How to Have your Lettuce and Eat it Too!

Have you ever bought one of these?

And then after a few salad days it looks like this? 

Well if you stick it outside in the sun (if such a thing should occur) and water it occasionally (if it doesn't rains as much as usual) and have a friendly chat with it now and then it will, after a week or two, look like this ...

Which is quite a saving, n'est pas? 

My friend Carol who knows a bit about plants and stuff says it would better still if planted in the garden and as soon as/if ever our garden is sorted out I will do just that. 

Carol also gave me a couple of courgettes from her garden, just babies with the flowers still attached ...

... so I had a delicious impromptu lunch.

Tagliatelle with Courgettes, Lemon & Chilli for one

1 lovely fresh courgette from a friend

½ tbsp olive oil

½ tsp crushed garlic

finely grated zest of half a lemon

juice of half a lemon

a few chilli flakes to taste

90ml or so double cream

1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

a handful of cooked tagliatelle

~   Cut the courgette into julienne aka matchsticks.

~   Sauté in the olive oil together with the garlic and when touched with colour but still a bit crisp stir in the zest, chilli flakes and juice and scrape the result onto a clean plate whilst making the sauce (this means the courgette won't overcook in the meantime).

~   Add the cream to the recently vacated pan, bring to a simmer and stir in the parmesan, continue simmering for a few seconds longer till thick and then stir in the cooked pasta.

~   Once the pasta is hot add the cooked courgettes and their juices, season to taste and eat.

To garnish my lunch I whipped up a quick batter (just a tbsp of seasoned self raising flour and enough fizzy water to make a coating consistency), dipped the courgette flour into it and fried till crisp.  It was OK but really just a vehicle for crunchy batter, the flower itself was of no interest to me other than academic.