Courgette

Food and drink daily challenge day 7 - vegetable

Enjoying the last of the glorious day in Mum's garden, I spotted this courgette lurking in the veggie patch. Mum has had more succcess than I this year - my plants disappeared, presumably into the stomachs of the snails and slugs abound in my garden (do they have stomachs?)

According to Wikipedia, the zucchini or courgette is a summer squash which can reach nearly a meter in length, but which is usually harvested at half that size or less. Along with certain other squashes, it belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. In a culinary context, the zucchini is treated as a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower.