Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Olives Provencale!



Bonjour Ma Chere Amie!

The olives are ripening all over Provence! All those lovely silvery-green trees are now beginning to drip with plump little orbs. Can you taste them? Soon everyone will be planning their harvests and I am looking forward to showing you how it all works. 

The Greeks have long said that if you want to “cure” your olives for eating you must
harvest in September and then tend them in a salt-water brine for a number of weeks. The practices vary considerably across families, each using recipes passed along through the generations.
 

They also say that if you want little black nicoise olives, then you
leave them on the trees as late as possible and hope the snow does not kill them. 
 
But mostly, around here in Provence, they say that the best time to harvest for oil is mid-November to mid-December.  That is when we take our olives off the trees and on to the Oliversion mill in nearby Cucuron for pressing into our very own oil!   

 
We hand-pick our olives, as do most families: one tree at a time, standing on old ladders, dropping them onto nets or into baskets that hang from the shoulders. It sounds romantic, doesn’t it?  Well, maybe not by the end of the third week…

 

We have a fairly good sized orchard, about 300 trees. It is a bit deceiving because they stand in groups of mostly 2-4 around old tree stumps! 
As the legend goes…..In 1956, a serious freeze “killed” nearly all the olive trees in Provence. But most of the roots survived and before long new trees began sprouting around the stumps. 




Chez nous (at our home) most of the stumps now support 2-4 trees, but a few are struggling to support as many as 12-20 trees—can you imagine?  Over time, we are moving those trees into new orchards where each has room to grow

 Our oil is rich and spicy in the early months after pressing. But 6 months in the cellar under the stairs produces a smooth and delicious oil that goes with all things Provencale and delicious!

You will see for yourself when you come to visit in early December!
A bientot, Janis

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Curious Spaces for Artisans of the Luberon


Mon cher ami,


I thought of you on Sunday when I visited an art exhibition of wood, iron, glass, and inks in the hills of Provence! Given your appreciation for all things “sculpture”, you would likely have enjoyed every minute. 

The village of Banon has an old church at the top of its walled pedestrian village, L'Eglise HauteA bit of research tells me that the church was deconsecrated in 1911 because the villagers refused to climb the hill for services. But in the 1960s an effort began to re-purpose the church and it now serves as a fabulous exhibition space for local artists and musicians.

I have gone there over the years, as I love the peaceful village in which it sits and the cool interior on a hot summer’s day. This weekend I was delighted to find a new exhibit: "Haute en Lumiere" with the two artists in residence to serve as guides for me—one even spoke wonderful English and understood my passable French. 

Two artists have collaborated on a number of the pieces: Ulla Lutz created metal frames which Isabelle Martin filled with wood sculptures. In other pieces, it was the reverse—the wood artist began the process with sculptures and then turned to the metal artist to create a frame of some kind around it. The results were stunning, as you can see!



 In still other pieces, creative portraits in ink had been pressed between glass panels and then framed in welded iron. Our friend Harris especially liked these.

The artistry of the staging added to the exhibition; using the alcoves, pedestals, and altar spaces to highlight some pieces, while others stood center stage in the apse.  

The high ceilings gave the perfect position for hanging chandeliers of beveled glass and worked iron.
I especially liked this lamp with its shell-like wood sculptures, set at curious angles to reflect and shadow the light. 

If you decide to come for a visit, let me know and I will make time for us to go the Banon church together. And while we are in the village we can visit the bookstore, Le Bleuet!
A bientot, J

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The French Have Always Had Style!


Ma Chere Amie,

I know how you love, love, love anything about fashions and fabrics, so of course I thought of you the day I visited the "History of Dresses" exhibit here in Provence.

Imagine going into the cellars of an old chateau in the South of France; stone hallways with low ceilings and small rooms tucked under stairways.  


 Now imagine walking into one of those little rooms and finding dozens of fabulous French silk dresses from the 18th and 19th centuries!! That is where I was yesterday with my niece, Makenna. 
 The dresses are part of a summer exhibition called “Histoire de Robes; Histoire de Mode” (History of Dresses; History of Style) at the museum of the Chateau in La Tour d’Aigues.  Imagine-a mere four miles from my home! I wish you were here to see it with me.
 
The dresses are simply gorgeous, each and every one. They are made of silks, brocades, cottons, or taffetas and each is displayed on a tiny-waist mannequin, of course. Some of the cutest are for little girls. Some have exquisite hats and handbags made to match. 

The museum offers a guide sheet to explain each dress: the date, the style period, the town or region where it was worn. Then it offers a wonderful description of each piece: the fabrics, the origin of the fabrics, the designs, the embellishments, and, in some cases, the construction process. Amazing.  

One of the oldest is a stylish dress from Avignon, 1810-1815. Here is how it is described in the program (the French version is so pretty that I am sending it along, but I have also translated it into English for you.)

Robe en taffetas vert et manches ballon (attaches dans le dos par coulisses au col et a la taille). Echarpe de mode en soie brochee de Spitalfields. Caleche en taffetas vert et armature en carton.  Reticule en taffetas creme brode et passementerie. Mitaines en fil de soie.

Green taffeta dress with balloon sleeves (ties in the back at the neck and waist). The stylish scarf is of silk brocade from Spitalfields.  The hat is of green taffeta over a cardboard frame. The drawstring handbag is of cream taffeta with embroidery and trimmings. The gloves are made of silk thread.


Let me know if you are coming to visit Provence this summer—the dresses will be here through September 29. We can go together!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Look at all that cheese!



Bonjour my dear friend!

I am really looking forward to your visit with me this summer.  Do you remember that the last time you were here we bought so much cheese? Well, I have been scouring the local villages for new and different cheeses for you to try and I wanted to send you this note with appetizing photos to whet your appetite.

Just up the road from our village there is a guy who raises goats and makes “fromage de chevre” goat cheese. The first time I bought his cheese he was at the Sunday morning market at St Martin de la Brasque.  Then I noticed a new display of his cheeses at the vegetable store in our village, Potager de Lily. My favorite is “affine”, not too dry. We can get it plain or with a topping of pepper, garlic, or herbs.

At the Tuesday market in La Tour d'Aigues, I have made friends with the couple who sells cheese there. They sell in other village markets nearby on other days too. They have everything from creamy Camemberts, to Tommes from the Alps, to wonderfully sharp veined bleus. 

You'll love this idea: a friend, who speaks no French, handed her a 20 Euro bill one day and asked her to create a sampling platter of her favorite cheeses. She agreed with delight and we had a delicious picnic lunch, complete with baguette, olives, and a little red wine!


Want a more traditional venue for buying your cheeses? The local grocery store has an aisle, a full aisle, of cheeses!  Big wheels, small buttons, some encased in rinds, others wrapped in grape leaves. They will cut and wrap any that you choose.

 
Whatever your gourmet heart desires, we can find it nearby in the villages south of the Luberon! Come visit soon and until then, Bon Appetit!

Love, J

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Lovely Provence Gardens

My Dear Friend,

What wonderful news! I am so glad to know that you are coming to visit me here in Provence. There are so many things I want to show you. Most of all I think you will enjoy seeing the gardens. They are really different from what you have in Seattle. 

It seems odd to call them that--gardens. They are not really organized public gardens, for the most part, in Provence. Here, the gardens are fields of flowers along the roadsides, or small quiet settings in the churchyards, or in stone planters around people's front doors, or otherwise in the most curious spots! 

 
I would like to take you to Banon, a village up on the Sault Plateau where the lavender grows in summertime. Talk about a public garden!  On the way up to Banon you drive through hills and small valleys absolutely filled with fields of lavender and grains.


Banon is where they make that creamy cheese you adore, the one that is wrapped in grape leaves? We can get you some in the village.  We can walk up into the "old town" to see the "gardens."

After we pass through the portal, the old cobblestone walkways are lined with masses of hollyhocks, growing out of the cracks between the paths and the houses. It's incredible! They are absolutely everywhere; I think you are going to love it.


 There is an old church at the top of the hill where they usually have a curious art exhibit of some kind. 

 
And right outside there is a quiet spot where someone has set an old iron set of table and chairs; someone waters the flowers in stone pots there.
 

On the way back toward the Luberon we can stop to visit the gardens at Salagon. They are a rather famous french treasure where research and conservation is a high priority. I don't know of another place like it in this part of France.  

There are five gardens that surround a 10th century Benedictine priory and we can take a fascinating self-guided audio tour of the gardens and small museums.  
Hundreds of plants, all labeled,  with stories about their use and history: medieval, medicinal, aromatic, modern, and one devoted to the white oak. 

Let me know when you have your tickets. Can't wait to see you. 
Love, J