The Marrow one of those vegetables people love or hate, or is it just the fact its not been prepared or the right recipe for you. Thats my theory anyway as I love marrows and courgettes too. Every year you will see a glut of them appearing in the markets and shops and they are certainly growing well in my garden this year (must be the freaky weather we are having?).

I love to try different stuffing with marrow and very often serve it up knowing that my dining guests have said they hate marrow and guess what by the time we have discussed everything and nothing over dinner they have eaten it and then ask me what it was they have just had as it was delicious! Good one to try, I’ve also done this with vegetarian meals and they have never know interesting hey. Must be why my kids have never been fussy eaters and eaten whats been put infront of them, or is that the fact they are not getting anything else?

Anyway back to the marrow here a stuffed marrow recipe with a difference that we love in our house.

You will need: 1 medium to large marrow (and yes Robert you are not borrowing one from my back garden I take a count each night!), 1 large onion, lettuce, 100g mushrooms, 25g butter, 6 tblsp chopped fresh parsley, 50g mature cheddar cheese grated, 225g cottage cheese sieved, mixed dried herbs and sea salt and black pepper to season.

Start by cutting a lengthways slice off your marrow and scoop out the seeds to hollow out the inside. Now sprinkle the flesh with sea salt and set aside to drain upside down on kitchen towelling.

Now chop your onion and shred about 8 good size lettuce leaves. Chop your mushrooms and cook in the butter for 3 minutes before mixing in all the ingredients together. Season with lots of black pepper and a spinkling of mixed dried herbs ( if you don’t like mixed herbs you could try adding some chilli flakes instead and using a smoked cheese to change the flavour profile, but thats what true cooking is all about!).

Wipe the inside of your marrow dry and fill it with the stuffing. Replace the top slice as a lid and wrap in foil before baking for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (depending on your marrow size, are you laughing as much as I am writing this one!!), in your oven at gas 4/ 350 F/ 180 C.  You can serve with cous cous or rice of your choice.

If you enjoy stuffing things take a look at my previous blog fathers day roast, for not only a great roast but some delicious stuffed apples to accompany the pork. Check out this previous blog walking recipes for a great stuffed mushroom recipe. If your into your nibble and setting the scene then check out this previous blog for some great canapes.

I know I have friends who even in adulthood will touch eat anything green, ‘Yes you know who you are!’, well things are about to change with children arriving on the scene he cannot no longer be seen not to eat his greens when he’s telling the little one too, now can he?

One vegetable that people always seem to shy away from and yet has a enormous following in europe especially in french cuisine is well, ’round, knobbly, crusty and looks like it has been hanging around in the vegetable box far to long is…’, the answer is Celeriac.

Celeriac is making abit of a comeback and is regularly seen upon bistro menu’s in the form of mash served with red meats or game. This vegetable has a delicate sweet celery flavour with a aniseed twist to it and even works well grated raw into salads, made into chips or even crisps (if you make your own vegetable crisps). Can be mashed with potato and made into soups too being a very versatile vegetable.

You can find these both in supermarkets and farmers markets and green grocers looking very ugly in the corner, you should try some you will be surprised. 

For a great recipe for egg & lemon sauce celeriac you will need:

3 celeriacs, trimmed and peeled, (For a great peeler this judge ss julienne peeler is brilliant, can be used by left and right handed cooks, makes easy work out of peeling espically for people whose hands have athritus for example and makes light work out of julienne the hardest or vegetables and fruits. So a real aid in todays kitchen) 120 ml dry white wine, 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 2 large egg yolks, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp finely chopped chives and sea salt.
Cut your celeriac into julienne strips and place in a large saucepan. Reserving 3 tblsp of the wine pour the rest of the wine and oil into the saucepan with the celeriac. Now add salt to taste, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes until the celeriac is soft. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining wine and lemon juice, add the chives and pour on to the celeriac.
Toss gently, arrange on a plate or dish to serve. Great with red meats and game of your choice.

Have you tried Celeriac? Does a vegetables look put you off trying it? What vegetable do not like for its looks?

See my previous blog Salad in a hurry for julienne salad ideas and gadget, my previous blog on the side also show another brilliant julienne slicer gadget with a recipe for you to try and there are many more blogs packed with ideas, kitchen gadgets and recipes for you to look through.

Year on year even though I plant simular vegetables in my vegetables plot, the crops differ. Alot of this is down to the typical British Summer Time, if you can call it that. It seems each year earlier and earlier the leaves start falling and differing fruits or vegetables are affected by the monsoon rains we experience with high humidity, followed by damp cold days and then scortching hot days. In these extremes its not only us that suffer.

This week my friend Allyson was only telling me how all her apples had fallen in her orchard so we were busy collecting apples to try to save the fruit. Again Blackberries have been turning earlier and earlier on the hedgerows. This year my potato crop had to be harvested early due to the heavy rain destroying the tops supplying nutrients to the root vegetables below ground and my poor outdoor tomatoes. Well these were terrible this year and again fruit fell and the plant suffered in the weather. However I had a fantastic crop of large cauliflowers!

Anyway with bags of apples in hand we set about baking and preserving. One of our favourite is our homemade Apple & Tomato Chutney.

You will need: 1.3kg apples, 1.3kg tomatoes, 2 large onions, 2 garlic cloves, 250g pitted dates, 2 red bell peppers, 3 dried red chillies, 1 tblsp black peppercorns, 4 cardamon pods, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp sea salt, 600ml distilled malt vinegar & 1kg sugar

First peel and chop your apples, tomatoes, onions & garlic. Quarter the dates and core and seed the peppers before cutting into chunky pieces. Put all but the peppers into a preserving pan. Slit the chillies, put the peppercorns & remaining spices into a mortar and roughly crush with a pestle then add the chillies, spices & salt to the pan. Pour in the vinegar and sugar and simmer for around 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the red peppers and cook for a further 30 minutes stirring as the chutney becomes thicker. Spoon the chutney into warm, dry sterilised jars. Seal each with a waxed circle and cover with a tightly fitting cellofane top and leave to cool before labelling and storing away in a cool dry place ready to be used.

If you like making homemade jams and chutneys you should check out my previous blogs filled with great tasty easy to make recipes and for more fun why not see the great storage jars I used in my blog how berry nice to meet you for some great ideas. Also perfect raspberry jam for your toast and cakes, homemade tastes so much better!

Sometimes its the simple things in life that give so much pleasure!

How many times have we heard this. I hear it alot and on many occassions this can be applied to many things in life including cooking. Sometimes its not that A La Carte meal, fancy restaurant, or expensive gastro pub which satisfies. Recently while visiting my son on the coast we were looking for something tasty, and simple after having a disasterous meal in a gastro establishment and we found it. A superb public house offering nothing but local catch of the day cooked to perfection and we ere not disappointed. The fish was cooked perfectly and it was served simply with fresh seasonal buttered vegetables, washed down with superb white wine and we had a perfect memorable meal we both thoroughly enjoyed.

With this in mind I have just set about making a simple meal with flavour, colour and of course health benefits too enjoying griddled local chicken with tomato salsa a great summer meal.

For this recipe you are going to need: 4 boneless local chicken breast fillets (about 175g each), 30ml fresh lemon juice, 30ml olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp black pepper coarse and for the salso you will need, 1 green chilli, 450g plum tomatoes chopped, 3 spring onions chopped, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, 2 tbsp fresh coriander, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 3 tbsp olive oil.

Firstly with a meat mallet pound the chicken between 2 sheets of clear wrap until thin, in a shallow dish combine the lemon juice, oil, cumin, oregano, pepper and add the chicken coating both sides then cover and leave to marinade. (Leave this for at least 2 hours or best left overnight in a refridgerator. For the salsa char the chilli skin over a gas flame or under the grill and leave to cool for about 5 minutes then carefully rub off the charred skin. (Make sure you wash your hands carefully and fully afterwards) Also for a less intense heat you can discard the seeds.

Did you know that the hottest part of the chilli is the white membrane that connects the seeds to the pod and by charring the chilli this releases the natural sweetness and the heat is moderated?

Chop the chilli up finely and place in a bowl, then add the chopped tomatoes (I added my own tomatoes fresh from the garden). Also add the chopped spring onions, chopped fresh parsley and chopped fresh coriander, lemon juice, olive oil and then mix well and set aside ready for serving.

Remove your chicken from the bag after marinading and heat up a ridged griddle pan or plate. Add the chicken fillets and cook on one side until browned for about 3 minutes then turn over and cook the other side for a further 4 minutes. Serve with your fresh tomato chilli salsa.

For other griddle recipes and griddle information check out my previous blog perfect lamb pittas or if you like chicken check out my sesame chicken noodles recipe my sons favourite in my previous blog Bring back time to eat together.

Meat mallets are a cooks tool for tenderising meat and flattening meats. Usually made from wood or metal with one side flat and other has bumps. Have a look at the selection here meat mallets, I have a stainless steel one and you can’t beat the price on this great stainless steel meat mallet with a 25 year guarantee.

Have you a great marinade recipe you could share with us all?

Its that time of year when a superb local british vegetable is available for a short period to lighten up our meal times.

What am I talking about, well its sunny yellow colour and oh so sweet flavour its British sweetcorn of course. Sweetcorn provides us with useful amounts of vitamins A, B3 and C plus Fibre and Folic Acid too.

Busrting with juicy sweetness you will find British corn on the cobs on stall at our markets etc. Simply boil whole and serve with butter melting over them or you could wrap them up in foil and cook them on your barbeque.

For serving corn on the cob make sure you have some corn on the farringdon cob skewers, this pack of 6 wooden handles skewers is great value and a must set of kitchen equipment for your summer barbecues.

One of our favourites is a Mexican Corn on the Cob: You will need :3 tblsp butter, 1 tsp lime zest, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp finely cracked black pepper and 4 ear(s) corn, in husks.

In a small bowl, combine butter, zest, chili powder, garlic, salt, and pepper, and set aside. Carefully peel back husk from ear, without detaching from the bottom, remove silk from corn, fold the husk back around the ears, and soak in water for 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure to weigh down the ears so that they are fully submerged. Preheat a BBQ to medium, indirect heat. Remove ears from water, drain, open husk, dry ears with paper towels, and spread butter mixture evenly on corn. Fold husk back over corn and grill for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Take a look at my previous blogs on barbeques like bar-b-q fun time and great hot bbq’s for some great barbeques.