Winter is the season for soups and stews, good simmered dishes and rich meals... Apple pies and roasted chestnuts are also part of the winter menu... and the excess of Christmas time...

It is also the season of cold, where diseases are more predictable ... Therefore vitamins of fresh produces and food are even more recommended ... to fight your bad cough... Fresh fruits or vegetables are the best natural source of vitamins... and the best way to loose weight after the plenty of New Year... Some days of a diet of fruits and veggies, that the best way to recover...

So let's see what we can eat... to enjoy the winter production without worrying ...

Some vegetables are edible all year long if they are well kept : Beets, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes and Onions.
Same thing for nuts...
Exotic fruits, even if they are produced in warm lands, are also connected to seasons.

Better than eating food supplements in winter, try the natural vitamins and the right minerals...

Links are connected to recipes or specific vegetables and fruits produced here ...

Vegetables
Beet, Horseradish, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Chicory, Cress, Crosne, Fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Salad, Salsify, Turnips
Fruits
Apples, Clementines, Kiwis, Mandarins, Oranges, Pears
Dates Nuts
Exotics Banana, Grapefruit, Lychee, Papaya, Pineapple



Vegetables
Avocados, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Chicory, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Salads, Salsify, Turnips, Watercress

Fruits
Apples, Blood oranges, Clementines, Kiwi, Lemons, Mandarins, Pears
Nuts
Exotics Bananas, Grapefruit, Mangoes, Passion Fruit, Pineapples



Vegetables
Avocados, Beets, Carrots, Cabbage, Celery, Leaves, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions, Potatoes, Radish, Salsify Spinach,Turnips
Fruits
Apples, Clementines, Kiwi, Mandarins, Oranges
Exotics Bananas, Mangoes, Pineapples

If you want to eat the right products at the right time, the easiest way to do it is to go to the market next and buy the vegies and fruits produced in your area.
You'll discover vegies that we do not eat often anymore and you need just a bit of imagination to accommodate some vegetables! Bon appétit

Read this post in French : Fruits et légumes de saison : calendrier d'hiver

Spring time... Nature is waking up.... And you too.
There are so many reasons to enjoy fruits and vegetables in spring...Good vitamins and diversity of taste are back... Nicer and longer days too. Prepare your skin (fresh veggies and fruits are the best diet to have a wonderful complexion) and your body for the sunny days... and loose quietly the overweight of the wintertime.

Spring is the best excuse to go back to a nice healthy diet to be fit and nice looking for the -soon- sunny beaches... Cold is gone and it is easier to eat light....

Specially because the spring vegetables and fruits mature without being helped and that's much better for our palates, our health, our body and our wallet ...

The common Beets, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes and Onions are still around as they are the basis, edible during the whole months of the year...

We do often forget that green salads are also related to the seasons ... The lettuce starts to appear on the shelves in April ... while the winter salad (chicory for example) disappears ...

Remember that exotic fruits don't grow all year long...

The links refer to vegetables and fruits produced in Britain or to recipes ...

APRIL

Vegetables

Asparagus, Avocados, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Chards, Celery, Cucumber, Garlic, Green beans, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Rockets, Sorrel , Spinach, Turnips

Fruits

Kiwi, Lemons, Oranges, Rhubarb

Exotics Bananas, Pineapples

MAY

Vegetables

Asparagus, Avocados, Beets, Carrots, Celery, Cabbage, Cucumber, Eggplant, Green beans, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radish, Spinach, Sorrels,Turnips, Watercress

Fruits

Apricots, Cherries, Currants, Kiwis, Lemon, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries

Exotics Bananas, Passion fruit, Pineapples

JUNE

Vegetables

Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Chanterelle mushrooms, Cucumber, Eggplants, Fennel, Green beans, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Peppers, Radishes, Salads, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricots, Currants, Cherries, Kiwi, Melons, Nectarines, Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries
Exotics Bananas, Mangoes, Papayas

Well, this is easy when you have a life in harmony with nature, time, goodwill and principles .... Otherwise, you can also go on a healthy diet of vegetables and fruits, using canned ... or frozen products. Canned vegetables are full of vitamins and frozen fruits too as they are freshly collected and preserved in the same day.

Read this article in French : calendrier de printemps des fruits et légumes de saison

It's summer ... the best season to enjoy veggies and fruits ... because they're plenty...because the fruits are sweet and juicy... And because you can prepare nice cold salad with so many different kinds of products.... because it's the best diet... to loose weight (Vegetables and fruits are low in calories) or to feel fit and healthy... Natural vitamins for a beautiful complexion and a nice skin. The best time to eat fresh food.

You can still eat Beets, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes and Onions as they can be preserved all year long but try to enjoy some other ones...
As the weather is nice and warm, enjoy eating cold... outside...

You can also enjoy collecting what you would like to eat by going to farms where you can pick what you want to eat and savour... In Brittany, it's possible, in many places...

You can also when walking around, collect blackberries, sloes and other nuts and chestnuts ....

Remember that exotic fruits do not grow all year long....

Here is your monthly calendar... July, August and September. For free and full of nice local recipes...

Blue links are connected to vegetables and fruits produced in the region... and the culinary specialties...

Vegetables

Asparagus, Artichokes, Batavia, Broccoli, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Garlic, Green beans, Lettuce, Peas, Peppers, Radishes, Rockets, Salad, Spinach, Tomatoes, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricots, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Currants, Melons, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries
Exotics Bananas

Vegetables

Artichokes, Broccoli, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Fennel, Green beans, Lettuce, Peas, Peppers, Rockets, Squash, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricot, Blackberries, Blueberries, Currant, Gooseberries, Grapes, Figs, Melons, Mirabelle, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Strawberries, Sloes

Vegetables

Artichokes, Cabbage, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Green beans, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Peppers, Pumpkins, Spinach, Radish, Salads, Tomatoes, Truffles, Zucchini

Fruits

Apples, Blackberries, Blueberries, Currants, Figs, Grapes, Melons, Mirabelle, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Quinces, Raspberries, Sloes, Strawberries
Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Bananas, Pineapples

Have you heard about the Copenhagen Summit... Of course... States and men have to act together to change the habbits we have for years...

One step can be simple : eat the right vegetable or fruit at the right time...
But as most of us don’t grow anymore vegies, we have forgotten when it is the right season to eat that kind of vegetables or this type of fruits…
And it is not just politically correct, it is also healthy (fresh vitamins) and wise (less expensive if you buy them when they're naturally mature.... cheaper...) to eat well and good (better taste)...
To help you through and to discover some of our regional products, I have done this calendar for the autumn production… October, November and December...

Some veggies can be kept through the year, if well preserved : beets, carrots, celery, potatoes and onions...
We often forget that exotic fruits are also related to the seasons.
Autumn is also the season to collect and enjoy fresh nuts (chestnuts,wallnuts...).

Enjoy the recipes and the local production clicking on links.



Vegetables
Artichokes, Beans, Beets, Horseradish, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflowers, Celery, Chicory, Cucumbers, Fennel, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Radish, Romanesco cauliflower, Roquette Salad, Spinach, , Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits
Apples, Dates, Figs, Grapes, Lemons, Oranges, Pears, Persimmons, Quinces
Almonds, Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Pineapples

NOVEMBER

Vegetables
Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Celery, Chicory, Fennel, Jerusalem artichokes, Leeks, Lentils, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Salad, Salsify, Spinach, Turnips Fruits
Apples, Grapes, Kiwis, Mandarins, Oranges, Pears
Chestnuts, Dates, Walnuts



Vegetables
Avocados, Beets, Horseradishes, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Leeks, Onions, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Salsify, Turnips

Fruits
Apples, Clementines, Mandarins, Oranges, Pears
Almonds, Dates, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Bananas, Guavas, Lychees, Mangoes, Pineapples

Read it in French : Calendrier des fruits et légumes à consommer en saison d'automne

You can do it salty or sweet… It is an easy recipe, nice to do with children.
Several ways can be done : vegetarian with vegetables thinly sliced, with crumbs of tuna fish or sweet with fruits.

Ingredients :
50 g flour
2 yolks and 2 whites
150 ml milk
25 g melted butter
A large pan

Mix the ingredients. Add the whites softly.
Slice thinly your vegetables. Add them with a bit grated cheese.
Pour into a frying pan. 10 minutes for each side.
Eat it with a green salad.

The sweet recipe

Add 25 g of sugar to your dough. Slice thinly the fruits.
Add them. Same cooking time.

Read it in French : Recette de matafan végétarien à la mode de Bretagne

2 differents steps... Ratatouille is easy to make but needs time to be good.

1 - Preparation of vegetables ratatouille
2 - Crumble and cooking
1 – Ratatouille with summer vegetables
In summer, the ideal is to make a French ratatouille. The secret is to cook it a long time. Better to make a big one that you can freeze.The recipe is for 8 people.

Ingredients for 8 people 2 garlic cloves
An onion
2 peppers
2 eggplants
5 zucchini
8-9 tomatoes
Olive oil
Garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes. Peel the onion and add to garlic (15 minutes).While the onion and garlic cook. cut into small pieces peppers. Add and cok fr 15 minutes. Continue with the other vegetables (15 minutes each). Then cook over low heat for one hour (no cover). Let cool a few hours and again cook for an hour. It's done

2 - Crumble
Ingredients for 4
100g flour
50g butter
50g Grated Parmesan
Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour and grated Parmesan. Mix until small balls. Pour the ratatouille into a baking dish. Add the crumble top. Oven for 20 minutes to 7.
This winter you can do the same thing with carrots, leeks, potatoes and mushrooms ... Or any other vegetable that you will cook in the oven before proceeding.

Read it in French : Recette du crumble salé aux légumes de saison

The peak season for artichokes lasts several months : from May to November.




The artichoke is a domesticated thistle ... Have you seen it blooming ? The flower looks like the thistle’s one and it smells so good…

The reproduction of the artichoke is often done thanks to a rejection from an other artichoke that grows beside and must be replanted. The plant is almost a bush, which can reach 2 meters high and provides several artichokes (big ones) for 2 or 3 years.
.
Its name comes from the Italian language which took it from Arabic. Originally, the plant is Mediterranean. Already known in Italy during the 9th century, the marriage of the French King Henry II with the Italian Catherine de Medici (1533) who loved it made him popular in France.

Even if it is a Mediterranean plant, it grows well in Brittany- the culture began early 19th century-, specially on the North coast, where the climate is quite mild. The famous golden belt around Roscoff is the coast for early vegetables and 75% of the artichokes produced in France come from the area.



In France the favorite one is the camus de Bretagne,the largest species (2 to 3 kg per head), the one eaten peeled. The southern one is much smaller and often eaten like in Spain or Italy, in oil.

Read it in French : Artichaut de Bretagne

Ready for a hike … As I used to work as a guide for walkers and cyclists ... I have some tips and advices to tell you.

1 - A map, it is always better to have one, even when you think you know the place … Cut paths or heavy rain that causes a forced retreat (I know ... I survived an amazing rain with a group in Jersey …)... It is always better to be abble to find a place to hide... Just in case ...

2 - Two is better as one... You never know ... A little twist (again, I had that problem once) ... and you're so happy not to be alone... with your bad foot !

3 - A minimum of "fast food" ... Water and something to eat... depending on the walk ... Classic cereal bars (I'm not a fan), dried fruit, a bag of cookies or chocolate ... (be careful, in summer, it melts ...). If it's a day's hike, think picnic with carbohydrates (bread) and protein (meat, fish, cheese ...), some fruits ...

4 - The minimum for your health ... dressings against blisters ... disinfectant and an advise that may be unuseful in the nowadays mobile phone's world... walk with an onion in your bag (for a "natural" home remedy...)... ... My aunt, a former scout, was in charge of several young girls .... They were singing while hiking .... and she (my aunt) did swallow a wasp or a bee that stings her throat ... Panic on board ... A farmer working in the field,gave him an onion to chew slowly ...... The swelling has deflated ... An old treatment that helped then... She still lives ...

5 - Clothing. Light clothes for summer, warm clothing for winter and the whole year a raincoat. Summer cap or winter cap ... Sunglasses ...

6 – Bike tour ... The minimum... pump, patches and tools or even the bomb. An elmet too...

7 - Walking tour : good shoes ... (waterproof if possible), and already used ...

8 - Worrying about the weather : it's better ... and avoid the coastal paths and cliffs on windy days ...

9 - Telling someone what you do ... It's easier if we are looking for and you've been eaten by a wolf ... Include in your mobile phone under the name ICE (in case of emergency) the person you would like to call if necessary).

10 - Have fun ... Touring is great... Enjoy the Tro Breizh , our paths Compostela ...

Read this article in French : Randonner à pied ou à vélo : les 10 conseils

As I live near by a canal, I do often walk on the banks and in autumn it is time for harvesting chestnuts, the one edible. Make sure you’re not bringing home conkers, that won’t do for my nice chocolate chesnuts recipe (next post).



Even though they can be both called chestnuts, they are not the same.



1 - Conkers
The fruit of the conker tree (or horse-chestnut) is alone in its capsule, it is bigger, round and has a beige scar. The fruit of the conker tree is not edible, even for animals. It can be used for medicinal goals. or some other things...



2 - Chestnuts
The sweet chestnut is not alone in its capsule, they are two or three. The fruit has a pear shape and a small tuft The bur is very prickly. When green, it is not ripe enough. Wait till it’s brownish to eat them.



The Romans brought the chestnuts back in Europe from Asia Minor. It was nice for the empty stomachs during the hard winter time. It was then food for poor people. It was not considered as a good flour because it is no good to make bread as it does not rise.

Time have changed. Now in Ardeche it has an AOC (French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée equivalent Protected Geographic Indication) and is quite nice for people who suffer from gluten allergy.

Once you picked them, read my next post to make my chocolate chestnut cake.



Read it in French : Chataignes ou marrons : quels fruits pour un gâteau ?

New Year... the time of good resolutions for everyone .... But they are not all easy to achieve ... Tobacco addiction, you know what I mean ?

There are so many methods for quitting smoking : some tips to succeed smoking cessation...

The more conventional methods rely on substitutes:
There are the traditional nicotine patch that are applied to the skin for a variable time : 16 or 24 hours depending on your addiction to nicotine and according to your needs and dependance.
The best way is to answer a few questions before choosing the "good" patch ... I have tried this method, it works.
Be careful not to play with your addiction, don't forget to use the patch at the right time because if you're late, you may suffer a crisis of lack, the nervousness or the temptation too strong to go back to a cigarette!
The patch needs over an hour to fitfull your body with nicotine !
Gums can help if you were late and therefore nervous to wait for the fulfitment of nicotine !

To quit smoking, you can try other cigarettes ... done with a mix of plants! Just in cases of emergency, the taste is no good but the gesture of smoking without nicotine will help you through !

The homeopathy offers kits to smokers : small white balls, homeopathic granules do miracles and cures you from your bad habit. Yes, the various tubes relieve your symptoms: loss, restlessness, urge to snack (even eat !)
The advantage of the white balls are that they will occupy your mouth and (as the desire does not last for hours), it should help you to avoid once more a smoke.

There are other methods: hypnosis. It does not work on everyone but for those susceptible, it is a good help. Several sessions are necessary to win the game !

More local approach, the magnetizer .... In Britain, there are still some... for shingles, to heal the baby teeth that grow painfully or for smokers ...

You may succeed trying a change of habit, to break your daily routine a few days... a method that lasts 7 days, a sort of diet, a body purification ... For one week, you change your diet: 1 day, dried fruits, fresh fruits the 2nd, 3rd day steamed vegetables and fruits .... and you focus more on what you eat (or what you miss) than on cigarettes .... Avoid weight by the same time.....

There is also the method of Allen Carr, who in his book The Simple Way to stop smoking convince you that smoking is not fun ... You read his method and over the pages, your aversion to cigarette is confirmed ...
The author is a former smoker (4 packs a day) he knows his subject well and all the pitfalls of "cigarette", the failed attempts...
You can visit the centers Allen Carr to meet people who are in the same process. You won't fell alone and lost in your addiction... So many people are like yourself...50% success says Wikipedia.

The best way to say bye bye to smoking is to combine several methods, will will also help remember that it is not easy … I know, I tried several times and managed ... for now. My smoking addiction is gone. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Read this article in French : Méthodes et méthode pour arrêter de fumer

5 a day they say…

Ok, but when tomatoes have no taste, when peaches are unripe and when strawberries are time bombs, what should we eat ?
Well, choose the breton strawberries… the one produced at Plougastel, called gariguettes. They are slim, very long and really tasty…



Plougastel has a long reputation as a land of strawberries. Again, it is due to a mild climate ... as often for the cultivation of vegetables in Britanny. Sea regulates the temperature (it is never really hot and it does not freeze). The season lasts from April to November.

The strawberry fields are located in the countryside of Plougastel Daoulas. During the last century, strawberries were protected by small stone walls. Today the plants are hidden in tunnels or in greenhouses.

Let’s go back to the 19th century. Strawberries are grown, replacing the cultivation of flax which was then the wealth of Brittany. Flax was used to make canvas (called daoulas) that were exported around the world. But the international competition (American and British) is too strong, breton producers have to evolve. They began to grow strawberries on the peninsula to replace the flax.

At that time, 25% of the French production was breton. And soon they tried to exporte their fruits to... England. Or Paris when the railway connects Brest to the French capital in 1865.

Since then, the strawberry culture oscillates between periods of plenty and bad times....Competition is fierce on the large international market of strawberries.

Have you ever eaten a gariguette. It is not the cheapest one but it is full of smells and extremely tasty. They are picked by hand, when they are ripe enough and delicately layed down on trays. No need to add sugar, as it is harvested at maturity.

And then if you are interested in sustainable development, they don’t come from far, far away…

If you buy organic strawberries, have you noticed the one with strange shapes: these are flowers that have not been properly gathered… they grow "distorted" ...



Want to know more about the history of the strawberries… In Europe and in our countries, the wild strawberry has been around forever (at least during the Roman times). Amédée François Frezier (Frezier in French even if it is not spelled the same, means strawberry plant), a French explorer, brought back from South America a variety of strawberries that are the ancestors of those of Plougastel.

Visit a strawberry farm at Plougastel. You'll learn much more!

Then, what do you think ? Are the strawberry a Breton tradition? A gastronomic heritage? A speciality of Brittany? Please vote !



Read it in French : Les fraises de Plougastel : tourisme ou patrimoine gastronomique