On old family favourite, this versatile recipe can be changed up to suit what you have on hand, or your family's needs. I'm going to give two versions - the original recipe, and the version I made yesterday which leaves out the onions, is dairy free, and adds other veges and herbs. 

First, a note about marrows - marrows are overgrown zucchini, and if left on the plant long enough to form a tough skin, they store well, just like other squash. Yesterday I made this slice with a marrow I picked back in about March, which has been kept in a produce tray indoors ever since. I have another one that is still in perfect condition too, to use another day. 

Because of the thicker skin, when using marrow for this recipe, cut it lengthwise, remove the seeds, then weigh it with skin on, but peel before grating. With zucchini, I top and tail then weight whole, and grate whole - the green skin gives a lovely fleck to the finished slice, but with marrows the skin is too tough. 

Once you cut open a marrow, grate all of it up - what you don't need for this recipe, place in zip lock bags, flatten and label and stick in the freezer (I do this in 2 cup amounts usually). You can also make this recipe from frozen grated marrow, with or without defrosting (if not defrosting, break it up with a spoon, and then add a little cooking time). Frozen marrow can also be added to soups and stews or used in muffins and other baking. 

The slice is delicious hot or cold, can be served with salad or cooked vegetables, and is perfect with those little additions of your choice - eg some cucumber relish, plum or feijoa sauce, or balsamic vinaigrette. 

The above recipe can be varied in many ways. Currently I'm eating low-FODMAP (though can tolerate some wheat), so this is how I made it yesterday, and it was extra delicious!

Today for lunch I whipped up this yummy dish from bits and pieces from the garden. What follows is not a recipe as such, but just the way I did it this particular time. I hope it inspires you to look at what you have on hand, and come up with your own yummy meal. :-) The only thing I don't have in my garden right now is onions, but I had part of one in the fridge to use up. I could have otherwise substituted shallots from the garden. 

​I spooned them onto plates, sprinkled with the raw, sweet, tender peas, and added some sliced cucumber to the side. A bowl of fresh strawberries picked last night was served afterwards.

Yum, yum, yum! That's real food folks - filling, nourishing, fresh and tasty. And is there anything better than a sweet, fresh, ripe strawberry? The melting sweetness is rich and satisfying! Food for body and soul!

I like easy, wholesome food, and I love minimising the mess and dishes! Tonight I cooked chicken thighs, roasted veges, and zucchini - and it was all done simulatenously in one roasting dish! The only other dishes incurred were the peeler, knife, chopping board and tongs. And only a few minutes prep time is needed. 

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F
2) Peel and cut up kumara, onions, garlic (and/or any other desired veges suitable for roasting)
3) Place the prepared vegetables in one half of the roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. 
4) Place thawed chicken pieces in the other half of the roasting dish. 
5) Lightly salt chicken and vegetables. 
6) Bake for 30 mins, then turn chicken and veges over, and bake another 10 mins
7) Meanwhile, slice zucchini evenly. Removing dish from oven, pile up the vegetables at one end. Spread the zucchini slices into the middle of the dish, as close to a single layer as possible. 
8) Bake for another 15-20 mins, turning zucchini slices after 10 mins.
9) Remove from the oven and serve. 

Sooooo yummy! The juices from the chicken give everything else a wonderful flavour!

​For variations to cook for a big family, see below...

I've used a small roasting dish here - since most of my kids have left home, I'm preparing much smaller quantities of food than I used to. If I were doing this for a crowd, I'd have to make some adjustments - in that case I would prepare veges for roasting, spreading them out in the roasting dish which they would no doubt fill. I would then put an old cake cooling rack on top of the roasting dish, and put the chicken pieces onto that. This would allow them to cook at the same time as the veges, and the juices from the chicken would drip onto the vegetables, giving them a beautiful flavour. Cooking time would be about the same, with turning half way through. I'd prepare greens separately, or I'd put whole small zucchini into the roasting dish with the other vegetables about 15 mins into the initial cooking time and just roast them with everything else. And yes, I have done it via this alternative method a number of times - works great!