Courgettes are reaching end of their season

Press, 18 March 1983, Page 2

Courgettes are reaching end of their season

As the colder weather comes on, courgettes are on the way out. ... Also known as zucchini, baby marrow, or zooks, the courgette is a versatile vegetable with more flavour than the larger green marrow. They go well with tomatoes and cheese and such herbs as basil, parsley, dill, and chervil.

On a cold night courgettes are excellent in minestrone, or combined with other vegetables in a ratatouille. At the produce markets in Christchurch yesterday, courgettes sold for ;$lO a half-case.

Apricots, which are also due to end their season soon, fetched $7 tojsl3 a half-case. Other stone fruit is still plentiful though, freestone peaches, from Nelson and central Otago, selling for $3 to $6 for a half-case, and nectarines selling for $6 to $lO a half-case.

Black Doris plums, which are good for preserving, sold for $4 to $8 for a halfcase.

Strawberries and raspberries are still plentiful, strawberries selling at $l2 to $l4 a tray, and raspberries at $l4 to $l9 a tray. Cucumbers are plentiful and are selling well at $2.50 to $7 a half-case. Rock melons are also selling well, at 60c to $1 each. Californian oranges and grapefruit, and Equadorean bananas are still plentiful. Bananas sell at a fixed retail price of $1.41 a kilogram but may be bought for less in specials.

Greater varieties of

apples are available. Among these are the Jonathans, a popular eating apple, and Lord Wolseleys, cooking apples. Apples fetched $8.50 to $13.25 a case on market floors.

Capsicums, from Nelson and supplemented by Christchurch hot-house supplies, sold for $7 to $lO a bushel. Eggplants are available and selling well. A native of southern Asia, this vegetable is also known as aubergine or brinjal, and less often as egg apple, garden egg, or patlican. At one time it was considered to be poisonous and was named mala insana, the “raging

apple,” because it was believed to cause insanity as well as supposedly being a poison. It fetched $l5 to $2O a bushel yesterday. ■

Gherkins are also available, after a late start — they were expected to begin their season three weeks ago. Gherkins are in good demand and sold for $lO to $11.60 for a quarter-case. Carrots, cabbages, and cauliflowers are plentiful and reasonably priced, as are radishes, spring onions, silverbeet, and spinach. Corn was slightly cheaper this week at 9c to 16c an ear.

All varieties of pumpkin

are available and selling well. The red sold for $3.50 to $5 a bag, and crown for $8 to $l4 a bag. Buttercups went for $3 to $6 a bag and butternuts $lO to $2O a bag.

Kumara, from the North Island and Motueka, fetched $lO to $22 a carton.

Onions were selling well at ?3 to $4 a bag, and pickling onions were available at $7 a bag. Potatoes were plentiful, Ham Hardy fetching $3 to ?4 a bag, and Chippewa $5 to $6 a bag. Brussels sprouts, from Oamaru, sold steadily, from $8.50 to $9.20. This week’s recipe COURGETTE LOAF 2 cups grated raw courgettes. 3 eggs, beaten. 1 cup vegetable oil. 2 cups sugar. 2 tspn vanilla. 3 cups flour. 1 tspn salt. 1 tspn baking soda. Ms tspn baking powder. 2 tspn cinnamon. 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts. Method: Mix together the courgettes, eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to courgette mixture and blend well. Stir in the walnuts. Turn into two 23cm by 13cm by Bcm loaf tins and bake in pre-heated 180 deg C oven for at least one hour or until cooked.