Picking wild salad greens

Thursday March 24, 2011 Day 267

We got up early this morning, as I had to leave the house by 8:00. While checking email, I found that Alicia sent us a paper which she wants me to review. I guess I know what I will be doing this evening!

I fixed breakfast, then ate and did my morning ablutions quickly. I called Peggy and asked her what I should bring to today’s outing, and we settled on bread. Then I dressed and left the house, dropping by our once-favorite bakery to pick up four grain baguettes. They were still warm - yum!! Then I walked to Peggy’s house - a 15-minute walk - stopping along the way to buy a bottle of water. I got there and was, of course, greeted by Egan, who proceeded to jump all over me. I do wish Peggy would get her some training. I think Egan would be much happier, and Peggy almost certainly would too. I was never around disciplined dogs until I met Bruno and Callie and discovered what training can actually do for a dog.

Patricia and Sue arrived shortly after, and we all got into the car and headed for the meeting point, then on out to the country for a day of wild salad picking. We met at the Casino Supermarket parking lot which is the usual rendezvous point for AWG outings. Maggie was there, along with Mariannick, Rosie, Anne, Sue and several other ladies.

Our trip to the country took us to almost the same place we went for olive picking last fall. Probably not surprising, because our hosts were Serge and Monique, who also hosted the olive-picking, and a gentleman named David, who did most of the presentation. We went first to a small village where David demonstrated the game of Tambourin, which looks like volleyball with a handball, struck with a tambourine from which the metal shakers have been removed.

Unfortunately his narration was in French, of which I could understand about 60%, but that is not enough to comprehend the finer points. I turned away, bitter with myself for having come, because a part of me knew this was likely to happen. Sigh. I really should learn more French, but I have not even worked on it since we arrived in France almost 9 months ago.

My bitterness quickly dispelled after I told myself that I could either sulk or find another way to get through the day, and I started taking pictures and looking for paintings. After a short time on the Tambourin court, we got back into our cars and headed up into the hills where we began wild-salad-picking in earnest. David seemed quite knowledgeable about wild salad greens, and guided us toward various edible growth on the hillsides, in the fields and among the olive trees. We tasted and picked as we went along. After an hour and a half or so of learning about greens and picking them, we returned to our cars and drove a short distance to an olive orchard where Serge, Monique and David had set up a table. They provided the salad greens for our wild salads, and we indulged in salad with vinegar and oil dressing, my bread, goat cheese, other cheese, some pasta and, of course, wine. The lunch was delicious, although I would have liked some other vegetables in my salad besides the greens.

Hyacinths

Wild orchids



Violets



Our spread

Our host, Serge, naps after lunch

Afterward, we drove back to Montpellier and to Peggy’s house. Sue and Patricia declined Peggy’s offer of tea and left, but I opted into the tea and spent some time taking pictures in her magnificent garden and frolicking with Egan.

Watch for this one!

Egan