Salad with Avocado and Feta; Snakes Everywhere!

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Snakes do not taste like chicken.

At least, ours don't.

I've lived in this house for more than 4 years, and, though mon mari has always told me there were snakes, big ones, more than a meter long, I never saw them.

That error in my education has now been firmly corrected.

The first encounter was about 2 weeks ago.  I was walking through one of our outbuildings and I heard a heavy thump behind me.  When I turned I saw the tail-end of a snake frantically slithering off under the door.

I, foolishly, thought he had been snoozing on a bag of compost when I startled him.

Until my neighbor explained that they like to crawl up the kiwifruit vine and sun on the roof.

Until mon mari commented that he had seen one crawling out of those roof tiles.

Then I realized that the snake had dropped from the roof, missing my head by inches.

I'm not, generally, afraid of snakes.... But they're not supposed to fall from the ceiling.

There are rules, you know!

The second snake sighting was perfectly proper: he was slithering across the warm road, getting out of traffic, just like a snake should!  I did get to appreciate his entire length before he disappeared into the tall grass.

The third snake wasn't slithering anywhere.

That's when I concluded that they mustn't taste like chicken.
Emma loves chicken (and bunny); she wasn't running off with a dead snake hanging out of her mouth.

And a good thing, as it would have dragged on the ground and she might have tripped.

Sedi, who doesn't like chicken but has been on a bit of a diet, also ignored it.... Didn't even try to roll in it which is always her top second choice.

So, I didn't have to ban Emma from my presence for having snake breath and I didn't have to ban Sedi from my presence for wearing Eau de Dead Snake.

That just left the dead snake to deal with. 

It was on the lawn, you see... right by the gate.

To say I am a bit squeamish is the ultimate in understatements.

I can not look at dead things, or squished things or flattened things or oozing things.

I don't like to kill mosquitoes because they make a mess.

I chase flies out the door rather than swatting them....Ewwww!

If I see something in the road, I will never, ever look, even if I think it's just a piece of tire.  There could be blood and gore.

Did I mention that it was a partially eaten dead snake?

Had it still been whole, I could have tossed it into the weeds, no problem.

The, um, center part had been, er, enjoyed by something higher up the food chain.  What if it fell apart when I tried to move it?  What if...   Well, you know where my mind was going; I don't need to elaborate.

My usual option being unavailable (mon mari - in hospital), I did the next logical thing: walked away and hoped the problem would resolve itself while my back was turned.

It did. 

Four hours later there was not so much as a sliver of snake skin left to give evidence.  If I didn't have such a vivid picture in my mind I could convince me I'd imagined it. 

Isn't Mother Nature marvelous?

She does an excellent job this time of year, giving us all sorts of wonderful things to eat (other than snake).

While all salad greens and lettuces are good for us they are not all equal.  The darker green and dark green tinged with red have more vitamins and minerals than the pale green varieties.

Like anything, they are best fresh, and in season.

Mâche (lamb's lettuce, corn salad) is a lovely, delicate, dark green with a nutty, almost peppery taste.  I like it mixed with young spinach leaves and dressed simply, with another spring favorite: Tarragon Vinaigrette.

One more tribute to spring for Weekend Herb Blogging, started by Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Wandering Chopsticks. Visit on Monday for the complete recap.

Salad with Avocado and Feta

salad greens, I used spinach and mâche
1 ripe avocado
3oz (100gr) cherry tomatoes
2oz (60gr) feta
Tarragon Vinaigrette

Make vinaigrette. Wash and spin dry greens.  Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Cut feta into cubes if needed. Put greens, tomatoes and feta into a bowl. Add 2 - 3 tbs vinaigrette and toss gently to combine. Arrange on two dinner plates. Cut the avocado, remove pit and cut into slices. Fan avocado slices next to salad. Drizzle slices with vinaigrette and serve, any remaining vinaigrette on the side.

Tarragon Vinaigrette

3 tbs olive oil - the good stuff
1 tsp tarragon white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced tarragon

In small bowl whisk vinegar, mustard and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in olive oil. When incorporated add tarragon and whisk to combine.

Bon Weekend!

Comments

[Kalyn]

Oh my. I think I would probably scream if I saw a snake in my yard. I'm not fond of snakes at all.

Love the sound of the tarragon vinaigrette. I think that's a "must make" for me.

[Cakespy]

Oh my. Reading about the snake I keep on thinking of how Indiana Jones doesn't like snakes. I would react about the same way as him. :-) The vinaigrette sounds fantastic. I have just been foraying into making my own dressings--as much as I love sugar, I don't need it in my salad dressing, and many of the commercial brands are loaded with it!

[Zoomie]

I laughed to read that your Sedi likes to roll in icky things - both my dogs did, too, especially Tillie who seemed to swoon on smelly fish and just flop over onto them! Chica, not having hunting ancestry, was more discerning - she only rolled in _really_ smelly things! :-) I could never take either of them to the beach without knowing there was a bath at the end of the day.

[katie]

Kalyn, snakes I can deal with...but I have nightmares about spiders...And I don't do anything half eaten!

Cakespy, I put a bit of honey into one but I've never used sugar... I'm not a 'sweet' person' hehehe

Zoomie, yeah they love it... Sedi once rolled in a big pile of cowshit... then happily ran to everyone on our walk to impress. She was not a popular dog that day.

[gattina]

why dogs so good in spotting... errr dead animals. Wish they could apply the same skill to discover my lost keys or cell phone huh.

[Nora]

Hi Katie,
I hope that your husband is recovering well from the surgery. 3 weeks is a long time to be away. In Singapore and Sydney, the hospitals try to kick you out as soon as they can.

Your story makes me feel a bit nervous to know what killed, ate and removed that snake....

This salad looks very refreshing. Avocado is always a good thing :-)

Nora

[neil]

So glad you survived the snake attack! Nice to see that the dead snake didn't go to waste either. A snake came at me once, at least I thought it did, but its hole was between the two of us and it was in a hurry to get there, boy, did I shit myself.

[Peter]

Yikes...I'd be freaked out (in the least) if a snake fell down on me. Perhaps you should wear heels again...snakess hate heels. I love avocado...must try it with feta.

[Pat]

Ohhhhhhhh Katie!!!! That is one thing I can't stand. SNAKES!!!!! I think I would have done the same as you, except on seeing the other two I would have run off screaming. I really hate snakes. Big hugs and hope Mon Mari gets better soon!!!

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

It only seems right that Mon Mari's recovery should progress as quickly as the snakes slither. I'd have been freeked at the failling from the ceiling.
The salad looks divine and I have those all in my kitchen at the moment. Sounds like the best lunch for the day.

[Bellini Valli]

I didn't know we lived with snakes either until they had to dig a trench to put the sewer in. When I came home from work there was a dead 3 foot long rattlesnake on my lawn. Someone else had been surprised by what had been living in our wall...or hopefully he was just passing by:D Your salad with avocado would be a great reward for rattlesnake hunting:D

[Núria]

I'd die if a snails fells from nowhere to my head! But before dying, the scream would be heard in Singapore!!!
What a great salad... got some ripe avocados in my fridge that need urgent surgery ;-)

[Elizabeth]

I'm sure your salad is delightful, but I will have to return when I have removed the WAY too vivid picture of a partially eaten large snake from what's left of my mind. Remind me to avert my eyes from the text as I scroll down to the salad.

(I rather like snakes - when they're alive - but I can't say I've seen anything here longer than half a foot. I've heard that rattle snakes are indigenous to this area but I've only seen garter snakes on my rare snake-in-the-wild sighting occasions.)

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Thanks for the submission. You weren't kidding about the crazy permalink. I think the permalink was longer than your story. ;) Snakes. Ewww. But they do taste like chicken, just with more bones.

[Sue (coffeepot)]

I can't stand blood and guts either.

The recipe looks really good.

[katie]

Gattina, that would be so great...lost keys, yes!!!!

Nora, they kick you out fast in the U.S., too. I don't want to know...but it was fast!

Neil, even when I know they're not poisonous the 'startle' factor is pretty quick...and severe. I'm not really afraid of them... but they're so damn fast!

Peter, I can see me now... cruddy garden clothes and heels! hehehehe!

Pat, if snakes ate spiders I would love them... Spiders are much worse for me!

Tanna, I have to admit I now do a ceiling inspection before getting the garden tools.

Val, where I grew up they hunted rattlesnakes, and took them live to Mayo Clinic for milking the venom.

Nuria, better to think about the salad....

Elizabeth, these get to be about 4 feet. It's the little 6 inch ones that are dangerous here.

Wandering Chopsticks, I've eaten rattlesnake... but cooked and not off the lawn ;-))

Sue, I can never look!

[Ruth]

Snakes....I can't even watch them on the tv screen without cringing. I'd have locked myself in the house!

Glad nature ran it's course and some critter helped you out with the removal.

[Katie]

Ruth, that's me with creepy-crawlies.