marrow 'pasta' with tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto

Shame on me! I haven't been into my garden in... 3 weeks! I've been so busy that whenever it has been on my schedule of things I must do today, I either collapse with exhaustion or life gets in the way. It's been a tough couple of weeks at work, but I've survived and things should start to return to normal throughout the next week.

I've also not posted anything for a while. Could there be a better way to quell my guilt than combine the two?

When I finally hacked my way through the overgrown ferns and made it to the garden, I was surprised to see that my neglected courgette plant held a solitary marrow -albeit slightly nibbled. It had produced more, but only their stumps remained. (I feel very guilty.) At least they're organic! I was also faced with a lot of weeding...

When faced with a marrow so many people have no idea what to do with it. I understand, I really do. Marrows are, alone, quite watery and bland in taste. However, they are also a quite versatile vegetable, and deserve a second chance. With the correct treatment, seasoning and accompaniment, the humble marrow can be transformed into something exciting and unusual. A few years ago I made a lasagne using marrow instead of pasta, and today I have followed the same principle.

1 marrow

4 tbsp pine nuts
Pinch of salt
250g fresh basil leaves
50g Parmesan, grated
300ml extra virgin olive oil
A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
A ball of mozzarella


1, Slice the marrow lengthways, about 1 cm thick. Heat a griddle and colour the marrow, taking care not to overcook, until al dente.
2, Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan, and then cool completely. Lightly crush half of them in a pestle and mortar, along with a pinch of salt (if you don't have a pestle and mortar, a blender or food processor will work, if it is small enough to catch the sauce)
3, Add the basil leaves to the pestle and mortar, and working as quickly as possible, pound them into the mixture until you have a thickish paste.
4, Mix in the cheese, and then gradually incorporate the oil. Taste to season.
5, Slice the marrow into chunks, about 2 inch long, then add them to a large bowl.
6, Add the tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella to the bowl, then leave for ten minutes for the flavours to infuse.
7, Garnish with basil leaves and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, and serve with crusty bread.

Raspberry and vanilla sponge

I was home in the Borders at the weekend, where our soft fruit is growing like crazy. I miss the glut of raspberries and blackcurrants that a good few bushes can produce - there are so many things you can make. Hopefully, I'll get another chance to go back and make blackcurrant ice-cream, which is beautiful with its tart and sweet edges.

Wee Lorenzo had picked a huge bowl of raspberries that we going squishy in the fridge, so I cooked them down to form a jus and made it into a cake!


The cake recipe itself follows my inherited cake recipe, from the mum's grandma to me. It's so versatile because you are free to add ingredients as you please, so long as you pay attention to the liquid/dry ratio. This cake recipe is part of me, and I swear I could make it in under ten minutes. It's all about getting the consistency right....

150g/6oz caster sugar
150g/6oz butter, softened
3 large eggs, whisked
150g/6oz SR flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
1 tblsp milk
1/2 tsp quality vanilla extract
Raspberries
A sprinkle brown sugar

Preheat the oven to gas mark5/180C/375F
Line and flour a round, springform tin.
1, Wash the raspberries in cool water, and look out for any creepy crawlies! It's easiest to do this in a large colander so you can move them around gently.
2, Transfer the raspberries to a large pan and sprinkle a little brown sugar over them. Heat over a gentle flame whilst stirring occasionally. Take the pan off the heat when they end up looking like a runny jam.
3, Whilst the raspberries are cooling, make up your cake mixture.
4, Cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until the mix is light and fluffy.
5, Mix together the flour, bicarbonate and salt.
6, Mix together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
7, Add a third of the wet and a third of the dry ingredients to the creamed sugar, and fold. When this is mixed in, add the next third, then the next.
8, When you are happy with the consistency of the cake mixture, you are ready to mix in the raspberry marble!
9, Sieve the raspberries over a bowl to catch the juices, and either discard or keep the seeds and flesh - I fed them to Lawrence, but they would just as nicely go on a bowl of yoghurt or cereal if you don't mind the seeds.
10, Gently pour the raspberry juice into the cake mixture, and fold. The aim is not to mix this through, but to create  two colours in the cake. If you get carried away and end up with a pink cake, all is not lost - it will still taste delicious - and you will have learnt how not to marble, ready for another attempt!