While I am in Switzerland visiting my son and his family for Easter, my guest blogger, Emily, continues with her adventures in Provence:

Nearby, in the village of Ansouis, lives one of the most celebrated santonniers (santon makers) in all of France. To find his small atelier, walk up the cobbled street, pass the huge plane tree that shades the terrace of the bar/cafe, and veer up the hill, where you’ll see the domain of M. Daniel Galli. Daniel is an artisan who creates the traditional, small terra cotta santons that are so typically Provencal. (a contrast to the large santons dressed in fabric costumes seen in the post on Les Baux.) With a pinch of clay, Daniel brings to life the petit figurines and dresses them in the tradition of old Provence – but solely in clay; these are the santons used around a Christmas creche. Although some of the santonniers paint their creations, Daniel does not. His artistry is evident in the great detail of the costumes of the 7cm figures. (2 3/4 inch) He also sculpts larger figurines of other subjects, such as a beautifully costumed lady from Arles at 40cm tall. (15 3/4 inch)

In 2004, Daniel received a very prestigious award when he was named a “Meilleur Ouvrier de France,” an award something like a “national treasure” I suspect. He proudly displays his be-ribboned photo – taken with then-president Jacques Chirac – in a glass display case, which also contains some larger works, other awards he’s received and copies of articles about his work.

Daniel and I enjoyed a pleasant conversation, and when he learned I am from California his eyes lit up and he motioned me to follow him into his workroom in the back of the shop. There he proudly pointed out his kiln. I was a bit puzzled. He pointed again and said, “Regardez, regardez!” (Look! Look!) I leaned down and read the plaque: “Made in Fresno, California.”

Sideroads of Europe

We were in the grocery store the other day and saw what is called a Pissaladiere Nicoise. We almost bought it but Maurice decided that he would make it himself. It is a sort of onion tart without cheese, or any tomato sauce so not really a pizza either. I bought a quiche crust, ready made, but really should have gotten some pizza dough so that it came out thicker but, really, it was very good. I am not a fan of anchovies so I just took it off of my portion after it was cooked. I think, had I been the chef, I would have carmelized the onions and added thyme and maybe herbs de Provence but Maurice is very pure when it comes to cooking and likes things simple. I think this would make a great appetizer.

Pissaladiere Nicoise

Peel and cut 4 to 5 onions into small quarters.

In a small pan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry the onions. They shouldn’t get coloured during the cooking. They should be melted and white at the end of the cooking time.
Wash anchovies(the ones in a can), prepare the fillets, dip them into water.
Put olive oil on top of the dough. It probably would be a good idea to cook it a short while first so it doesn’t get soggy although we didn’t. Roll the endings around in order to make a cavity at the center.
Place on a cookie or pizza pan sprinkled with flour.
Heat the oven (250°)
Sprinkle an inch of sugar on the onions, mix them and cover the dough with the mixture.(In some recipes, a fish called Pissal is added which is where the name of this dish comes from. Too much fish for me.)
Drain the anchovies, put them on the onions, decorate them with nicoise olives.

Put the “pissaladiere” in the hot oven, cook it for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Sideroads of Europe

We made a quick trip to Ansouis which happens to have a little market on Sundays. Although we arrived a little after noon they were all packing up and leaving. Then we headed up into the village to buy a baguette and the boulangerie was closed. Apparantly once the bread is gone, they close. So, not to totally waste the trip, we sat down and had a glass of wine.

This is the only place in town for a quick drink or small bite to eat. There is also a nice restaurant. I sure wish we had something like this in our little village.

We sat down outside and I noticed a lot of people standing outside sort of blocking the door and I wondered what they were doing until it struck me that it was the smokers and they could no longer smoke inside. I can’t tell you how nice it is now to eat any place in France and not have to inhale smoke. I had sort of gotten used to it but am glad it isn’t an issue anymore. I’m not sure why this lady was holding a whole box of Gauloises, surely the strongest cigarette out there.

I took this photo because I really like the color of the door. I bet it will really look great when the rose bush starts blooming, which won’t be long now.

Sideroads of Europe

These shutters are on a little place up in our village. I love the bonjour sign.

There are all sorts of bad things that can happen when you garden. You can step on the end of hoe and it will come up and wack you in the face. You can hurt your back lugging heavy pots and rocks around or by pulling weeds. I've heard of people having heart attacks while gardening. I have had all of the above happen to me, except the heart attack part.
So what happened, you ask? When we planted trees in our yard, it also included two parasol pines. I remember the landscaping lady tell me to watch for caterpillar web bags in them and that when I saw them it was important to remove them and burn them. So, sure enough, the next Spring there it was. It's a sort of round shape and inside are eggs. For two years running, I've removed them and burned them. This year it was a disaster. There were two of them, one in each tree. Interestingly, they are always in the same place on the side that is, I'm sure, favorable to those little beasties inside that bag. I pulled one off, not very easily as the web is threaded through all of those pine needles. The second one came open as I was pulling it off. Ick. There were caterpillars inside and millions of tiny eggs. It was rather gross, actually, but I got it all off and burned them.

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Later that morning I notice that my wrists are itching and that there are tiny little welts and a sort of rash. By that afternoon I had a huge rash, all bumpy red and itchy, on the back of my neck, all around the shirt line on the front of my neck, up and down my arms, and on my stomach. I had a miserable itchy night and went to the doctor the next day. She said it is a pretty common thing to see here. It turns out that the nest is protected by some sort of toxic chemical, the sneaky things. It sure did a number on me. I am now on cortisone and something else waiting for it to kick in. The rash seems to have died down but I am still itching. The doctor said you can burn the webby bag in the tree but I would think that would damage the tree some so I’m thinking you need to cut off the branch that is affected.. I’m not sure what I will do next year, because I know they will show up again. I won’t be pulling at them, that’s for sure. By the way, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and gloves and the toxic chemical when right through them.

Spring isn’t officially here yet but there are definite signs of its arrival here in Provence. This is what I saw on my walk today:

A few of Cezanne like iris are opening up.

Would you just look at this green. Deosn’t it just make you happy to look at it? I pass by this field when I do my walk. Speaking of which, somehow I took one of my tennis shoes to Paris. It’s rather hard to walk with just one so I am using street shoes which sort of do a number on my toes and I look tres chic too.

I think this is an almond tree in bloom.

The entry to our village. There is a memorial cross or monument in every village in France for those lost in war, mainly WWI.

You know the weather is getting better when you see clothes drying on a line. This one is right off the main road into our village.

Sideroads of Europe

As I have written before, I am the mother in law of the creative person behind Lollipops. Lollipops now has an international website and can be ordered from the States and the rest of the world. For a while it was just restricted to Europe. Take a look at the site. I think it is really cute.

http://www.lollipops.fr/eshopint