Prunus spinosa (also called sloe or Black thorn) is a small tree you can find in lots of Breton hedges. And it has its specific uses here in Brittany…

The tree is quite an old one : during the New Stone Age, stones were found in the houses of our ancestors…
It has other specifities : birds and insects like to rest or even more... in the bushes as it is full of spines.



Its bark was used to dye wool or flax in red. Its flowers are helpful when one suffer from digestive disorders or constipation.



In Brittany, its more common use is to make an alcoholic beverage…with its fruits.

Read it in French : Le prunellier : un arbuste aux qualités multiples

You want to know if the notions of sustainable development, organic food or ecological houses mean something in France. You should go to this fair.

It gathers biological farmers and organic wine producers, representatives of natural health products or cosmetics and bio fibres exhibitors …



Ecological houses, solar energy or water filters are also represented during this week end.

It takes place in the Parc expo (Parc des Expositions de Rennes Saint Jacques) from Februar 27th to March 1st. Open from 10 am to 7 pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it is open till 10 pm on Friday night. 4 euros (for those who are more than 12 years old).

Buckwheat is not what it’s name suggests : it’s not wheat neither a cereal or a grain. It is a Polygonaceae, a sister of rheum, docks or sorrels.

In French and even in Breton, its name is blé noir (black wheat, the flour is dark) and it is used to make the famous galettes de blé noir (sarrasin).

Archeologists found it in Brittany in prehistorical pollen. But it is a common plant in Britain since the 15 th C, probably because it was reintroduced at that time in the region. And soon it became the basis of the food of the breton farmers.

Because it was so easy to grow it in Brittany : first of all, buckwheat is a crop that loves acidic or low fertility soils, it needs lots of water too. And Brittany was the place… we have “bad” soils and lots of rain.



As it grows quickly, farmers used to cultivate it beetween the winter crop and the summer one. It was also used to cover the fields and then as fertilizer.
Farmers could use hand mills to obtain flour, they did not have to use the mill which one must pay for!!!
During the 19th C, Brittany was producing 50% of the French buckwheat.

At the end of the 19th C, buckwheat was abandoned for new cereals and potatoes. And its cultivation began to decrease. During the 80's, 90's, crêperies had to import the flour from Russia or China as it was no more cultivated in France. And with the green movement, hardy plants have a new life : farmers in Center Brittany began to produce it again. Now you find organic buckwheat produced here, in the region.

Today buckwheat has other nice advantages : gluten free, it is also a good provider of vitamins, proteins, minerals such as iron… it is nice for food allergy.

Beer is also done with buckwheat in Brittany.



And all over the world, buckwheat has its specialities. Specially in its original region South East Asia : in Japan, people eat it as pasta. Or the grains are used to make special pillows to relax…

Read it in French : Blé noir ou sarrasin en bretagne : une farine miracle

Origine
The nasturtium is native from South America. According to sources, it comes from Peru or neighboring Andean countries (Colombia, Bolivia and even Brazil). Jesuits, during the 16th C imported it into Spain. It then conquered Europe as an edible and medicinal plant.

Description
Linné, a famous swedish botanist fixed his name in 1753 Tropaeolum majus. In Europe, the plant exists in many varieties. Annual, it is sensitive to frost. Its flower (five petals) 3 to 5 centimeters varies from yellow or red.



Its size is adaptable to your garden: dwarf (30-50 cm) for your flower pots or climbing varities (several meters) on your walls ... or creeping as ground covers ...
It has another peculiarity ... it is waterproof, water do not wet the plant but it forms drops that slide ... It is called the lotus effect ...

The growth : seedlings or cuttings
Plant indoor in February and replant in April when the weather is ok. The nasturtium likes sunny places. The plant is fragile (the stem snaps easily ... avoid windy areas). If despite your good care, it breaks, put the cuttings in sheltered soil. In a few days you will have roots. The seeds are done in July, after flowering ... Let dry until next year.



Utility ... in gardens
Aphids: Organic gardeners love them .... Very useful for gardening, flowers attract aphids .... You will just burn have to burn the blackened flowers with insects.

In the kitchen
This plant is edible, everything is (from bud to flower, seeds and leaves ....). The leaves and flowers are considered as a stimulant, they taste like watercress. They are used as flavorings in salads ( peppery flavor). In Italy, they are used to decorate dishes of fish or meat. The fruit or soft buttons can be soaked in vinegar. It tastes like capers. Spanish people aromatize their vinegar with the flowers. They often add the tarragon and pepper.

Medicinal Properties
Essential oil has antibiotic effects .. It is also used against urinary infections or flu. Or to treat bruises: crush the leaves until you get an oil. Brush the blue. It itches a little.

Sources : Wikipédia Allemagne, Espagne, France, Grande Bretagne, Italie et Portugal. Sources: Wikipedia Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Portugal.

Read it in French : Plante ornementale et décorative, aromatique et comestible : la capucine

Buckwheat is nice for food allergy : gluten free is the flour and the recipe does not use milk (and lactose !). It is also a recipe vor vegetarians.

Ingredients

330g of buckwheat flour (Brittany produces organic buckwheat flour, you know !)
75 cl water
Salt
a bilig (or a pan)



15 minutes to a few hours

Pour slowly in a big bowl water into your flour. Mix with a wooden spoon and be careful with lumps.

You have to whip it 100 times with your wooden spoon. The more it will be whipped, the lightest it will be.

Wait 15 minutes to a few hours to use it.
In a pan, melt some butter and pour a laddle of your sauce.
When one side is done, grap the borders of the galette and flip it.
Add the fillings you want.

In Brittany, we don’t fill it a lot as we think we don’t enjoy the galette anymore when it has too much flavors.

Read it in French : Recette typique des galettes de blé noir en Bretagne

Sloe or Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) is a small bush that grows in hedges in Brittany (France). It blooms between March and April. They can help against a difficult digestion or a light constipation.

No wonder as Blackthorn is the brother of the plum tree.



The fisrt recipe is done with fresh flowers.

Massage oil done with fresh flowers of Blackthorn (digestion).

Ingredients :
One third fresh flowers of Blackthorn
Two third of olive oil (better an organic one)
3 weeks

Once you picked the flowers, put them in oil. Open the bottle every day so that humidity will evaporate and the flowers won’t mould. Shake every day.
After three weeks, use it to massage your tummy when you have digestive disorders. You can use it for your children too.

Recipe of herbal tea with sloe flowers (constipation).

Once you’ve dried the flowers, you need : 2 teaspoons in simmering water. Let it infuse for 10 minutes. Drink it 3 times a day during a week.

Read it in French : Recette d'huile de massage et recette d'infusion à base de felurs de prunelliers

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

Apple cider vinegar (organic!) is quite nice to use for small pains… It is a “remède de grand mère” as we say in French, a home remedy... I know I had a great grandmother…

Hematomas and bruises : heat 5 tablespoons of vinegar with a teaspoon of salt. Soak a cotton ball and dab the bruise.

Sunburns : gently dab the burn with vinegar. You can also dilute a dose of water to vinegar and spray on your skin.

Insect Bite : dab the bite with vinegar. To make them fly : dilute the same amount of vinegar and water and coat the body. Hmm, what a perfume ...

Lumbago : soak a linen cloth with an equal portion of cider vinegar and water. Dab on the painful place and tighten it with a woolen cloth. Replace often.
You can also have a hot bath (add a cup of vinegar).

Migraines : dip a paper bag in vinegar. Place the bag over the head and tighten with a tissue. Keep on your head 15 minutes.

Nosebleeds : soak a cotton ball with vinegar and put in the nostril.

Cough : drink a full glass of water in which you have diluted 2 teaspoons vinegar.

Feet (horns): wash horns with vinegar and leave on it for 15 minutes.

Foot (fungus) : treatment of minimum 6 weeks. Several times a day, dab the fungus with vinegar or with an equal mixture of vinegar and garlic juice (it smells so good!).

Verruca : Bath 15 minutes in water. When the verruca is soft, dab with vinegar and let soak.

Read it in French : Santé au naturel : les bienfaits du vinaigre de cidre

TRUE OU FALSE

The island of Batz was connected to the mainland during the Iron Age (8th to 6th BC)
A village is buried in the east of the island
The island has never sent a soldier to the Army
The lighthouse of Batz has 500 steps
Enez Vaz means Dragon Island
Algae have replaced the trees on the island
British people settled fortifications on Batz
The island is a paradise for early vegetables and organic farmers

By bike or on foot, go and get the answers ...



The island of Batz was connected to the mainland during the Iron Age (8th to 6th BC) ?
Yes, you could walk there at low tide. Last century, thirty neolithic graves (4000 years old) were discovered by Georges Delaselle, the founder of the colonial garden. He dug a hole, protected by a hedge of cypress and pine trees, on the east end of the island (where the garden is now) to house his exotic plants.

A village is buried in the east of the island.
Yes, the present village (where the ferry arrives) is recent.
Until the 17th century, the village was located on the east side of the island, where are the prehistoric tombs. This place may have been continuously inhabited since the Iron Age, as other traces of human presence were found. In any case, the village is covered by 6 feet of dunes.

You’ll understand better if you go to the chapel of St. Anne. This Romanesque church is half hidden in the dunes.



Its square pillars replaced the monastery built by Pol Aurelian, a Welsh arrived in the 5th century to convert Britain. Towards 530, he created a monastery then destroyed by the Vikings in 878.
At the end of the 11th century, when calm has returned the monks rebuilt a church.
When the sands were threatening, it has been gradually abandoned for the Kernoc’h bay. The ruins of the church have been used as an artillery warehouse shortly before and after the French Revolution. Today a mass in the open air is celebrated for Sainte Anne (Holy Ann) end of July The chapel and the cemetery are listed since 1980.

The island has never sent a soldier to the Army.
That is how the tourist guide Joanne (1884) presents the island. On this island, all men are sailors. The soil is grown exclusively by women. And some of them let their name in the history of Batz.
A native Yves Trémintin began to serve the State as a pilot. Soon, he fought with courage against pirates and lost a leg. He finished his life on his island limping ...
There is also a Portuguese privateer ... Balidar, who hated the English and therefore helped the French during the Revolution ... With his vessel, he was hidden in the channel and awaited the enemy ... The Batziens (inhabitants of Batz) prevented him when ships were in sign and he attacked.



The lighthouse of Batz has 500 steps.
It was built between 1836 and 1852. But you have to deserve it… 210 steps to climb…



Enez Vaz means Dragon Island
No, Bazh means in Breton language stick. And it has no link with the legend of the island…
There once was a dragon ... who was terrible.
In the early centuries of the Christian era, Pol Aurelian arrived in Batz to convert the island. The governor of the island begged the saint to set the island free from the monster ...
With the help of another gentleman, he went dressed in his priestly vestments, to the lair of the beast. There, without being intimidated by the wrath of the animal, he surrounded the neck of the dragon with a stole*. And led him to the sea where it disappeared.

On the north of the island, the place known as "Toul ar sarpent", the Trou du Serpent, still has the claw of the dragon printed in the stone.



The two heroes were rewarded. The gentleman was given the privilege to go to church with the sword to the side. As for Pol, he received many presents : a palace that he turned into a monastery. He also made some more miracles : a spring gushed out and healed 3 blind men, two mutes and a paralyzed.
Around the year 600, he was buried in Saint-Pol-de-Léon.
*The stole is retained in the new church of Batz.

Sometimes in Brittany, in legends, snakes replace dragons (because dragons were frequently linked with fairies and fairies are not working all over). The serpent is also more familiar and therefore more credible. These legendary figures are in any case often a symbol of the pagan religions that have to disappear...

Algae have replaced the trees on the island ...
There were very few trees on the island ... Islanders used algae and cow pats dried in the sun as combustible to cook or heat the houses (Tourist guide Joanne, 1884).
The more difficult was to harvest them… at low tide or in water up to the knee, women pulled wrack out of the sea ... Not always easy ... being a woman in Batz!

Today the harvest is done by tractors



or with scoubidous these strange boats, with long arms that gather laminars on the seabed.

British people settled fortifications on Batz
Yes, there are many vestiges of fortification against the English…
4 batteries (18th C) used to defend the Bay of Morlaix : the Penn Ar C'hleguer one is after the exotic garden, the battery Bilvidic, on the opposite edge and the other two on the remaining points.
There are also remnants of the Atlantic Wall (German defensive system of the Second World War) with bunkers .... But the vegetation today hides them well ....

The island is a paradise for early vegetables and organic farmers
The parcels are sheltered by small walls or hedges and fertilized by seaweed. Potatoes, fennel, rhubarb grow ... with a few weeks ahead… early agriculture. 3 harvests a year, sometimes the collection is done by hand.
Half of the island is grown in organic agriculture.
The island deserves its label…

Read it in french : Les histoires de l'ile de Batz : prétexte à une balade