Hiking, Feasting and Artisans.
My favorite combination! I've put dates on the calendar for the spring and the fall. This is truly the perfect way to see, taste and meet Provence. Cooking classes with Erick, Sophie the beekeeper and pastry at the grand Mirande hotel in Avignon. Hikes in the herb and oak covered Alpilles, amidst the wineries of the Dentelles de Montmirail, and visits, meals, special moments learning about the artisanal products of Provence with the artisans themselves.

You'll be staying at a lovely b&b, the Domaine de Rhodes in Avignon, in elegant rooms renovated ever so tastefully with a blend of antiques and modern touches. The outdoor pool is available, as well as winding bike paths for relaxation between activities. With the new rental bikes in downtown Avignon, it is easy and inexpensive to get around on two wheels.

For a full description, cost and dates, please take a look at the link below.

Provence Artisan Bike Tour.
How would five days of biking, fantastic feasts and private artisan and winery visits sound to you? Begin the tour with a dinner at Erick's. The next morning awake to the costume festival of Arles and the election of our new queen. Then off on your bikes with your two bi-lingual guides to a feast at the beekeeper's. Follow this with a lovely siesta under the trees, or a stroll amongst the wild herbs, then onward...

Gorgeous vistas, friendly visits, out-of the way inns, personal tours of my favorite spots. And yes, you will eat like kings.
The days will be gently filled with riding (25-30km in a day), carefully prepared meals, a few dirt roads, and chances to savor the wines, cheeses, breads, chocolates and more nestled amidst the limestone ridges and olive groves of this unique corner of Provence.

There will be time to explore the cities of Avignon, Arles and St. Rémy de Provence on your own or with new friends.
For those of you with but a brief vacation, this is the perfect tour. Exercise, views, great food, and intimate visits into the countryside and the Provence life.

There are currently dates for this spring on the web site : April 30 - May 5, designed to coincide with the Arles' costume festival. I am in the planning stages for next fall as well -- seeking out another local festival to include.

Please spread the word! and send me your feedback.

I've had the marvelous luck to be able to pull out a day a week in my busy schedule to work at one of my local goat cheese farms. For those of you who've visited with me, it is the farm that belongs to Isabelle and Paul Pierre Laguitton. Due to Isabelle's illness (yes, she's still sick, but still with us), they sold their goats to their young intern, Aurelie, and are renting their farm and laboratory to her.

Aurelie is a patient, fun, and easy to get along with goat cheese maker. She has taken over the Laguitton's clients, as well as their goats, and is faithfully making their style of cheese. I'm having a blast learning alongside her, milking the goats, curdling the milk, pouring the fresh cheese into molds, flipping them (more or less successfully) and more.

I've put quite a few posts on my blog about my experiences at the farm if you are interested in learning more. I've put a link to the first post below, but feel free to type 'goat' in my blog search engine and read the other posts -- including many a recipe with goat cheese.

It was ripe early. Sugary and sweet and eager to be harvested. Not all got going smoothly: machinery needed last minute repairs, some harvesters needed replacing, the cellar was still filled with posts holding up the new ceiling/floor above. Stress was a more present partner than normal.

But, even with these frustrations, the splendid weather with nary a cloud in the sky blessed us all. The quantity is down this year -- as it is with our neighbors in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and in Les Baux de Provence -- but the quality is looking good. Perhaps a bit high in alcohol this year? We shall see. The Mourvedre was particularly lovely, the syrah a bit less concentrated.

This weekend saw the last tank emptied and pressed. Now it is cellar time. Alcoholic fermentation is over. Time to let the lees settle, to sulfite (minimally in the organic world!), to gradually remove the gravity clarified wines off their remaining solids. The wines will move from tank to tank -- the art of working/juggling with the available space and tanks, and the wines produced from your particular winery. It is a time of precision, extra attention to details and a careful list of tasks for each day.

The calm season is approaching. The wines will need to be tended to, but the stress of harvest is over.
For more photos and details do check my blog, An American in Avignon, for this fall's wine harvest posts, there are six in September.
And for those who read Japanese -- The Domaine Cabanis site is now up in Japanese!

I will rent my Avignon house this winter over the Christmas holidays. It is also available for next summer. It comes complete with its well-stocked kitchen, central heating and wood stove, three bedrooms, a marvelous wooden tub, and reading and listening material to please many.

Let me know if you're interested. The web site is noted below. The winter weeks are specially priced at 750E/week.

The Squash and all its varieties is of course, an import from the new world. But, we have at least 200 years of enjoying this hearty fall vegetable in Provence. The most popular preparations are either in soup/potage or as a gratin or tian. I can now find many different squash grown locally on the market stalls. The most abundant is the Potiron which most resembles a pumpkin, but has a slightly more watery flesh. This grows to quite large proportions and the vegetable sellers sell it by the kilo, in large slices. More rare, but much more flavorful with a meatier flesh is the Potimaron. It can be either orange or green skinned, and is 6-10 inches in diameter, and quite dense, thus heavy in your shopping basket.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 slices of bacon cut in 1/4 inch (1cm) short strips
• 2 onions minced
• One 1 1/2 kilo (3 pound) squash peeled, sliced and cut into 3/4 inch (4 cm) cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves crushed and minced
• a couple grates of nutmeg
• salt and pepper as needed
• 3 tablespoons of honey (you can use a strongly flavored honey like chestnut, or garrigues, or a more mild, depending on availability and your preference).

In a large deep frying pan, pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom, reserving the rest for later. Turn your flame up to medium high, and add the bacon bits and onions. Sautee till the onions are sweated and the bacon cooked. Add the squash and the remaining oil, and sautee over a medium flame, allowing them to lightly brown, for 10-15 minutes. They should start to become tender.

Now remove the squash from the flame, fold in the bay leaves, the minced garlic, and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a baking dish/tian/gratin dish and place in the oven at 400F or 200C. Let bake for 30 minutes, or till tender. When just about done, drizzle the honey over the top, return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or till the honey caramelizes.

Enjoy! And below is a link to another squash recipe from my blog