Finding ways to fix the big problems

We eat a lot of pasta at our house - it's a quick meal I can make in the half hour window between getting home at 5 pm and facing the ravenous hoardes at 5.30, after the daily episode of Skippy has been viewed and discussed. We also eat a lot of zucchini, in season - deep down, despite all evidence, I still believe we might not see the summer through if we don't have at least three plants in the garden; it's seasonal eating at it's most oppressive and we don't even look at another zuke until the next summer swings around.

And so it has, and the first zucchinis were harvested today. They were costa romanseco, which I planted for the name. I'm liking them. The bush is compact and the fruit will give you a few days grace before they morph into baseball bats. This is a nice change from the Black Jack in particular, which is a staple of our summer garden, creeping and sprawling all over the paths, and whose fruit transforms into something the size of a submarine if I dare take a break to drink my morning coffee. But these new ones are spiky - they prick like thistles. Caveat emptor and all that, but why don't seed catalogues mention this? - the yellow ones we planted last year were untouchable without gloves. Or is this a my garden specific problem?

But all solved by peeling them and tossing them in a saucepan with garlic, spring onions, bacon, parsley, salt and pepper and cream, which I let thicken. I sprayed the lot with lemon to cut the richness and Nell and I gobbled it down with skinny pasta. Quite delightful, and a happy way to begin the months of gobbling the seasonal veggies.

I say it again - it's going to be a good summer.