One of the quiet pleasures of a home swap is that you cook. Not every night, and never anything fancy, but a swap hands you a real kitchen, a local market, and the time to use both. It is the fastest way to feel like you live somewhere rather than visit it.
Start with the market day. Every village has one, and it tells you what the season is doing. Asparagus and the first cherries in spring, tomatoes and stone fruit at the height of summer, mushrooms and grapes in autumn. Buy what is piled high and cheap, and keep the cooking plain. The ingredients are usually good enough to carry the meal on their own.
Treat the kitchen you have been lent with care. Use what is offered, the good oil and the herbs by the door, and replace the staples you finish. Learn the quirks of an unfamiliar stove instead of fighting them. Most owners leave a note about a favourite pan or the bakery that sells out by nine, and it is usually worth following.
Leave something behind, too. Cook on the last evening and label the leftovers in the fridge, or leave a jar of something local with a recipe written on a card. Those small gifts become part of the next exchange's story, and they are why the same families end up swapping with each other for years.