Something for everyone? well, not really, but hopefully for those who love good food, enjoy exploring Provence, are eager to meet and frequent locals, discover hidden corners and learn culinary secrets from our chef, Erick. We welcome all ages -- which I do stress as we've had some great teenagers over the years, and just this past week a family came through and their 10 year old had more adept knife skills than I did till my mid thirties... Each tour is individual and different, and where possible, adapted to the people who come. We've over 200 recipes to choose from, over a dozen favorite hikes, and great joy in sharing them with you.

So do check out our classic culinary classes the Gourmand Week and the Mini-Gourmand throughout the year, our more active classes the Hiking and Feasting (May and Sept) and Adventures in Provence (Sept), the classes for those who'd like to work on their French (in April & June for beg. and int. and July for advanced), our teen courses (July, early August)... and so much more. So if you've a friend who teaches French and who wants to brush up their skills, or a teenager who loves to cook, or friends who're getting married, or a special birthday coming up.... think of Provence!

Are you or a friend free this spring? From Easter through mid June? Do you speak French and love French culture? Are you up for lots of good food, accompanied by lots of dishes, laundry and good company? We're in need of an assistant to second Erick at the bed and breakfast and to translate during cooking classes.

Should the idea appeal to you, or if you know just person who might want to come, please do email me and I'll convey all the details of the post. (madeleine@cuisineprovencale.com)

For the many of you who've visited Sophie Berton, our bee-keeper over the years, the sight of the chapel across her dirt road, covered in brambles and tumbling down, has been startling and magical. Yes, that bumpy dirt road is in fact an ancient passage that goes back more than 1000 years!

Over the last two years, a young archeologist, Stephanie, has taken up residence at Sophie's and adopted the chapel as her primary project -- for the next ten years at least! She is slowly and carefully excavating, exploring, dating, researching, re-building, and visualizing the extent of what was in fact a satellite monestary attached at different times to the Abbaye Montmajor just outside Arles, to the Abbaye nearer Tarascon and other more important and wealthier bases. It's proper name is the Prieure Saint-Pierre d'Entremonts.

Over the summer she organizes archeological digs and occasionally takes on students to help her. Through the winter, she catalogs and publishes her findings. She now has a blog which she aims to keep up to date on her work.

To follow up on the articles shared and discussed through my missive this fall, and to which so many of you reacted. I came across this preview to a very interesting and thorough look at the dissappearing honey bees. Do take a look at it. It is brief, but well done, and something to be shared with any and everyone you know -- in particular our youth beginning their science classes in school. The interconnectedness of our well-being to that of a simple honey bee.... is both a wonderful and a frightening fact to discover and to hold close to our hearts.

What's on the market now? What do you eat through the winter months when tomatoes, basil, strawberries, corn and other favorites aren't an option (or when found are not at their peak to put it mildly??? and may have been flown in from Chile?

My local farm hasn't much to offer, but nonetheless there are possibilities: swiss chard lends itself to being tossed in the skillet with garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice. A bit of fleur de sel brings all the flavors to a peak. Cabbage, especially the curly leafed dark green variety I love most, can be blanched and then rolled around your filling of choice -- sausage, rice, parsely, chopped carrots, garlic, onions and mushrooms... or perhaps something more oriental? with raisins and cinnamon... Squash can be purreed and mixed with ricotta cheese and nutmeg, pepper and salt to make a filling for pasta, or added to my simmering rice with some nutmeg, lentils and sweet onions.

It is true, we've fewer options in the winter, but I still revel in making my small effort to eat locally, to support my local farmers, and to limit my carbon foot print. My kids are being raised to have an inner sense of the what is available when. There'll be no asparagus in November, and no fresh cherries in December. Lots and lots of broccoli in the winter, and lots and lots of zucchini in the summer. They're too young to truly understand what I've chosen to do, but I can't help but hope it will seep into their unconscious and affect their future choices.

Good luck to all of you who are trying to do this as well. It's not easy when the local supermarket is well-stocked and the place of origin is not clearly marked on your produce (as it is in all the French outdoor markets). It takes a bit more ingenuity, and yes, time. That precious commodity that we've so little of.