8 reasons to visit Normandy in Winter

I may have said this before but a holiday is not just for summer.  Winter breaks, and I am not talking skiing, can be just as fun and give you a real boost in the darker time of year.  If you are wondering where to go, then might I suggest Normandy?  Come and stay in our gite - Eco-Gites of Lenault.

8 Reasons to Visit Normandy in Winter

Winter walks

Wrap up warm, done your wellies or walking boots and head out for a winter walk.  A huge network of paths start right from the gite's back gate taking you through stunning countryside whatever the season.  With no leaves on the trees the wildlife can be easier to spot and you may be lucky to catch sight of red squirrels, deer, hares as well as birds a plenty.

Eco-Gites of Lenault is also only an hour from the beach if you fancy a seaside stroll to blow away the cobwebs ... maybe you'd even be as brave as the boys and go for a winter dip.  Would you?

Less crowded tourist sites

Many of Normandy's main tourist sites are open virtually all year including Mont St Michel, The Bayeux Tapestry, Falaise Castle (closed Jan) and towns such as Honfleur, Deauville and Caen will all be much quieter with fewer tourists around.  I have been to the Tapestry in Bayeux in summer when I queued for a hour to get in and was pushed round at quite a speed by the crowds and then in winter when I walked straight in and could admire the Tapestry at my leisure.  I know which visit I preferred.

Do always check opening times, though, as a few places close for winter maintenance and many have shorter opening hours.

Shopping

Why not visit Normandy for a pre-Christmas break and stock up on French Christmas presents?  You will find delightful markets where you can buy from local artisans and in towns the shops windows are beautifully decorated.  You could take home local cider or Calvados, French cheeses to adorn your festive cheese board and any number of other local food delicacies.

 
After Christmas you have the winter sales (soldes d’hiver).  In France shops are legally obliged to runs sales from a specific dates starting in January for 6 weeks.  You'll find some fabulous bargains with much stock reduced by 30-50% and often as much as 70%.  Stores are not allowed to bring specific stock on for the sales and so the reductions will be on merchandise that was already for sale in the preceding weeks/months.  It really can be a fabulous tome to pick up some fantastic bargains on everything from clothes to DIY supplies.

Food

Just because it is winter most restaurants* will still be open and you will have no difficulties getting a reservation at your favourite.  You can also treat yourself a typically French January dessert of a galette des rois.  Traditionally this desert is served on January 6th but it is available to buy all through January and consists of a double payer of buttery puff pastry with a almond paste sandwiched between the two.  

The reason it is even more special is on account of the small fève hidden inside.  A fève is a broad bean seed which used to be hidden in the galette but has been replaced by a small figurine nestled in the paste.  Who-ever gets the slice with the fève inside becomes King or Queen for the day and gets to wear the crown that is always supplied with the galette.  Whilst all supermarkets sell these desserts I would recommend paying a bit more and getting one from a local bakery as the quality will be infinitely better.  Our local bakers in the next village (Aux Delices De Saint Pierre) has recently come under new management and their bread and cakes are superb.  I know where I will be buying my galettes des rois this January coming!  Oh and if you are not keen on almonds most places also sell fruit versions.

*Our local pizzeria in Lenault (yes, we now have a pizzeria in the village called La Table des 2Ifs) is not open in the winter but book yourself a trip here from April onwards and it will be for Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime pizzas.

Events

Normandy does not close down for winter and there are still lots of events, exhibitions and festivals taking place.   How about an evening tour of the villages and town taking part in the Christmas illuminations or The Granville Festival in February?  Many towns like Falaise also have pre-Christmas firework displays.

Cheaper Travel

If you are travelling to France from the UK then ferry and train prices will be less than in peak summer period.  Don't forget that we have a code to give you up to 20% off with Brittany Ferries and if you are bring a dog then some of their ferries into Le Havre have dog friendly cabins.  The roads will also be very quiet so you will have no queues going through the tolls. 

Warming wood burner

With night falling early and after your walk, you have the perfect excuse to curl up in front of the wood burner with your favourite drink.  You can watch a film, play a board game, read a good book (or a really trashy one!) and totally relax .... remember too that with the hour difference between France and the UK if you are used to it falling dark at 4pm, here in Normandy that won't happen until 5pm so you can make that walk a bit longer if you want.

Lambs

Our sheep are due to give birth in late winter and who can resist seeing adorable lambs when on holiday?

If you want to take advantage of a trip to Normandy in Winter, Eco-Gites of Lenault is open all year to warmly welcome guests.  A week will set you back just £360 which for 5 people works out at only £10 per person per night.   For couples we also offer a discount of 15% if only 2 people stay (which can include an infant under 12 months).

Please click here to visit our website or send us an email for more information by clicking here.

Book your Holiday Direct with the Owner

As I wrote about in the previous blog to this one, there are changes afoot in the holiday advertising business that may not be to the advantage of small private owners like us here at Eco-Gites of Lenault.  Rather than sit by and watch our bookings fall, a group of holiday home owing friends and myself have got together to organise a new way to book your self catering holiday - a Facebook group called "Book your Holiday Direct with the Owner".

It is a very simple way of finding a holiday that suits you and enables holiday makers to deal direct with owners and not pay any commission or booking fees.

Holiday Makers

Please come and join our group to where you have 2 ways to help you find a holiday:

Photo Albums

Look through the relevant albums based on where you want to go and what type of holiday you want and contact the owner via their Facebook  page or website

Posts to the Group

Place a post on the group timeline asking for the type of holiday you would like.  Owners will respond and other holiday makers can make suggestions.

Holiday Home Owners

Owners of quality holiday homes and B&Bs in the UK and France are welcome to join the group.  Once a member you will have 2 ways of promoting your holidays:

Photo Albums

We have created a series of photo albums based on location and property type ie child friendly, good for walkers etc. Owners can place one photo in each album together with a short description and links to their Facebook page and webpage. 

Posts to the Group

You can post about your holiday property/special offers/latest availability etc ONCE a day on the group's wall.

Who can join

Self catering cottages and gites
B&Bs
Quality lodges
All properties need to be in the UK and France
At this time however we are not accepting static caravans.

So come on, what are you waiting for:

Owners - come and be part of a new way to sell your holidays. 

Holiday makers  - if you don't like paying commission and you like dealing direct with holiday home owners come and join "Book your Holiday Direct with the Owner" right now! 

How people book their holidays.

Posted by Rosie

I recently compiled a small survey to try and find out a bit more about how people book their self catering holidays as obviously this affects how and where we advertise Eco-Gites of Lenault.  It also came on the back of big changes taking place at one of the main booking sites we use, Owners Direct.  Whilst some improvements will benefit owners like us many others will not. We are particularly unhappy with:

Instant Quotes

Owners Direct will soon be giving Instant Quotes to holiday makers based on the information we input onto our site. However this will not be able to take account of variations in price based on so many factors such as different rates for short breaks, special offers and different prices for different numbers of people staying.  We simply cannot understand why Owners Direct want to do this.  The whole ethos of Owners Direct is that holiday makers deal directly with the owner without any middle man.  In the past this has worked very well for holiday makers and owners alike.

Book Now Buttons

Holiday makers will be able to hit a book now button and book their holiday without any contact first with the owner. This may involve a booking fee/commission added on to this price.

Tiered advertising fees

At the moment when a holiday maker puts in their search criteria to Owners Direct a random  list of suitable properties comes up but soon this list will be affected by a number of things. Some make sense i.e. the quality of the advert, whether the availability calendar is regularly updated and properties with good reviews appearing higher up lists (although the latter is unfair if you are just starting out and have no reviews).  Some are less fair and/or it is less clear if they will be used i.e. properties that allow credit card payments may appear higher up the lists.  There is, however, one factor that is completely unfair - owners will be able to pay for 5 levels of advertisement from the current classic listing (just under £300 per year) through bronze, silver, gold and up to platinum.  The more you pay, the higher you appear in the listings. A platinum listing will cost just short of £900 per year.  This amount is completely beyond the reach of most owners like us but is within the budget of the agencies who are now also allowed to advertise on Owners Direct.

With these changes afoot I compiled the survey to try and glean a bit more information about how people like to book their self catering holidays.  Thank you to everyone who kindly filled it in.  Some results really jumped out at me:

Book Now Buttons

We are on one site with a book now button and have just, last night, received our first booking through the site.  I do, however, wonder if people actually don't like this method and do like to talk to the owner before parting with what can be a considerable sum of money.

Would you use a Book Now button?

36.1% - No
32.3% -Maybe
31.9% - Yes 

What attracts holiday makers to a particular holiday rental site?

What do people like about the particular sites they use to book a holiday?

Thinking about the rental site you go to first when looking for a holiday, why do you choose this site?

50.6% - Deal direct with the owner
30.5% - Do not pay commission
22.5% - Other
19.5% - My payment is protected

Finding properties

How do holiday makers like their search results to be listed?

By what method do you like your searches to appear on a holiday rental site after you have clicked on your criteria? (Multiple choice)

72.2% - Random list
69.1% - Those with better reviews at the top
5.6% - Those which accept credit/debit card payments at the top
1.9% - Those properties where owners have paid more to be listed higher at the top

Which of the above points do you most like?

50.6% - Reviews
48.8% - Random
0.6% - Credit/debit card
0% - Tiered  

Commission

In these financially hard times would people prefer to pay commission and in doing so protect their holiday from, for example, scammers or misrepresented  properties?

How do you feel about paying commission on your holiday?

63.9% - I dislike paying commission
36.1% - I don’t mind paying it if it gives my booking security  

Summary

From my (probably not at all statistically significant) survey I can conclude that:

• There are mixed views on using a book now button 
• Over 50% of respondents want to deal direct with the owner
• Having lists of properties appear either randomly or those with good reviews first are preferred and NO-ONE wanted them according to how much the advertiser had paid
• Almost 2/3 of holiday makers do not like paying commission.

All in all then, Owners Direct are not heading in a direction that suits many holiday makers and owners like us.  We have until our subscription runs out at the end of the year to see how they perform for us but in the meantime, myself a group of friends are getting together to offer a new way to book your holiday - via Facebook.

We have created a Group where owners can promote their properties and holiday makers can search through the properties, which are grouped according to location and type. They can also put a call out on the group for a particular type of holiday.  It's called "Book your Holiday Direct with the Owner".  Do head on over and join if you either book self catering/B&B holidays or provide these in the UK or France.  All holidays advertised will be commission free and you'll get to talk directly with the owner before making you final decision.

MICRO PIGS DO NOT EXIST

Posted by Rosie

MICRO PIGS DO NOT EXIST

Sorry if I shouted that but it is something that needs to be shouted until everyone understands it is true.

There is a video going round Facebook at the moment with some tiny piglets being played with in a house somewhere.  Under it is the comment "I officially want a pig.", followed by a lot more comments.  These comments range from the "Aww so cute, I want a Micro Pig," ones to the more cross ones saying "Pigs should not be played with like toys." In between are a good few saying nobody knows why these piglets are being played with and we should not get cross with some unknown person for posting a 30 second video of playing piglets.

Well suffice it to say, I belong firmly in the "piglets should not be being played with like toys" with camp and this is why.

There are in fact two issues that get my back up here - one of actual mistreatment of animals and one of using the internet to further publicise something that does not exist for financial gain.

Mistreatment first.  The piglets in this video are young.  VERY young, probably no more than a day old as they are not walking properly and one still has it's umbilical cord attached.  These piglets should be with their siblings (if there are any) and with Mum, bonding with her and getting the colostrum that will help protect them from future infections. Instead they are being played with in a house and she is nowhere to be seen.  This is blatant mistreatment and the sow may well be very distraught being separated from them or worse still could reject them when they are returned to her.  OK, so it is possible that Mum died whilst farrowing (giving birth) but in that case the piglets should all be together in a suitable barn, being bottle fed and looked after in the manner befitting a farm animal, not played with like toys.

Which brings me to the second point of misinformation.  For several years now some breeders having been mating small pig breeds in an attempt to try and breed increasingly small piglets which they then sell as so called Micro Pigs (sometimes also called teacup pigs) with a very high price tag attached.  A quick search on Google revealed several adverts for micro pigs with price tags from £120-£550, all stating they would make good pets.  Now in my book a pet does rather imply animal that shares your house and I can assure you it is very rare that a pig settles well into a house environment.  OK so have them in the garden which will be fine if you want your garden completely trashed and in all likelihood your pigs escaping.  Whilst one site I found did mention the CPH number you will need to get from Defra in order to legally own a pig in the UK others did not.  One also suggested that pigs should be sold in pairs (at the "reduced" price of £1000 for 2) as they are sociable but did not insist upon it.  Ah and many "guaranteed" that your pigs would stay small, no more than 14" high was one claim.  Hmmmm.  Sadly I am aware of countless stories of people buying so called micro pigs that then grow, and grow and well .... grow!  And to be honest, even if a pig stays at the 14" height they can be quite capable of throwing their weight around and having you over.  Think of an animal the size of a medium dog but 2-3 times as strong. 

Micro Pigs are not a recognised breed and reading the websites I have found where they are for sale there is a lot of both conflicting and misleading information out there.  But let me summarise it as this ... 

Pigs of any sort do not make excellent pets, they should never live alone and there is no guarantee that they will stay the small size as advertised. 

Returning then to the video.  The person who took it may not be a breeder of micro pigs, I don't know.  However the way they are treating these newborn animals is more than wrong, it is cruel and people need to be aware of this fact.  This type of video with images of cute, young and very small piglets also serves to further add credence to they myth that micro pigs exist and they make great pets where in fact this is just not true.

As you may know we keep and breed pigs for meat.  They are a small breed called Kune Kune but by small that still means our boar weights well over 120 kgs and even our smallest pig, the knee high Peardrop has had me flat on my back in the mud whilst pushing to get to her food.  Our piglets which were born less than a fortnight ago are already out and about, hurtling round their pig pens like mad things.  If you can catch them some quite like a cuddle but others definitely do not and squeal and wriggle furiously until you put them down.  As for their future, some will be sold on for people to grow them on before slaughering them and we will keep the rest for the same reason.  Of our other pigs, Charlotte, our naughtiest one, may break out again and find her way into the house but she will not be welcome (click here and scroll down to see what a pig looks like in your front room) and Peardrop may well have me over in the mud again.  

Pigs are great fun to have on a smallholding but they are not house pets and they are not micro pigs.  They do not exist!

Small but NOT micro piglets!

Wednesday Wonderings - Cheddar v Camembert

Posted by Rosie

Should the French be selling more Cheddar?

As I grated cheddar cheese into Tom's wrap for his picnic lunch (he is doing the inter-school cross country run today), I got to thinking about some comments I had seen on the web about how awful it was that France doesn't sell cheddar.  In fact it is available in many supermarkets, albeit in small and quite overpriced packets and sometimes in a somewhat worrying rather orange colour.  But should France be selling more of Britain's favourite cheese, as many people were bemoaning, as well as Stilton, Caerphilly, Crowdie and all the others you can buy "back home"?

Image from BBC

France is very proud of it's national identity and French resistance to change is deeply ingrained.  They have the Académie Française that does it's best to prevent anglicised words slipping into the language although, despite their best efforts, the likes of weekend, camping car, sandwich, stop etc are all used quite happily by the French population.  On the question of food some French believe that their food is the finest in the world and they should not be selling "inferior" produce from around other countries in the (quite possibly) mistaken belief that nothing can be as good as their own.  They also strongly believe in their cultural identity, the likes of camembert et al doing much to retain this.  But is this reticence to sell more cheddar simply because they actually believe their cheeses are unsurpassed and they must retain their cultural identity no matter what or are they worried that if shops begin to sell a wide range of British cheeses, many of which are very different to French cheeses, they will see the people move away from Camembert, Port Salut and Roquefort and enjoy these foreign imports.   I don't know.

What I do believe is that France should not have to sell Cheddar or cheese from any other country if it doesn't want to.  They should have the choice.  In doing so you will always know for sure that you are in a French supermarket as the cheese aisle will always be (mostly) full of French cheeses.  However from an economic position I think they are being very short-sighted in not to be selling something that the vast numbers of tourists and ex-pats would so readily buy and something I believe many French people would enjoy.  We stock up on cheddar when we return from trips to England but wouldn't have to if it was readily available here at a competitive price and where-by we would be putting money directly into the French economy.  

Not selling cheddar may well then be a case of French pride shooting itself in the foot.  Simply refusing to sell something because it is not what you have done in the past or because you think your product is better or because you are worried it will outsell French products does not make for great economic sense.   I do not know if cheddar and the likes would ever outstrip Camembert in French cheese sales but I do reckon sales would do well as more French people discover that a cheddar sandwich, eaten on a weekend trip out in their camping car isn't actually as horrible as they might think!  Stop!!  They might even find Branston pickle tastes good too!

Cheddar and Camembert - should they be sharing shelf space in French shops?

What do you think about this?  Do you miss cheddar when you come to France or do you relish the chance to buy French cheese?

La Cavalcade Multicoloré - Calvados' Decorated Horses

Posted by Rosie

When we were up at Caen recently, at The Chambre de Commerce we were greeted by this rather splendid horse:

Marcel

Simon was then up at Ouistrehan (Caen) ferry port and saw this one:

Jules

I  love the way they have included the Keep Calm logo but subtly changed the crown for the 2 lions of Normandy!

A friend saw one at Macdonalds and we saw these 2 on a roundabout.  Sorry, terrible photo taken out of a moving car early in the morning!  

We therefore assumed that there might be others.  In fact there are 45, all life sized, many decorated and all located around the department of Calvados.  They are there as part of the celebrations for the World Equestrian Games that took place in Calvados in September. The leaflet we found said that they would be in place until mid-September but obviously some are still there.  We also saw this one at the Château de Caen but the others that had been there were no longer in place unfortunately.  I do hope some stay longer though, as they really are rather impressive.

Equitation

I know about similar installations in the UK - there were the Olympic Mascots and the Grommit (From Wallace and ... ).  I was also pointed towards another equine cavalcade, this time in Newmarket and celebrating the winners of the 2000 guineas.  Thanks Lisa for the link to your blog and pictures of these horse.  So are there any more like this you have seen, in the UK or elsewhere?

Free things to do in Calvados, France

Posted by Rosie

Coming on holiday does not always have to be expensive.  Going self catering can be a cheaper option and once at your destination there are plenty of free things you can do.  Calvados in Normandy is no exception.  When I started to look into what free things there are to do close to Eco-Gites of Lenault I thought it would just be one blog but in fact there is so much I will have to write several!

Here then is a summary of what to expect over the coming weeks:

1. Visits related to World War II

Normandy played a pivotal role in World War II and with thousands of troops landing on the beaches of Calvados and Manche on June 6th 1944, the Allies began to regain control of Europe from the Nazis.  There are many places you can visit to learn about and remember this time - the beaches themselves, significant battle sites, cemeteries and visitor centres.  Click here for more details.

2. Heritage Sites

The rich history of Calvados stretching back to before William the Conqueror is celebrated in it's many buildings.  From the great cathedral at Bayeux to a tiny chapel just down the road from here, there are free visits you can make to churches, abbeys, castles and stately homes.

The church at Lenault

 

3. Open Spaces

One of France's long distance footpaths (GR221) passing our back gate and there are miles of paths and countryside to explore.  Many designated wildlife and natural areas are free to visit as well as gardens and open farms.

Calvados countryside

 

4. Routes that guide you through the history and culture of Calvados

Calvados has a number of guided driving routes to guide you round the best of what the region has to offer.  These include WWII routes, a cider route and a tour of Swiss Normandy.

 

5. Free events, festivals, museums and art galleries

Throughout the year free events take place across Calvados. Food festivals celebrate everything from the humble carrot to the opulent scallop; kite festivals take to the air and there are many art exhibitions and museums with no entry charges.

Dieppe Kite Festival

Over the next few weeks I will give more details of the many free things to do in Calvados. In the meantime if you have any particular favourite free visits you can recommend for this region, please do let us know.

7 Ways to Free Up Freezer Space

Posted by Rosie

Hopefully if you are a fruit or vegetable grower you will be bringing home the harvests now and probably having more produce than you can eat.  If you are freezing this excess there is a good chance you are suffering from:

FULL FREEZER SYNDROME!

Our rapidly filling freezer!

This can be a serious problem if you still have produce to store, but fear not, there are ways to free up freezer space so you can store more of your wonderful harvest without having to buy another freezer!

7 Ways to Free up Freezer Space

1.  Flash or Open Freezing

      
Flash freezing is a method of freezing certain vegetables and fruit so they remain separate or free flowing instead of freezing together in a solid mass.  It works well for large amounts of veg like peas and beans, and delicate fruits such as raspberries.  Prepare the produce as normal, blanching if needs be and then spread them out on a tray in a flat layer.  They can just touch as long as they are not too wet.  Place the tray in the freezer and once frozen slide the individual pieces into a freezer bag.  This way the loose produce will fit better into the freezer and you can use small amounts as needed rather than waiting for when you need to use a big amount.

Flash Freezing Raspberries

2. Use preformers

      
For "wet" produce eg stewed tomatoes/fruit etc, freezing in small plastic tubs works well but often this leaves empty head space in the tub.  Therefore once the product is frozen, pop it out of the plastic tub (the preformer) and place it in a plastic bag.  Now you are not freezing air and the tub can be used again to freeze more produce.  The pots to the left in the photo above are not ice-cream but are stewed red cabbage and ratatouille, waiting to be put into smaller plastic bags once fully frozen.

3.  Brick Freezing

      
If however you do not have a selection of small plastic tubs but you do have a large one you can use this method.  Place your produce in the large tub and once it is almost frozen, take it our of the freezer and cut it into suitably sized blocks, freezing these in individual plastic bags.

4.  Keep an inventory and label things well

The bane of every freezer owner, the bag of something unknown that slips to the bottom of the freezer and never gets eaten thus taking up valuable space.  If you keep an inventory and label your produce well, you can track what you have and use up old supplies before adding new.  I won't mention how I once found 7 year old Worcesterberries lurking in the bottom of our freezer .... !

5.  Make soups with less liquid

If you turn your vegetables into soups and stews make them with less water/stock and add this after defrosting. Just make sure you label what you need to add.

6.  Cook produce to reduce space

      
Some fruit and vegetables take up less space when cooked.  For example stew your rhubarb or roast your tomatoes and purée them, then freeze in preformers as detailed in point 2.

7.  Use other methods to preserve produce

     

Bottled passata, roasted tomatoes and fruit

Do not always think that freezing is the only method of long term preservation.   Here at Eco-Gites of Lenault I bottle a lot of fruit and passata.  Other methods you can use include making jam, pickles, chutneys, sauerkraut, wine, syrups, fruit vinegars or dehydrating produce.  Many vegetables such as parsnips and leeks will happily stay in the ground over winter and others such as pumpkins, potatoes and carrots, using the correct methods, can be stored overwinter without the need to freeze them. 

My friend at Colour It Green says she plays Freezer Tetris at this time of year - taking one thing out and trying to add two more and then spending ages trying to get everything into the freezer!  I so know this feeling and all I can say is it is nowhere near as fun and a lot colder than the computer game of Tetris! 

Are you reaching freezer saturation  point?  Do you have any other methods you have used to make more space in your freezer?  

7 reasons to visit Normandy in Autumn

Posted by Rosie

As we move through August there is a very slight hint of Autumn in the air:  the nights are a touch cooler, darkness falls a bit earlier and a few leaves are showing some Autumn colour.  Autumn is a great time to visit Eco-Gites of Lenault in Normandy this Autumn and here are some reasons why.

1. Often September days are lovely and warm here in Normandy and we usually get some good beaches visits during the month ... sometimes we even get hot weather in October as happened in 2011:

Ouistreham beach - October 2011

2.If the nights (or days) do turn a bit chilly the wood burner in the gite will keep you warm and cosy and there's a fire-guard if you need to keep little ones safe.  Snuggle up with a glass of wine and a good book, watch a film or play a board game.

The woodburner to keep you cosy

3. Most attractions are open and will be much quieter, so no long queues to get in or buy an ice-cream!  Bayeux, Mont St Michel, the D-Day Landing Beaches and Museums, Falaise Castle, Jurques Zoo, local art galleries and museums (the list goes on) are all within easy reach of the gite.  (Please note some attractions may have limited opening times).

4. There are plenty of special events, boot fairs, brocantes, festivals and one off activities to attend with more details here. 

African Music at Clécy - Sept 2010

5. You can go blackberry picking along the footpaths that start straight from our gate - great for crumbles, pies and jam but should you choose not to make jam we have plenty for sale.  If the blackberries are finished there are sloes for sloe gin, hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts to find. 

Blackberry crumble anyone?

6.  The countryside looks wonderful in Autumn - why not have a look at our Normandy in Autumn Pinterest Board.  Think fabulous leaf colours, orchards laden with apples and morning mist hanging in the valleys!

7. Finally, we have availability from now until October 17th 2015and Oct 31st to December 27th 2015 so there's still time to bag an Autumn holiday at Eco-Gites of Lenault.  Prices start from just £350 per week with short breaks possible.   We can also give you a code to get 20% off with Brittany Ferries crossings and offer 15% off if just 1 or 2 people stay (which can include a cot sleeping infant).  The gite sleeps 5 plus a baby.

For further details please click here to visit our website

or email us by clicking here 
or Telephone 0033 231 09 27 51 (up to 8pm UK/9pm French time please)

 

10 Tips to Cook more Efficiently

Posted by Rosie

With energy prices only ever heading upwards, we'd all love to cut our energy bills.  Here at 10 ways you can use your cooker for less energy expenditure (and be a bit greener at the same time!):

On the hob:

1. Use the smallest ring possible

Once something is boiling move the pan to the smallest ring and lowest setting to maintain the desired temperature. Never put a small pan on a large ring, you’re just wasting energy.

2.  Boil only what you need

When boiling water in the kettle or in a pan, only boil the amount you actually need. 

3.  Pan lids ON

Unless the recipe expressly says not to, always cook with the lid on. 

4.  One pot meals

Look to cook one pot meals where the whole dish is on one ring eg stews and make use of a steamer.

 

In the oven

5.  Oven pre-heating

When cooking something like a roast and other dishes that are in the oven for a long time, there is no need to pre-heat the oven. Exceptions to this rule are breads, cakes and pastries that need to be at the correct temperature to start cooking. 

6. Switching off the oven 

Switch the oven off 10mins before the end of cooking time and it will retain the necessary heat (But don’t open the door until the 10mins are up). Electric rings can also be turned off a few minutes before the end of cooking time. 

7.  Keep the oven door shut

Don't open the oven door to take a peek at what's cooking inside. Instead, keep the oven window clean and look through it to check on progress. Opening the oven door lowers the temperature inside - by as much as 25 degrees - which increases cooking time and is not energy efficient.

8. Fill up that oven

If the oven is on for one dish but there is space for more inside, bung something else in to fill the gap.  Either cook 2 of the same dish and freeze one for later or add something different i.e. a main course and a pudding both cooked in the oven at the same time.

Generally

9.  Quick cooking recipes

Look for quick cooking recipes – a search on the web will give lots of inspiration but if you still prefer to leaf through a book your local library should have a suitable book.

10.  Raw Food and Salads

Try including more raw foods in your diet. Lots of vegetables and fruits need no cooking and Summer is the perfect time for more salads.

Have you got any tricks to help reduce the amount of energy you use when cooking?  We can always include them in a later post!  And why not head over to the Thrifty Thursday linky and see what other money saving tips people have this week.

Around Eco-Gites of Lenault in July

Posted by Rosie 

10 pictures all taken around and about Eco-Gites of Lenault in July:

Matilda and ducklings

Open Air Concert at Le Château de Pontécoulant

  

Ripening Tayberries

Zoo de Jurques

Processing the tomato harvest

Messing about in the river below La Roche D'Oëtre

Medieval Fair at Le Château de Ganne

Fumée enjoying the sunshine

Bastille Day Fireworks

FUN!!

If you would like to have some of this July fun, we do still have a few short breaks available from the end of June and through to mid July:

Monday June 23rd -Friday June 27th

Sunday June 29th - Saturday 5th July

Saturday 12th July - Tuesday 15th July (Includes Bastille Day)

Thursday 17th July - Monday 21st July

Please visit our website for further details or email us for prices and how to book your Summer break here at Eco-Gites of Lenault.  You can also ring on 0033 231 09 27 51 (Up to 8pm UK/9pm French time please).