With a little help from a friend on the best way to cook my yellow courgette I have to say I really enjoyed it along with some green beans with my evening meal. Delicious, and it really did just melt in the mouth.

Courgettes are baby marrows. The home-grown variety is available from June to October. They are usually green but can also be yellow. Courgettes need very little preparation or cooking; if they're finger-sized they can be left whole and steamed or pan-fried in a little butter. Eat them raw, whole or halved lengthways, tossed in a little olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt. As courgettes get larger, the flavour depletes and they benefit from additional flavours, such as garlic, basil, parsley, tomatoes and olive oil. Add courgettes to set omelettes, such as frittata, or to risotto and ratatouille, or slice thinly, dip in batter and deep fry them. :wink:

For those who may not know the courgette (New Zealand and British English) is the same as the Zucchini (US, Australian, and Canadian English). :wink:

how long does it take for them to grow fruits, if you were to plant them from seeds?

Well, vosiez, zucchini are amongst the easiest of vegetables to grow. Depending on the weather, soil conditions etc they can be planted from seed and ready within around 6 weeks.

Culinarily, zucchini is considered to be a vegetable. However, biologically, the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Zucchini are traditionally picked when very immature, seldom over 8in/20cm in length. Mature zucchini can be as much as three feet long, but are often fibrous and not appetizing to eat.

Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to cultivate in a temperate climate. As such, zucchini has a reputation among home gardeners for overwhelming production, and a common type of joke among home growers revolves around creative ways of giving away unwanted zucchini to people who already have been given more than they can use.