Half the pleasure of a self-catering cottage or a farm stay is the kitchen itself: no set dinner sitting, no queue for a table, just you, a scrubbed wooden table and whatever the fields, hedgerows and coastline nearby have to offer. The secret to a relaxing week is keeping the cooking simple, so the washing-up is quick and the afternoons stay free for walking, swimming and exploring.

Start with a Sensible Shop

Before you unpack the car, have a quick look in the cupboards. Cottage kitchens are usually better stocked than you expect, and you will often find salt, oil, tea, coffee, foil and a tin or two of beans left behind by previous guests. No point buying a second bottle of olive oil you will only have to carry home again.

Then head for the nearest farm shop, village store or honesty box. A sensible first shop covers the basics for the whole week:

• Olive oil, butter, sea salt and black pepper
• Onions, garlic and a bag of new potatoes
• Dried pasta, rice and a tin of chopped tomatoes
• Stock cubes, flour and a good loaf of bread
• Milk, eggs and a decent block of cheese

If you are driving to the cottage, it is worth packing a sharp knife, a peeler and a small bottle of your favourite oil. Dull cottage knives are the single most common cause of holiday cooking misery.

Hearty Breakfasts to Set You Up

Farm stays and rural cottages often come with eggs that were laid the day before, and they deserve better than a rushed slice of toast. Baked eggs are the easiest treat: butter a small dish, add a spoonful of tomatoes or spinach, crack in two eggs, add a splash of cream and bake at 190°C (gas mark 5) for about twelve minutes.

For a crowd, try a full breakfast in one tin. Toss sausages, bacon, halved tomatoes and mushrooms with a little oil in a roasting tin, roast at 200°C (gas mark 6) for twenty minutes, then crack eggs among the vegetables and return to the oven for five or six minutes. One tin, no frying pan, and everyone eats at the same time.

Porridge made with milk and finished with local honey, grated apple or toasted oats is warming on a damp morning. If you have eggs and milk to use up, whisk a jug of batter for drop scones or pancakes — children will happily eat them with butter and jam while you pack the rucksack.

One-Pot Suppers for Easy Evenings

After a long day on the coast path, nobody wants a sink full of pans. These three suppers cover most moods and use very little equipment.

• Chicken and chorizo traybake: chicken thighs, halved new potatoes, red pepper, red onion, a few slices of chorizo, lemon wedges, thyme and olive oil. Roast at 200°C (gas mark 6) for 40–45 minutes, turning once. Serve with a bag of salad.
• Sausage and butter bean casserole: brown good sausages in a deep pan, soften an onion and a carrot, then add a tin of butter beans, a tin of tomatoes, a splash of stock and a pinch of smoked paprika. Simmer for 25 minutes and eat with crusty bread.
• Fish baked in foil: whole mackerel or white fish fillets laid on sliced fennel or courgette with lemon and butter, wrapped tightly and baked at 200°C for 15–20 minutes. New potatoes on the side.

Vegetarians are well served by a one-pot orzo: soften onion and courgette, add garlic, orzo, a tin of tomatoes and stock, simmer until tender, then stir through spinach and crumbled feta.

Picnics, Flasks and Packed Lunches

A cool bag and two frozen ice blocks, popped into the freezer compartment overnight, will keep lunch fresh all day. Add a flask of tea or coffee and you have saved yourself the price of a mediocre café stop.

Things that travel well include wedges of tortilla or frittata, cold sausages, pork pie, a lump of strong cheddar, oatcakes, chutney, apples and flapjack. For sandwiches, stick to fillings that survive a warm car: cheese and pickle, ham and mustard, or hummus with roasted pepper. Anything heavy on mayonnaise is best eaten at the cottage.

Wrap everything in greaseproof paper or reusable boxes, take a large bottle of water, and remember to carry your rubbish home. On a breezy beach, a rug and a windbreak turn a hasty sandwich into a proper occasion.

Shop Local, Cook Plainly

The best meals on a cottage holiday are usually the simplest. Buy what is in season and cook it without fuss: asparagus in May, strawberries in June, runner beans in late summer, mussels in any month with an “r”.

Keep an eye out for honesty boxes at farm gates, pick-your-own fields and harbour fishmongers selling the morning’s catch. Ask the cottage owner or farmer where the best butcher and baker are — they will know, and the answer is rarely the nearest supermarket.

Getting to Grips with an Unfamiliar Kitchen

Cottage ovens run hot, cold or wildly uneven, so check anything you bake five minutes early and turn the tin halfway through. If you are unsure, a cheap oven thermometer earns its place in the suitcase.

Cook in the same pot where you can, rinse it between courses rather than hunting for a second pan, and read the instructions before using an induction hob — a pan that does not sit flat will simply refuse to heat. Keep meals short, use what you have bought, and save your energy for the beach.