RECIPES Courgette Lemon Drizzle Cake (using Tromboncino)

Courgette Lemon Drizzle Cake  -

using Tromboncino

Tromboncino Lemon Drizzle Cake

Usually we have a glut of courgettes in the late summer with some growing into marrows so we have become quite skillful in adapting recipes to make full use of them - and one of our favourites is incorporating them in Lemon Drizzle Cake.

This autumn we had a glut of Tromboncinos, also known in Italian as zucchetta.

28 August 2023
Tromboncinos growing on our allotment

The tromboncino is an adaptable squash that can either be used as a summer squash, like a courgette (zucchini), when green and picked when it is 1-2 feet long or left to ripen when it may grow more than a metre in length.  

2 October
Tromboncino picked as a summer squash

The plant has a vining habit and we grow ours up an improvised trellis otherwise they trail on the ground and are likely to be damaged by pests. When mature the colour fades to beige rather like a butternut squash and it can then be used roasted or in soups or stews or any butternut squash recipe - we find it rather good in a Thai style curry with coconut milk or in a risotto with sage.

25 October
Tromboncino picked as a winter squash

One of the advantages over courgettes is that they have no seeds in the long stem, all the seeds being concentrated in the bulbous end which we often hollow out and roast, stuffed with a meat or vegetable stuffing.

Roast tromboncino stuffed with spicy minced meat

For the "courgette" cake we use the seedless stem from the young green vegetable, including the skin.  Most courgette cake recipes suggest grating the flesh.  We used a spiraliser which produces long spaghetti-like strands which we then roughly chop with a pair of scissors.  

The spiraliser

Spiralised tromboncino

You can buy spiralised courgette in supermarkets, sold as "courgetti spaghetti" and it can be used in may dishes, usually lightly steamed as a vegetable or as a pasta substitute.

When making a cake, if you are using courgettes, it is advisable to put the flesh in muslin or a clean tea towel and squeeze out some of the moisture - otherwise you will get a very sloppy cake.  We find that less necessary with tromboncinos as the flesh is usually much drier and firmer.

The recipe which we used is as follows:

Ingredients for the Cake

150 mls vegetable oil

200g caster sugar

2 large or 3 medium eggs

Grated or finely pared zest of 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

200g Courgette spiralised and chopped or grated

250g Self Raising Flour

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Ingredients for the drizzle

Grated or finely pared zest and Juice of 1 lemon

75 g Caster sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven to 160C Fan. (If using a conventional oven you may need a temperature of 180C - but we haven't tried that).

Mix together vegetable oil, caster sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice and beat until smooth.  We use a food mixer for this.

Stir in grated courgette.

Add bicarbonate of soda to the flour and then gently fold into the cake mixture until there are no lumps and all the flour is absorbed.

Grease and or line with baking paper a 1lb loaf tin or cake tin.  Pour in the cake mixture and level off.  We sometimes worry at this stage if the cake mixture is quite runny - but the result has always been good.  Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for 55minutes – 1 hour.  It may be advisable to cover the cake with buttered paper or baking paper for the first 30 minutes.

After cooking test the cake with a metal skewer (it should come out clean with no cake mixture adhering). If it is not cooked through, put back in oven for a further 5/10 minutes but cover again so that the top does not burn.

Whilst the cake is cooking, mix together the drizzle ingredients – sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice until smooth.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin, but whilst still hot pierce the cake all over with a skewer then pour the drizzle evenly over the top and leave it to soak in.  Do not remove the cake from the tin until it is cool.

Hot from the oven and drizzled with the lemon

Tromboncino lemon drizzle cake ready for the table

John Austin

Hove, November 2023

Life on The Weald - September 2023

 Life on The Weald

and other distractions - September 2023

September - a proliferation of plums

1 September

September marks the beginning of the meteorological autumn.  The 2023-24 storms season also started officially on 1 September which means there is a new set of names agreed in collaboration with the UK Met Office, Ireland's Met Eireann and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.  Together they issued a warning of the coming of Storm Agnes.  Although Agnes is not expected until the end of the month, September began with a stormy Friday with strong winds and very heavy rainfall.

3 September

The heavy rain had all gone by Sunday and, apart from a misty morning, it was a glorious sunny day, but not one that I would be spending at the allotment as I was off to London for the Big Half.  It was like a pleasant summer's day for me but I fear a little too hot for comfort for the runners in the Half Marathon starting at Tower Bridge and finishing at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.

Not only did I get to see the race but took the opportunity to meet up with my granddaughter, Tilly, who had a friend running that day.

Spending time with Tilly aboard the Cutty Sark

It was a rather special occasion as this was the last time that Mo Farah would be running competitively in London (his last professional race would be a few weeks later in the Great North Run).   It was, perhaps, a disappointing result for Mo, the defending champion, as he finished 4th, in 1 hour 2 minutes 43 seconds, 95 seconds behind the winner.  It was, however, still a remarkable run as Mo was not well on the day and probably would not have run had it not been his last race.  He had a great reception from the crowd for whom he has given so much entertainment, excitement and inspiration over the years.

 

Mo comes home fourth!

And in typical Mo fashion, he was soon back on the course, saluting later finishers offering encouragement and a high-five.

Mo cheers on later runners

It was a great day for the legendary David Weir who won the Men's Wheelchair in a a nail-biting finish in 47 minutes 26 seconds, just 1 second ahead of Danny Sidbury and 4 seconds ahead of John Boy Smith.

David Weir wins the Men's Wheelchair

There was a great run for Calli Thackery who won the Elite Women's race in 1 hour 9 minutes and 15 seconds, 3 minutes ahead of Lily Partridge who came 5th.  There was more excitement in the Women's Wheelchair event as Samantha Kinghorn and Eden Rainbow Cooper raced side by side to the finish line with Samantha winning but with the same time on the clock as Eden, 52 minutes 5 seconds!

4-10 September

Following the weekend we had a continued period of very hot weather - on Thursday 7th, the UK record was broken for the number of consecutive days in September reaching 30C. The previous record was 3 days - in 1898, 1906, 1911 and 2016.  7 September was also the hottest day of the year! This was not to be expected in September.

And it didn't stop there! The 4 day record did not last long as there were 7 consecutive days up to 10 September where a temperature above 30C was recorded in the UK.

But before we start celebrating this glorious weather, it is undoubtedly human-induced climate change that causes heatwaves to be more frequent, more intense and last longer.  This is NOT good news for the environment, our eco-systems or future generations.

It is a time of year, however,  to relax a little and enjoy the fruits of our labour.  We have an abundance of squashes and we enjoyed some Patty pan stuffed with ricotta and nuts, accompanied by our freshly lifted new potatoes and French beans,

Roast stuffed Patty pan squash

Squash with potatoes and beans, all from the plot

We also have a proliferate supply of plums!

In the garden at home we had a new visitor - a colourful Jay

A Jay comes to visit

Last month I had cleared the pond of couch grass that had invaded. This month one of our neighbours had divided her Irises and had some to spare which we have now planted in the pond on the plot.  I was pleased to see that the damselflies were still around and when pulling up some couch grass near the pond was pleased to see a large frog.

We are now regularly harvesting squashes, courgettes and cucumbers - and of course, plums!

8 September - Patty pan, cucumbers and courgette

We also have a surplus of apples and, largely based on a  Mary Berry recipe, are making apple cake at least weekly.  The rest of the apples are finding their way into other dishes or joining the plums in the freezer.

9 September - Apple cake

9 September - Apple cake

15 September

Our Fox still makes a regular appearance every day around 6pm.

15 September

15 September

16 September

We had intended to go to London on Sunday to watch the Serpentine Swim but due to algae growth on the days before the swim a number of swimmers had deferred their entry to next year, including those we had been going to support.  We could have taken the opportunity to go to the allotment but instead decided on an alternative day out involving water with a trip to Chichester and a boat-ride on the harbour.  It was another idyllic sunny day. Surely this cannot last.

16 September - Bosham, Chichester

17-20 September

On Monday there was a sudden change in the weather with heavy rain in the afternoon and evening.  On 18 September there were thunderstorms and strong gusty winds with heavy rain in the morning, but followed by a bright sunny afternoon with the temperature in the twenties.  it was shortlived as thunderstorms returned overnight and the following two days were wild, wet and windy.

At home the garlic chives took a bit of a battering; but before the wild winds arrived they had been in full flower, attracting bees.  Not only do they attract bees, they are a useful culinary herb and the flowers are beautiful.

Garlic chives

Garlic chives in full flower

There was good news in the garden.  Some of the later planted Marmande tomatoes had escaped the attention of the snails and were ripening nicely under a watchful eye.

18 September - Marmande tomato

18 September - Marmande tomato

21 September

I was reminded by Facebook what the plot had looked like seven years earlier when we took it on.

Plot 247: 21 September 2016

23 September

This is how it looked today

Plot 247: 23 September 2023

At home our spindle bush produced its first berries.

23 September - Spindle tree (Euonymus)

And on the allotment, I harvested a ripe tromboncino!

23 September - we have tromboncino

24 September

We have more, and bigger tromboncinos to come.  It's often a difficult decision when to harvest them - when they are young and green and can be used as courgettes or ripe and hardening off when they are more akin to a butternut squash?  Luckily we have enough to do both.

Tromboncino

Tromboncino

Perhaps late in the day but we are still harvesting second early potatoes (Nicola & Charlotte)

2nd Early potatoes

Some of our red cabbage had been badly affected by slugs and snails and looked rather nasty on the outside but, after peeling away the outer leaves, there was wholesome cabbage within.  Another use was found for our apples - we added some to the red cabbage, a little cyder vinegar, butter and some caraway seeds - and dined on braised red cabbage - It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

braised red cabbage with apple and caraway

25 September

Who needs a watch?  Its 6pm and who should arrive for dinner?  Our fox is looking a lot better but we are still providing some food - laced with a lot of garlic to deter the mange;  but as winter approaches and the nights draw in we are less likely to be around at dusk so surviving the winter might not be easy.

6pm 25 September

26 September

Our sitting area by the pond had become somewhat overgrown - it was meant to be a grassed area but is just a patch of weeds - so I spent a little time with the strimmer just to temporarily tidy up.

our summer sitting area

One of our raised beds on the western side had become invaded by raspberries so, despite my conversion to "no-dig" gardening, I removed the frame, got out my fork and attempted to dig out some of the invading raspberries.  I relocated the frame to the eastern side near the tromboncinos, where potatoes had been growing this year and will create a new no-dig bed for onions or garlic.  In the old bed there was still a spinach plant which I carefully left whilst digging out raspberry canes.

The old bed at the rear

the re-sited frame at the rear

I have laid cardboard where the potatoes had been growing, ready for covering with a layer of compost/manure for the autumn/winter ready for planting in the spring.

Cardboard laid where the potatoes had grown

27 September

I harvested the Borlotti beans. There were not as many as previous years, but we have only just finished the 2021 crop and haven't even started on 2022 yet!

Borlotti beans

30 September

More distractions as we received a visit from my grandson, Felix and his partner. It was a fine sunny day so we paid a visit to Devil's Dyke. Although it was fine when we set out it soon clouded over and the temperature dropped suddenly. Perhaps this is a taste of things to come next month!

30 September - Fairies Wood

30 September - Devil's Dyke

John Austin

Hove, September 2023

Life on The Weald - August 2023

and in and around Hove 

We've just gone through the driest May, the hottest June and the wettest July! It's a miracle anything has survived.  But I can't sit around thinking what might have been, there is work to be done for the next season!  But not until the visitors have gone.

A well deserved rest!

3 August

Of course there is the obligatory visit to Marrocco's whenever guests are with us!

4 August

I managed to fit in a brief visit to the plot, which was just as well as there were cucumbers to be picked!

Outdoor grown ridge cucumbers

The garlic chives were now in full flower and a great attraction for bees.

Garlic chives

6 August

Between showers I managed to take our guests to Shoreham and a visit to see the quirky houseboats.

Shoreham houseboats

Shoreham Houseboats

Neice and great-neices at Shoreham

8 August

Size isn't everything!  It's the flavour that counts.  Fortunately our English ridge cucumbers and the smaller Spanish pepinos  are full of flavour.

English and Spanish cucumbers

9 August

Today was more like summer with the temperature above 20C and sunny.  I planted out some lettuce seedlings that I had grown from seed, covering them with bottle cloches to protect them from slugs/snails and also put cloches over the few beetroot that had survived.  There was still a plentiful supply of purple French beans to be harvested. And at home we were picking cherry tomatoes every day.

9 August - Cherry tomatoes from the garden

The larger varieties seemed to be doing well but far too many were being attacked by snails and once the skin is broken, wood lice make their home in the hole!  Sylvi has suggested that next year, apart from removing the lower leaves and branches, I should put vaseline on the stems.  One of the problems, however, is that several are growing up against the garden fence which the snails can use to climb up. Thankfully we have been able to harvest a few by picking them as soon as they start to change colour and continue ripening indoors.

9 August - Marmande tomatoes

On the plot the red cabbages (Drumhead) looked very healthy. I have not grown red cabbage before and was not sure when to harvest them.  I looked it up and found that they mature app 100 days after planting and the seed catalogues say that spring sown cabbages can be harvested from late summer.  They can be left in the ground for a while but if left too long they may get hard and woody and there is a risk of splitting - and the familiar threat from slugs and snails.

9 August - red cabbage (drumhead)

The Crown Prince squashes are looking good but need to be left until the foliage has died back.  If they are to be stored, they will need to be left until the stem, where the fruit is attached, has dried out completely.

9 August - Crown Prince squash

The apple tree is laden this year and some of the branches are now touching the ground and others are resting on the vegetable cage where the broccoli is growing. Some heavy pruning will be needed in the autumn.

10- 11 August

At home, the winter savory was in full flower and attracting the honey bees.

winter savory

And in the garden and on the allotment we are picking fresh tomatoes every day.

 11 August -Today's haul from the garden

12-14 August

Saturday 12 August was a very windy, blustery day. Sunday was sunny but still with very strong winds, but it was then a very dull, wet day on Monday.

In the garden, I spotted a red-underwing moth, sleeping/resting.  Their camouflage is excellent - but not when they are sleeping on a white window sill.  So I woke it up to encourage it to find somewhere more protected to spend the rest of the daylight hours.

Red underwing moth

A tomato, attacked by snails and hollowed out by woodlice

15 August

If we had been in Spain, it would have been a public holiday with lots of fireworks! As it was Spanish weather here at home we decided to have a holiday too and a little trip into foreign parts - West Sussex.  Not quite Santa Pola, but the view from Worthing towards Brighton and the Seven Sisters was a little reminiscent of the view across the bay from Guardamar.

A view from Worthing

It was a clear day with a good view of the Rampion wind farm.

The Rampion wind farm

On our way back, we stopped off at the New Port Inn, formerly the Pebble on the Beach, at Southwick which had undergone a pleasant makeover, but sadly the food did not impress.

The New Port Inn

Shoreham port and marina

The evening, saw the return of our regular fox on the plot.

Sadly, the Corazon tomatoes are showing signs of blossom end rot  and a number of plotholders have reported the same.  The usual cause is lack of calcium but it can be made worse by irregular watering drying out and too much fertiliser/nitrogen both of which may prevent calcium being absorbed.  Although there is nothing you can do to save fruits that are already affected, the parts not affected are still edible and you can prevent new fruits being affected by giving a calcium boost and keeping the soil moist.  I have added crushed eggshells to the soil and also ground some very finely in a coffee grinder and mixed with water to apply around the roots.   Foliar sprays containing calcium are not recommended as most will be taken up by the leaves and not reach to fruit.  Dampening the leaves can also encourage fungal growth.

Blossom end rot

Blossom end rot

As blossom end rot is physiological, ie nutrient deficiency, and not a disease, the plants can be composted at the end of the season.

Our French beans had a bad start with the early sown ones being destroyed by drought, slugs and snails and rodents but I had re-sown and re-planted successively in the hope of defeating the enemy.  The result is that we have fewer plants than usual or intended, but those that have survived produced heavy crops.

We have been picking the dwarf purple French beans (Teepee) almost every day for a couple of weeks and now the climbing beans, Blue Lake  and Cobra are producing prolifically.

Purple French beans - Teepee

We have also had a few early plums, but there are now masses ripening.

Plums and blue sky

16 August

We picked some of the early ripe plums and although a few had been infected with plum moth, the majority were either pest free or had limited damage.

Early crop of plums

In addition to plums and beans we also harvested Cavolo nero, cucumber and more tomatoes.

A summer harvest

18 August

Apart from the French beans, the Borlotti were doing well.  At home we have just finished the dried crop from 2021 - cooked with our Cavolo nero  in a delicious Tuscan Ribollita .  There are so many recipes on the internet that you can follow any of them - or as we do, make it up as you go along.  Often we leave out the stale bread and just have the soup served with fresh crusty bread - not authentic but delicious.

Borlotti beans ripening

Climbing French beans, Blue Lake

Cobra, Teepee & Blue Lake  beans and courgette

More ripe plums

When I lost my squash and courgette plants, earlier in the year, a neighbour gave me one of each. The butternut  is doing well.....

Butternut squash

...but, what we thought was a courgette turns out to be another variety of squash.

an unknown squash

But we will be picking courgettes (some of marrow size) cucumbers and Frencxh beans for days to come.

Courgettes, cucumber and French beans

19 August

It was time to do something with the plums, apart from putting some in the freezer;  we decided on an upside-down plum cake.

Plums ready for the cake mix

The resulting plum upside-down cake

21 August

Good news on my birthday!  Whilst some of the Marmande tomatoes have fed the slugs and woodlice, a number have survived and have ripened on the vine.  Others we have picked after they have started to turn colour and will ripen them indoors.

Marmande tomatoes

Once tomatoes have begun to change colour and the ripening process has started they are no longer needing to feed from the plant and chemical processes have started, with the production of ethylene, to ripen them.  Once picked, putting them in proximity to a ripe banana (which also gives off ethylene) will hasten the ripening process.

I took a stroll to the local shops and there were amazing cloud formations.

Amesbury Crescent, Hove - 21 August

Portland Road, Hove - 21 August

22 August

There was more produce to harvest......

more cucumbers, beans and plums

....and I had also given the composter a lick of paint, ready for the winter.

23 August

We were still picking tomatoes daily - especially the cherry ones - faster than we can eat them (despite giving loads away)

a variety of tomatoes

24 August

The Habanero chilli peppers were also doing well in the garden.

Habanero

26 August

Yet another upside-down plum cake 😄 

Upside-down plum cake

27 August

The Borlotti  beans were looking better every day......

Borlotti beans

Drumhead red cabbage

....and the red cabbage looks ready to pick.

27 August

A simple open sandwich with fresh tomato.... 

tomato smorgasbord

...more Cavolo nero...

Cavolo nero

...and more cucumbers and Patty pan squash.

Cucumbers and Patty pan

28 August

We made a delicious open tomato "tart/pizza" using cherry tomatoes on home made flatbread.

Tarte à la tomate 

29 August

In the evening we saw our fox. Her fur still showed signs of mange but she was surviving and hopefully our feeding her with garlic has helped.

Our tromboncinos were also doing well.

tromboncino

tromboncinos

30 August

I spent some time on the much long awaited pond clearing.  It had become choked with couch grass, which I removed with a rake, but unless I clear the surrounding area of couch grass and bindweed, it will be a continuing problem. So I made a start.

The month ended with a Supermoon  (i.e. when the Moon is at the closest point in its orbit to the earth coinciding with a full moon) making the moon appear larger and brighter than usual. But this was not just a Supermoon; it was also a Blue Moon which occurs about every 2 - 2.5 years (hence the expression once in a blue moon) when there are two full moons in the same month. So this was a Super Blue Moon which won't happen again until 2037!

Super blue moon seen from our front garden

The super blue moon from our upstairs window

31 August

After a very clear night, the month ended with more rain and it was a very cool 15C!

It felt like Autumn was on its way.

John Austin

Hove, August 2023