Our potager is bursting with courgettes and we can’t keep up with eating them. With vegetables one doesn’t have to do much in summer, the vegetables are good just on their own. Which is why any  salad or carpaccio is a good idea.

Recette:

1. Cut 4 small to medium courgettes into thin slices. Layer onto a plate and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil and leave aside for 30 minutes to marinate.
2. To serve: Divide the slices among 4 plates by spreading them evenly on each plate. Drizzle with some more olive oil and lemon juice, a teaspoon of sundried tomato paste, and a drizzle of balsamic syrup. Season with fleur de sel and freshly milled black pepper.  Add some olives of your choice, shavings of Parmesan cheese and finish off with rocket/arugula  leaves.

Pincée de fleur de sel:

• Use green pesto instead of the tomato paste.
• Add dry roasted pine nuts.
• Use small black Greek olives.
• Add chopped sundried tomatoes or semi-oven roasted tomatoes.
• Use crumbled goats cheese instead of Parmesan cheese.

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Summer evenings at Coin Perdu

Our evenings are spent around the fire..we start off with a glass of icy cold rosé while the fire is lit and we munch on a little apéritif, a must to keep my legs from going jello from the wine. It is something quick and easy..fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden, baguette slices with some sliced sauccisson of the region, or melted Camembert over the fire with baguette slices, or fresh radishes with salt(a big favorite!).

In the meantime, while the fire is coming on,  mon chéri still fiddles with some activities around the garden, like mowing the lawn, feeding apples to the horses who are allowed late afternoons to graze on the lawns, cleaning the fountain orother small tasks around the house.

I am mostly sunken  deep into an Adirondeck by the fire in the shade of the tilleul tree. My feet are up and I have a book in my hand. It is my favorite time of the day and I savor every minute. War will break loose if someone expects me to do anything else than reading my book, sipping my rosé and enjoying the early evening ambiance. At that hour am in my zone and refuse to be disturbed.

After dinner, we linger as late as we can around the fire. As the coals burn away and the horizon turns dark, we start moving away from the fire, lazy and slowly. It is time to call it a day.

**And some summer music for these summer evenings…

Girls in their summer clothes – Bruce Springsteen

Enjoy!!

..à bientôt..

Ronelle