Des escargots - snailbreak

I like snails; Vicki does not. On previous visits to France, I have sought them out at least once.

However, in and around the gardens at La Giro, there are often hundreds of live snails to be found. So I raised the question about preparation, and Reginald, our host, affirmed that we could not only prepare these ourselves, but that they would be superior to purchased escargots in either a restaurant or grocery. If I was willing to do the work, he would supervise.

So, a few mornings ago, I found about 40-50 in less than 20 minutes. 

(From Vicki: I find the process a little disconcerting. The snails are kept in a covered pot and sprinkled with flour. Over a series of days, they ingest and then expel the flour as well as any grit, etc., that they may have ingested. Reginald, being the funny-ha-ha guy that he is, told me that after the snails are cleaned and boiled, they can take the flour and make a sauce. He got that far with a straight face and then cracked. I don't know what the look on my face was, but Dan and Reginald got a good laugh out of it.)

I have been purging the snails now for 4 days. Today, I guess they were tired of flour and thyme and staged a snailbreak. I went into the storage room and found about half of the snails had escaped. Being snails, they hadn’t gone too far. I gathered them up again and re-imprisoned them. Only a few more days…