Oven Roasted Marrow Sticks

What would you call this:



I call it a huge-ass zucchini. But maybe that's because I'm from Queens. EH's mom is visiting from London and when she saw it on the table she called it a marrow, hence the OVEN ROASTED MARROW STICKS recipe:

1/2 huge-ass zucchini, aka: marrow
2 to 3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 big clove of garlic, crushed
2 or 3 TB grated parmesan cheese
the following is all to taste:
cracked black pepper
himalayan pink salt crystals
marjoram
basil flakes
Mrs. Dash original
fresh basil
fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the marrow into strips approx 3 inches long and anywhere from a quarter to a half inch thick, depending on your preference. The marrow is very starchy and has less seeds and no watery stuff on the inside like you find in a smaller zucchini. I just trimmed off the more pithy looking bits.



Place marrow sticks into a baking dish and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over them. Since the texture is quite like an eggplant, they will absorb the oil quickly, so as soon as you drizzle them starting tossing them around to coat all sides.



Now season: start by crushing the garlic over the dish, then add your pepper, salt, and other dried spices, all to taste, and toss around to coat the marrow.



Lastly, grate the cheese over the dish, or add 2 to 3 TB of grated cheese, then sprinkle the fresh thyme and basil over the top. Place the dish in the oven for 45 minutes or so, testing for tenderness.



These we very delicious and easy to make! I had mine with a turkey burger patty and EH had his with some left over Trader Joe's shredded pork, peas and a sweet potato (since I was putting the oven on, I threw a few sweet potatoes in there as well). They were a lot like seasoned potato wedges! Nice! I wonder though, since the marrow is so starchy, does it go on the list of more naughty veggies to be eaten more sparingly, like potatoes and pumpkin . . .

An hour after eating this lovely lunch I headed to the gym for my 3.75 mile run, which is on the schedule for day 1, week 2 of training for a 10k. Mistake. About a mile in, I had THE worst indigestion EVER. You know when it's so bad it's in your head, too? Ugh. I was extremely grateful that I had decided to stick to the treadmill and not run at Prospect Park today. It's pretty muggy and I can imagine it would have been a worse situation out there.

I really didn't think I was going to make it through, but I pushed and got there and even did some skipping after a minute or two of walking to bring the heart rate down. Have you ever skipped on a treadmill? It's a challenge! Try skipping at 4 mph or so and be really light on your feet, only touching down with your tippy toes. A minute or two could really make you sweat, depending on your activity/energy level, and you'll feel muscles working that you may not typically use. When was the last time you had a good skip? I love skipping and I am glad I lost enough self consciousness to start adding it to my workouts, because other than on the occasional late night walk down a dark, quiet residential street headed back from a movie at the Pavillion, it hadn't made too many appearances past the age 13.

Speaking of training and treadmills, what do you think of training for a race on a treadmill? I've read that plenty of people do it, and plenty of people hate it. Since I've never run a race before, other than at Kissena Park Day Camp, I'm curious to hear of other people's experiences.