The roses are about to flower and the climbing Rosa banksiae (below), which doesn’t usually flower until April, has buds about to open.
Lo Jardinièr trimmed the bamboo canes, cut from the end of the garden, so that we’ll have them ready for the tomatoes later on in the year.
Convenience food?
And then we came home to make lunch with the nearest thing to convenience food our village shop offers – paupiettes de veau. I know that beef farming is not sustainable for the planet and is a luxury available to those of us who live in the better-off countries which can choose to exploit the resources of their own agricultural lands as well as those of others. For this reason, although I like steak and beef stews I don’t eat them very often. Veal calves can be another point of dispute for those who involve themselves in food issues. But the way I see it is that if people eat cheese made from cows’ milk then calves are an unavoidable side-product of its production. So I have no qualms on grounds of sustainability about eating veal. Food, Photography and France was struggling with similar conflicting sides to his food preferences the other day. However, when I saw some paupiettes de veau in the village shop yesterday, stuffed with minced veal and rolled and tied up ready to cook, I didn’t struggle much as I realised they would make an easy and delicious Sunday lunch.
I sliced two echalottes and sautéed them in olive oil until they were soft then added a couple of sliced carrots. In a separate pan I seared the paupiettes and then put them on the bed of onion and carrot slices with some chopped garlic, thyme that I’d just picked in the garden and the last of our small crop of olives. I poured a large glass of white wine over them all, brought it to the boil and simmered for 45 minutes.
Lo Jardiniér sautéed some potatoes and within an hour of returning from the garden we had a very good Sunday lunch on the table. Very convenient food!
olivesandartichokes 