pumpzini?

The funny thing is that I was reading all about seed saving at the end of last year... learning properly for the first time really about cross-pollenation, hybrids and how much this varies between species.

And I was awfully worried that all my zucchini seedlings had succumbed to slugs and I'd just have piles of pumpkin. But as my little plants grew I became very confused... they looked like zucchini plants, but why were the fruits so round? And so, I present - pumzini!

I think the japanese pumpkin seed I got from the seed bank at work must have been cross-pollinated. There have been suggestions I could call them jazzini instead but that's a little too hip for these babies. I've been picking them young so I don't know if they'll go orange or not. I had a dream I let one grow real big and it was orange inside. They grow damn fast and prolific like a zucchini though. And they cook up quite like a lebanese zucchini - quite firm, a little melty. They have more seeds in the middle though - like a pumpkin... Yeah you get it.

So now, what to cook with them? So far I've just done them a 'la Mr Malouf - sauteed with garlic and then lots of chopped mint. Tasty but not really a main event. I'm thinking zucchini poufs. They were a huge hit at new years. And so many opportunities for silly puns.