D’la salade trois fois par jour

Ma Rosalie, titipanpan, elle est malade, Elle est malade, titipanpan, du mal d’amour.

Pour la guérir, titipanpan, faut d’la salade, De la salade, titipanpan, trois fois par jour.

This silly little children’s song, which continues merrily on, with several changes of rythm and theme, has been running through our heads as we contemplate our unusually successful vegetable garden.

After a wet May and June and a month of July with weekly thunderstorms,  the vegetables look promising these days.  But we are confronted with the usual gardener’s conundrum.  Why does everything grow at the same speed and is ready to be eaten the same day?  Even with successive sowing the cucumbers, courgettes and the green beans are all ready to be picked at the same time.

But by far the worst in the category of “We want to be picked – eat us  NOW otherwise we’ll sulk and bolt” are the salads.

First they behave nicely …

Then they look pretty …

Then they go wild …

Then there is no stopping them …

Now for the serious part – the answers to last week’s quiz.  Thanks to those of you who took part!

• Pissenlit (dandelion) salad
• Pieds et paquets – a provençal speciality made with sheep’s feet and stuffed sheep’s tripe.
• Sometimes euphemistically called roupettes de coq, these are exactly what they say on the tin – or more usually the jar.
• Alouettes sans tête,  literally larks without their heads, are actually a provençal version of beef olives.
• Tête de Moine or Monk’s Head is a cheese from the Swiss Jura but very much appreciated in France.
• Paris Brest is a choux pastry ring, split and filled with confectioner’s custard.  It was created in 1910, in the shape of a wheel, to celebrate the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race.  (Well done Hazwool!)