LIFE AT LA VUDELE - thank you

Claudia & Jim with Mia

October has arrived, the season of contemplation is starting, the sun shines less strong and the evenings get colder... This is also the time to reflect. And to pick up projects left aside during the busy season, like this blog which we stopped in early summer but gathered new ideas, recipes and other news which we will share throughout the winter. 

To reflect is to look back at our activities the past few months which started in March. We hosted many people in our organic vegetarian B&B, all lovely guests from allover the world who stayed with us, not only from all over Europe but also from South Korea, Australia, the US and Canada, Puerto Rico and India and many more places - we would like to thank each one of these persons for having spent some time at La Vudèle, for having brought this energy here.

We also again held yoga workshops which we as hosts enjoyed very much, and judging by the feedback and emails we still receive our participants enjoyed their time here as well. This also gave rise and inspiration for a cook book which turned into the idea of offering yoga & organic vegan cooking weekends for 2016!

Claudia & Jim with Mimie
Mia somewhere else ;-)

We would like to thank all of our guests for making this place so special, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming back some of them next year who already booked for June and July, for the famous lavender season! 

A bientôt!

Jim & Claudia

Mimie & Mia

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.

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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!

ACTIVITIES - Karma Exchange Saturday, 14. November

Twice a year we organize a "Karma Exchange", essentially a clothing swap which has turned into the idea to extend this exchange of previously loved items to an exchange on several levels. And the 14th of October coincides with this year's Diwali Festival of Lights which we shall celebrate with the launching of happiness balloons into the evening sky

Throughout the afternoon there will be 

- a yoga session, with Claudia and other guest teachers
- talks & discussions
- coffee & tea
- a clothing swap
- live music / dancing / singing
- a guided meditation
- a shared dinner

Starting with a yoga session around 14h in the yoga shala we will ease into the afternoon and go with the flow, depending on who shows up and wants to share, be it a skill, knowledge, wisdom or simply presence: everybody is welcome to join. Basically La Vudèle will be the canvas on which we paint.

In the evening we will gather around the dinner table in our farmhouse kitchen, by a wood fired stove, where everyone can present their vegetarian or vegan contribution, a potluck or repas espanol.

date: Saturday, 14. November 2015
place: La Vudèle, Quinson

This is for locals who would like to reconnect after the summer, for visitors who want to have a local experience, for long-lost friends, passersby, everybody is welcome!

Come & join!

RECIPES - chocolate mint ice cream

Everybody loves ice cream! And even more chocolate ice cream! So on my quest to find THE best vegan ice cream recipe I realized that it need to be creamy. And what better and easier way than to make a custard and then turn it into ice cream! Oat milk is for a rich version, with rice milk for a gluten-free delicacy

2 cups of oat milk *
2 tablespoons cornstarch *
dash of salt
1/2 cup raw cocoa powder
2 drops peppermint essential oil
1/2 cup sugar

If using an icecream maker place the cooling element into the freezer according to instructions, minimum 24 hours beforehand.

~ Dissolve cornstarch and cocoa powder in some cold oat milk.
~ Slowly heat the rest of the milk in a pot. Add the salt and sugar.
~ Once the milk has come to a boil add the cornstarch/cocoa mixture and stir until it has thickened into a custard.**
~ Allow to cool completely (1-2 hours), then place into refridgerator.

Using your icecream maker turn this delicious custard into heavenly chocolate mint ice cream


* For a gluten-free version use rice milk and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
** The gluten-free version will be less thick

Bon appétit!

YOGA - the yoga shala

Yoga & Nature is about enjoying the outdoors of beautiful Provence for our yoga, to integrate nature's beauty, the fresh air, the blue sky, the flowers and - of course - lavender all around us.
~ tadasana - mountain pose - gets a new meaning when we look onto nearby Montdenier, at a majestic 1905 m altitude, and use its immobility and stillness to calm our body and mind
~ during pranayamas we inhale the clean fresh morning air
~ balancing poses like eagle or Vrksasana / tree whilst gazing across lavender fields.
This is Yoga & Nature en Provence...

But sometimes nautre needs a break, and this is when we can use a gorgeous indoor space - the shala - as our practice and mediation space. Part of the oldest section of La Vudèle this room is equipped with large windows to let in the light of Provence and a cast iron
wood-fired stove to warm us.

A beautiful serene space to come together and unwind, to share a practice. This is a peaceful sanctuary. A breathing space. A place for meditation.

Bienvenue et namasté