EXTRA - yoga & vegan cooking weekend

For the last time before the summer, the weekend of 1. - 3. July, we held a yoga & vegan cooking weekend, with wonderful participants from Chicago! The lavender fields were in full bloom as was the sunflower field behind La Vudèle, and we enjoyed taking our yoga practice outdoors surrounded by this beautiful scent! During this retreat we explored and created vegan Provencal dishes using the freshest seasonal ingredients, the first tomato of the season, and enjoyed our dinners al fresco under the blue sky of Provence!

 A holistic time, where our participants took care of themselves from the inside, through
* mindful yoga practice
* delicious organic vegan food
* followed their personal yoga & meditation practice
* had time to explore the area
* and time to enjoy an in-depth practice, yoga philosophy, spirituality. The focus was not only on various asanas but on advancing on the path of yoga

goodie bag with apron, cook book, salt, eye mask and yoga tea

Equipped with the Yoga & Nature goodie bag which is filled with
* yoga & nature apron
* yoga & nature cookbook
* yoga & nature herbes de Provence salt
* eye mask
* herbal yoga tea
all presented in a typical Provencal basket
we set off on our vegan cooking journey Saturday afternoon. In the morning we had visited the fantastic farmers' market in Riez to purchase organic fresh produce, from carrots to onions, yellow and green zucchini to the first tomato of the season!

making chocolate tofu mousse

The recipe for this delicious dessert can be found in our yoga & nature cookbook which is also available in our boutique

grilled caviar d'aubergine

tips & tricks from Claudia for Anastasia

chopping away for the "hussimussi"

The menu consisted of
* gratte ail or grated garlic, with our own organic olive oil and fresh baguette

* caviar d'aubergine

* grilled tofu with couscous and vegetable medley

* chocolate mint ice cream (the recipe)

* lavender custard (the recipe )
accompanied by local wine of Quinson and a game of table foosball

It was a lovely experience to be cooking with Tracey and Anastasia who added their own ideas and experiences, and the resulting meal - prepared with love - was simply divine! As we were seated outdoors next to the field of sunflowers the sun was setting, casting a lovely gentle light over the field: a perfect setting!

For our yoga practice early in the morning and in the afternoon we searched and found shade behind La Vudèle, surrounded by sunflowers, vines and of course lavender!

relaxing afternoon Yin yoga practice

final meditation in reclined butterfly pose

Upon their departure Tracey and Anastasia added their personal well-wishes to our line of Tibetan prayer flags, leaving a piece of personal memory at La Vudèle

our guests Tracey & Anastasia

Thank you so much, you two, for having chosen Yoga & Nature in Quinson for your mother/daughter weekend! It was truly a pleasure and honor to meet you two beautiful people and share this time with you! May your onward journey around France this summer be as colorful and delightful. Namasté.

And our next and final date for 2016 will be the third weekend in September:

Friday, 16. - Sunday, 18. September 2016

We already have one confirmed reservation so there are now only 4 spots left! On our web site is more information regarding a tentative schedule, photos, prices or email us 

Hope to see you here

in late summer!

RECIPE - sage pesto, with a twist

Classic pesto is made with fresh basil; this is the variety everybody knows and loves, be it from their vacations in Italy or a visit to their favorite Italian restaurant. But how about trying something new? With the abundance of sage plants in our herb garden, grown from seed and growing in massive bushes, I one late spring afternoon decided to try this wonderful herb in a pesto. Et voilà, it not only tastes almost like basil, it tastes even better! And it tastes best when the leaves are young so in late spring, though it is possible to use the leaves all year round but the taste will become stronger and more pungent.

During our yoga & organic vegan cooking retreat last weekend Top Vegan Chef Paul decided to add some green olives and freshly squeezed lemon juice, and my o my, was this pesto a treat!

Sage is a very versatile plant, a quintessential Mediterranean herb used in cooking, as an essential oil, as a decorative plant in the garden with its pretty purple flowers. Salvia officinalis can  be used to make a delicious tea.

on croutons as an appetizer

Pesto is easy to make, considered a "raw food" as none of the ingredients are heated and can go on anything, from pasta bien sûr to sandwiches or tasty little croutons as appetizers with an apéritif or on pizza in place of or with tomato sauce

the ingredients:
* fresh sage leaves
* nutritional yeast
* toasted pine nuts
* depitted fleshy green olives
* freshly squeezed lemon juice
* garlic
* olive oil
* freshly ground sea salt
* freshly ground black pepper

All ingredients are approximate as this is really to everyone's personal taste. If you can get a hold of this season's fresh garlic use it sparingly and allow the fresh taste of sage to be the most prominent. Make a paste in your kitchen machine and season to taste. The great thing about pesto is that its all about personal preference.

on pizza as a base

Try something new today and remember to enjoy not only the result but also the process! Preparing food from scratch is a fantastic way to spend time, observing the making of something delicious, with one's own creativity, passion and hands!

bon appétit! 

RECIPES - a vegan Christmas

Winter offers a cornucopia full of delicious fruits and vegetables, accentuated by legumes, nuts, grains and essential oils: we can make use of these fantastic ingredients. Why not incorporate that into a delicious vegan holiday dinner?

As we promote a vegan lifestyle here at La Vudèle we would like to give you some ideas for the holiday table. When busy cooking for our guests at our table d'hôtes we tend to forget to take photos of our creations... Fortunately our guest Solli from Sweden/Paris took some during her two stays this year and last and posted the recipes on her blog; these dishes work really well for a fancy dinner with friends and family and are all animal cruelty-free.

Along the same lines is thoughtful gift giving. In this world of materalistic abundance it's a smile, a gesture, a thought which makes a difference... Bonne fête!
 

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The starter: a warming flageolet bean soup with freshly sprouted alfalfa

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The main course: slow-cooked risotto with freshly cracked linseed

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The dessert (to be dressed up with sparkle and glitter, of course!):
lavender custard with cranberries

Enjoy your home-cooked meals
and thank you for thinking of the animals that did not
have to suffer and were not killed for this meal!

Jim & Claudia