Author: Alison Kay

I finally got serious beef marrow bones locally and I’m using the marrow fat in everything…on toast, to fry, in bakes and to add a beautiful touch to warm grain salads.
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Turns out in the past, in England, bone marrow was used to make a forerunner of rice pudding – with sugar and spices. See my story today for the details.
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What’s your favourite way to eat marrow?
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Thank you @fontedeiserri for the amazing bones (and fat and meat!)

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Do you have this book? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the shear number of recipes in it?
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I remember when I got my copy of Nourishing Traditions. I wanted to make *everything* in it!! A decade later, I haven’t managed that feat, but I do have favourite, go-to recipes that I make over and over again. And so does my podcast co-host @farmandhearth.
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Listen in to today’s @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode to hear us share the six recipes we love the most in this amazing ancestral food bible.
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We’ll tell you why we love them and share our tips on making them. Once you’ve listened you’ll be enthused and inspired to bring them to life in your own world!

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Fermented food waste grew this chard!
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I have a tiny, container-only patio garden with no space for making compost. Last year, I started making bokashi – that is fermenting my food waste. Come winter, I dug the fermented scraps (including bones, cooked food, cheese as well as veg scraps) into my containers and left them to ‘sleep’ until Spring.
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Having no idea whether it had worked, I planted beets, carrots, borage, calendula, parsnips, buckwheat and more into the containers a few months back. They’ve dug their roots into the ferment and are doing really well!
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This is my second chard harvest (I thought I was growing beets, but seems the greens are doing amazingly too). Going to steam and eat with some sausages and bread for lunch.
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If you’ve thought about making bokashi, I’d give it the thumbs up.

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Bread that converts non-believers!
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I took this rye bread (which is a beautifully sweet Russian-style loaf) to a friend’s house last week. She bought some ‘normal’ bread as she has historically disliked rye.
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She (and her children) tried it and we completely converted. I left the rest of it there and she’s asked for more.
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Besides liking the compliment, I’m glad she wants more as I have a freezer full of rye sourdough bread!! I’ve been working on my upcoming rye course for @thefermentationschool for months and I think I can see the light at the end…maybe two more days of filming to go!
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If you’re near Florence and like rye sourdough (or even if you think you *don’t* like rye!) I’ll happily give you a loaf. It’s great with avocado and sumac, as I’m eating for lunch today.

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Yesterday’s oxtail made the most amazing supper with a slice of sourdough bread generously coated with lard.
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After I’d finished eating, I sat down to read Dorothy Hartley’s classic, Food in England, which @charlieb_eattheearth recommended. As if by magic, I landed on the ‘Oxtail Pot’ and ‘Oxtail Soup’ recipes. Now I want to have another go! And I’m looking forward to chatting about the possibilities with @farmandhearth in our next ’round-the-table’ patreon-exclusive podcast.
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There’s a video of the falling-off-the-bone meat in my feed yesterday and lots more pics in my nose-to-tail highlight.
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As always, thank you @valledelsasso for the oxtail and the backfat and the incredible work you do.
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If you make oxtail, let me know what you do with it!

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Did you grow up with tins of oxtail soup in the cupboard?!
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Here’s my first foray into ‘proper’ oxtail.
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If you want to taste (and I’m telling you, it’s delicious!) do the following:
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Purchase an oxtail from a farmer doing good things (thank you @valledelsasso).
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Fry it till sealed, adding some red wine to the pan at the end.
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Transfer to a slow-cooker or big pot on low. Add water, root veg and a bit of tomato paste. Leave it to do its thing.
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Remove when falling off bone. Eat as is, with the stock (which is crazily-good) or shred and mix into dishes, or blend and make soup.
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I’m doing this again in future. It’s much, much better than the tinned soup of my childhood 🙂
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Lots more pics and videos in my story today which will be saved to my nose-to-tail highlight if you’re here later.

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New video: How to make crunchy pig skin.
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These treats are light, ridiculously crunchy and so good. And they are made from pig skin…something that, before @mereleighfood showed me what was possible, I would have discarded.
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Watching the frankly magical process of a pan of hot lard transforming dense leathery pig skin into puffy ‘ancestral popcorn’ is a wonder. Having made these, I’m asking my farmer for the skin every time now 🙂
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I’ve made a video showing step-by-step what I do. You can find it (and written instructions) by clicking on the first button in the ‘recipes’ section of my profile link.

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I strive to create beauty with my food explorations and I love it when someone takes my version of beauty and makes something even better by adding theirs!
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Mary at @bigbank2riverbank took my sowans course over the @thefermentationschool and look what she’s made! My pics made me swoon…thank you Mary, can’t wait to see what you make next!

Reposted from @bigbank2riverbank Sowans sourdough and a swig of swats. Say that ten times fast!

Or don’t and just make this beautiful and healthy ancient fermented ‘haute’ oat cuisine that I continue to be excited to have learned about through @ancestral_kitchen and @thefermentationschool.

This is a wheat and malted buckwheat loaf with a sowans scald (fermented oat endosperm), for a distinctly zingy taste and super soft crumb, as well as swats (the resulting probiotic drink) as part of its high hydration. Finally, it’s coated in the oat flakes and fermented overnight.
A mini loaf that packs a punch of delicious flavours -my Munro ancestors would be pleased.

#sowans #swats #sourdoughbaker #fermentista #scottishfood #zerowaste #sourdough #buckwheatmalt #baker #fermentedoats #fermentationschool

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