EXTRA - yoga retreats May, June & July with organic vegan cooking

Inspired by the success in running our yoga retreats for several years now and on the positive comments we received from our guests dining with us at our table d'hôtes we decided to combine our two passions, yoga & cooking. We offer 3 dates for yoga & organic vegan cooking weekends with Claudia as the chef and Jim as the wine sommelier:

* 20. - 22. May (2 spaces left)
* 14. - 16. June
* 1. - 3. July (4 spaces left)

Cooking with Devotion: Good food requires more than top-notch ingredients and creative recipes - it's the compassion, intention, and energy of those in the kitchen that make a meal fulfilling. Cultivating a selfless intention, committing to recognizing the Divine in those you're feeding, and cooking joyfully without expectation of recognition will improve your awareness as well as your food. For the yogic cook, integrating mindfulness and love only deepens a cooking experience and, according to some, enhances the quality and flavor of the food itself.

Fridayarrival after 15h and installation in your rooms
16h workshop on healthy, clean, organic vegan cooking and introduction of the weekend's menu and activities plus the La Vudèle goodie bag
19h classic Provencal apéritif dinatoire: a relaxed sit-down dinner with several different dishes prepared by your hosts, to explore the flavors and aromas of Provence

Saturday
7.30 energizing morning yoga practice outside in nature, to get Prana flowing and stimulate digestion
9h our copious organic vegan breakfast with sourdough bread
10h visit of the local farmers' market in Riez with guide to our organic producers. We will purchase the ingredients for the delicious meal for dinner
afterwards free time to explore the area, the lavender fields, the gorge du Verdon and its lakes, etc
16h cooking course and preparation of our dinner:
Cooking with the fresh ingredients from our own vegetable garden and purchased at the market in the morning.
Practice of mindfulness, kindness & ahimsa, nonviolence, one of the yamas of yoga.
Awareness meditation: the love we place into the preparation is the love which nourishes us
19h gala dinner presenting the bounty of our cooking experience accompanied by wine tasting of local organic wines from Quinson, some cultivated right behind La Vudèle

Sunday
7.30 energizing morning yoga practice outside in nature
9h our copious organic vegan breakfast|
followed by a workshop on ideas for a healthy vegan breakfast and a certificate of your participation of this workshop
afterwards departure or possibility to extend your stay in our B&B

2 nights accommodation in our organic B&B or guest house including our copious organic vegan breakfast and 2 dinners € 580 for two

Bienvenue à La Vudèle & bon appétit!

ACTIVITIES - olive picking, slim pickings

Every year we wait until the beginning of December to bring in the harvest of a whole year's worth of olives, anxiously waiting and hoping... 

Last year's harvest was 0 due to the wet weather at the wrong time of year, and the year before the outcome had also not been too great. So this year it was with great anticipation that we descended onto our olive grove of 3 hectars, on the outskirts of Quinson and between La Vudèle and the village. Thanks to our care, proper trimming and - I swear - me talking to the trees some of them have grown to a considerable size worthy the name "tree"! However, the harvest was a bit meager and disappointing so we were finished rather quickly.

We then returned to La Vudèle to pick the four trees in the garden, and despite the fact that some branches had masses of olives on them, as compared to previous years - the amount was also not something to write home about.

Our last hope then was Puimoisson where Jim takes care of a property and gets to harvest the olives. Again, despite some very promising branches the total was disappointing.

We took the nicest looking olives and cured them in brine so if all goes well we will have some delicious olives to eat this summer.

 

The rest we gave to friends to take to the mill and in return received a very small amount of oil but hopefully enough until next December. Unfortunately this means we have no oil to sell to our guests and friends this year, again...

Once the olive harvest is over winter begins...

EXTRA - new retreat: yoga & vegan cooking

Based on the success in running our yoga retreats for several years now and on the positive comments we received from our guests dining with us at our table d'hôtes we decided to combine our two passions, yoga & cooking, and will offer 3 dates in 2016 for yoga & organic vegan cooking weekends:

20.- 22. May * yoga & organic vegan cooking *
1. - 3. July * yoga & organic vegan cooking *
16. - 18. September * yoga & organic vegan cooking *

Here is the program for these weekends
Friday arrival after 17h and installation in your rooms
18h workshop on healthy, clean, organic vegan cooking and introduction of this weekend's menu
19h classic Provencal apéritif dinatoire: a dinner with several different dishes, to explore the flavors and aromas of Provence
Saturday 7h30 - 9h energizing morning yoga outside in nature, followed by a copious organic vegan breakfast
10h visit of the local farmers' market in Riez with guide to our organic producers
16h -18h preparation of dinner: cooking course with fresh ingredients from our own vegetable garden and purchased at the market in the morning. Practice of mindfulness, kindness & ahimsa, nonviolence, one of the yamas of yoga. Awareness meditation: the love we place into the preparation is the love which nourishes us
18h30 gala dinner presenting the bounty of our cooking experience accompanied by wine tasting of local organic wines from Quinson, cultivated right behind La Vudèle
Sunday 7h30 - 9h energizing morning yoga practice outside in nature, followed by a copioous organic vegan breakfast
9h workshop on ideas for a healthy breakfast and recipe book
afterwards departure or possibility to extend your stay in our B&B

2 nights accommodation in our organic B&B or guest house including our copious organic vegan breakfast and 2 dinners including wine tasting € 580 / € 770 for two

These workshops will give every participant the opportunity to learn how to prepare delicious vegan food using fresh, organic local products which are in season at that moment. Learn how to include healthy seeds and herbs and make a delicious meal. Claudia is very creative in using all kinds of ingredients and loves to share; likewise this will be an opportunity for foodies and hobby cooks to share their knowledge with the group.

***

Of course we will also hold our regular yoga weekends and two 5-night/6 day retreats. For these the meals will be prepared for you by Claudia but of course you are free to watch or participate in the preparation and even learn how to bake your own sourdough bread!

dates for 201620. - 22. May: yoga & organic vegan cooking
12. - 17. June: yoga retreat
1. - 3. July: yoga & organic vegan cooking
4. - 9. September: yoga retreat
16. - 18. September: yoga & organic vegan cooking
7. - 9. October: yoga weekend

We are very  much looking forward to hosting
individuals from all walks of life: omnivores, vegetarians, vegans

Bon appétit & namasté!

RECIPES - quinoa risotto

February and March are the most difficult months of the year for the human body as nature has not awakened from its winter slumber and winter has stopped producing in order to prepare for spring and another growing season. Our trusted farmers Gerard and Francis at their stands at the weekly market in Riez provide us with what's in season, and so now is the time for the last winter greens and root vegetables

As such our choices are more limited yet there is still an abundance of joyful ingredients which we can use to prepare delicious meals. How about a quinoa risotto? Unlike risotto made with Arborio rice quinoa, when cooked, does not become creamy and sticky. But not worries, there are also advantages. 

ACTIVITIES - no olive picking this year

What a joy and gastronomical pleasure it is to taste one's own hand-picked, organic olive oil! We pick in December ... but not this year...

Early December is usually the time we get cracking: supplied with small baskets and bags we descend onto our olive grove of about 200 trees, located between La Vudèle and Quinson, and we pick this delicious fruit for a good 10 days. We pick by hand. We pick slowly. We stop for a hearty lunch in the warming winter sun. We enjoy sharing this time with friends like Lynn, our American friend in Quinson/Grenoble/Berlin who usually makes a special trek to Provence every year to participate in the harvesting and grace us with her fantastic singing; various friends who happen to be around; guests of our B&B who want to experience this special time.

Not so this year.

With a very short winter and a very long spring including weeks of rain fall the quality of the olives this year was so devastating that it was not worth it to pick the few which were left on the tree to turn them into mediocre quality oil which will not keep very long.

Here some images of past olive harvests:

20009 Alexander & family and Chan came up from Aix...

 

... and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the sun

special olive picking baskets for easy picking

Elmer came down from the Netherlands last year...

... and Katja with Alice from Hamburg

2012 with Linda & Josh from New York at the mill...

our harvest last year!

... and after a little more than an hour with our own olive oil!

sharing a delicious dinner with Elmer

some olives we cure in brine for the summer

2013 with Lynn and Marie-Louise from the Netherlands

Hopefully next year we will be back on track! If you want to partake in this experience look on our web site for details and dates

Happy walking in Quinson!