Alison in Pictures

My life, body and eating habits have changed dramatically through the years. Here I share with you some pictures which hopefully help instill the idea that change is totally possible and by altering what we eat and how we live … Read More

There are some videos of this bread, steaming from the oven, in my story today. I could *not* leave it until cold. I’ve got pretty good self-control…but this was just too much! . It’s my latest lard bread experiment – rolled up sourdough spelt with cracklings left over from rendering lard inside. . Breads like this – with left over lard bits – have been made in Italy (and throughout the world) ancestrally. And tasting it, you’d know why. . If you want to have a go, use my sourdough spelt pizza base recipe (linked in profile) and follow the pictures in my story, sprinkling and rolling up. Then support in a loaf tin and cook at a temperature a little lower than you would a normal loaf. . Tell me if you make, or remember your family making breads with cracklings. I’d love to hear of other traditions.

There are some videos of this bread, steaming from the oven, in my story today. I could *not* leave it until cold. I’ve got pretty good self-control…but this was just too much!
.
It’s my latest lard bread experiment – rolled up sourdough spelt with cracklings left over from rendering lard inside.
.
Breads like this – with left over lard bits – have been made in Italy (and throughout the world) ancestrally. And tasting it, you’d know why.
.
If you want to have a go, use my sourdough spelt pizza base recipe (linked in profile) and follow the pictures in my story, sprinkling and rolling up. Then support in a loaf tin and cook at a temperature a little lower than you would a normal loaf.
.
Tell me if you make, or remember your family making breads with cracklings. I’d love to hear of other traditions.

Read More

The most common response I’ve had to people trying my slow-cooked beef heart recipe is, “It tastes like roast beef”. . It’s a shock. And it was for me the first time I tried it. Beef heart is delicious, and I just wasn’t expecting that! . My recipe, which is seriously hands-off, is up on the WAPF website. There’s a link to it in my profile. . Here’s today’s lunch: slices of the slow-cooked heart (bought from my #farmerman, Flavio @valledelsasso), steamed cauliflower (bought from Massi at @radiciumane) and slices of spelt sourdough (recipe also in my profile), spread generously with home-rendered lard.

The most common response I’ve had to people trying my slow-cooked beef heart recipe is, “It tastes like roast beef”.
.
It’s a shock. And it was for me the first time I tried it. Beef heart is delicious, and I just wasn’t expecting that!
.
My recipe, which is seriously hands-off, is up on the WAPF website. There’s a link to it in my profile.
.
Here’s today’s lunch: slices of the slow-cooked heart (bought from my #farmerman, Flavio @valledelsasso), steamed cauliflower (bought from Massi at @radiciumane) and slices of spelt sourdough (recipe also in my profile), spread generously with home-rendered lard.

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As you probably know, I’m obsessed with fermented porridge. But eating the same thing every day, even if I love it, isn’t the best thing for my soul. . It’s easy for me to get stuck, or sucked into ruts, food-wise; sometimes I have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of them! I’ve always been this way; I was like it when I was twice the weight I am now, and I’m like it now, even though my food and life have seen a 180-degree change. . But I know when I let go of my ‘must-have’ and change it up, I see (and taste!) things I couldn’t when I was down in the rut and I emerge a little smarter with my foods. . This morning I had previously-cooked millet, heated in some gelatinous pork stock, miso stirred in, an egg poached in it and some fresh coriander chopped onto the top. Plus black pepper, as I don’t seem to be able to eat egg without black pepper! . I’m not the only one who gets stuck in (sometimes glorious!) food ruts, right??! I’d love to feel your solidarity! Go ahead and share :-) . If you don’t happen to know about my fermented porridge check out the free video series linked in my profile. Or if it’s the gelatinous pork stock that catches you instead, go to @ancestralkitchenpodcast and listen to our last but one episode on stock.

As you probably know, I’m obsessed with fermented porridge. But eating the same thing every day, even if I love it, isn’t the best thing for my soul.
.
It’s easy for me to get stuck, or sucked into ruts, food-wise; sometimes I have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of them! I’ve always been this way; I was like it when I was twice the weight I am now, and I’m like it now, even though my food and life have seen a 180-degree change.
.
But I know when I let go of my ‘must-have’ and change it up, I see (and taste!) things I couldn’t when I was down in the rut and I emerge a little smarter with my foods.
.
This morning I had previously-cooked millet, heated in some gelatinous pork stock, miso stirred in, an egg poached in it and some fresh coriander chopped onto the top. Plus black pepper, as I don’t seem to be able to eat egg without black pepper!
.
I’m not the only one who gets stuck in (sometimes glorious!) food ruts, right??! I’d love to feel your solidarity! Go ahead and share 🙂
.
If you don’t happen to know about my fermented porridge check out the free video series linked in my profile. Or if it’s the gelatinous pork stock that catches you instead, go to @ancestralkitchenpodcast and listen to our last but one episode on stock.

Read More

When I discovered my son had a lectin-sensitivity, I worked to make an alternative sourdough bread that would lighten his lectin load. I needed it to be simple and have ‘normal’ ingredients. . This has sorghum, millet, linseed, salt and water. It’s a mix-and-leave it bread that tastes good and slices well. I make it every week. . The recipe is the first one listed in the ‘recipes’ section of my liktr.ee. In it, there’s a link to another article where I explain how to make a sourdough starter using millet flour. . Lots of people have asked me to write this up…feel free to share it with anyone who needs a simple gluten-free or lectin-free loaf.

When I discovered my son had a lectin-sensitivity, I worked to make an alternative sourdough bread that would lighten his lectin load. I needed it to be simple and have ‘normal’ ingredients.
.
This has sorghum, millet, linseed, salt and water. It’s a mix-and-leave it bread that tastes good and slices well. I make it every week.
.
The recipe is the first one listed in the ‘recipes’ section of my liktr.ee. In it, there’s a link to another article where I explain how to make a sourdough starter using millet flour.
.
Lots of people have asked me to write this up…feel free to share it with anyone who needs a simple gluten-free or lectin-free loaf.

Read More

Four Mamas, all striving to eat ancestrally and pass a love of that onto their children, around a (virtual) table, answering your questions. . That’s the latest @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode, in which @fornutrientssake and @nourishthelittles joined us to talk about budgets, burnout, bone broth, ferments and more. . Find the podcast by searching for Ancestral Kitchen in your podcast app or by streaming/downloading from the link in the linktr.ee above. . And check out the first half of our session, which aired earlier in the month over at the @modernancestralmamas podcast.

Four Mamas, all striving to eat ancestrally and pass a love of that onto their children, around a (virtual) table, answering your questions.
.
That’s the latest @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode, in which @fornutrientssake and @nourishthelittles joined us to talk about budgets, burnout, bone broth, ferments and more.
.
Find the podcast by searching for Ancestral Kitchen in your podcast app or by streaming/downloading from the link in the linktr.ee above.
.
And check out the first half of our session, which aired earlier in the month over at the @modernancestralmamas podcast.

Read More

Since the lard revelations of @historicalitalianfood’s book ‘Chewing The Fat’, I’ve been on a fats research mission. Digging into first Roman, and now Medieval fat usage in Italy. . And this lard immersion has created even more enthusiasm for it in my kitchen. I’m rendering the fat I get from our local farmer, Flavio @valledelsasso and using the cracklings in a myriad of ways. Crackling bread (pan di ciccioli) has quite a history in Italy and I want to try combining cracklings and bread in myriad ways (enjoying the results!) until I find the one I love the most. . Here we have a spelt sourdough focaccia, placed in my cast iron pan and topped with fresh cracklings. I baked it until golden and then added salt and pepper, and later rosemary. In my story today you can see how we ate it. . If you know any crackling plus bread recipes, send them my way. Test kitchen at the ready :-)

Since the lard revelations of @historicalitalianfood’s book ‘Chewing The Fat’, I’ve been on a fats research mission. Digging into first Roman, and now Medieval fat usage in Italy.
.
And this lard immersion has created even more enthusiasm for it in my kitchen. I’m rendering the fat I get from our local farmer, Flavio @valledelsasso and using the cracklings in a myriad of ways. Crackling bread (pan di ciccioli) has quite a history in Italy and I want to try combining cracklings and bread in myriad ways (enjoying the results!) until I find the one I love the most.
.
Here we have a spelt sourdough focaccia, placed in my cast iron pan and topped with fresh cracklings. I baked it until golden and then added salt and pepper, and later rosemary. In my story today you can see how we ate it.
.
If you know any crackling plus bread recipes, send them my way. Test kitchen at the ready 🙂

Read More

Four Ancestral Mamas Around The Table

How do you eat ancestrally on a budget? What about burnout and decision fatigue? Alison and Andrea sit down with Christine and Corey from the Modern Ancestral Mamas Podcast with a stack of your questions, and all share resources and … Read More