Author: Alison Kay

An idea is a beautiful thing.
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But for me, the hardest thing with ideas is understanding which are mine to go forward with, and which are nice but not for me.
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I have gone ahead with the ‘not for me’ ones many times; feeling squeezed in some way has made me take action when it’s not been right. I’ve tripped and fallen, often in big ways.
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Close behind the ‘is it for me’ dilemma, has been developing the patience that helps me realise that ideas very rarely become fully fledged ‘things’ without a lot of persistence; the doing of little things over and over again and waiting.
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This week’s @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode is a bit of an ideas-fest! Andrea and I talk about what both the podcast and our own lives have taught us this year, we share our most popular episodes of the year and we talk about what we’d like to happen in the podcast, our kitchens and our lives in 2022.
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This is our last episode of 2021. If you’ve listened this year, thank you. If you’ve reached out – to comment, share, thank or review, thank you. Amazing that 20+ episodes, 14,000+ downloads and so many wonderful connections have come from just a little idea. It feels good; like this idea was meant for me to mention to @farmandhearth and for us to persist in taking forward!

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Mutton chops fried in home-rendered lard (both from @valledelsasso).
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Lettuce and rosolaccio salad (both from Irene at #mercatointransizione) topped with a dressing made from chestnut vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey, sumac and spent ginger from ginger beer.
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Sourdough rye bread (get the recipe from my profile linktr.ee) spread with lard.
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Together with a home-made ancient beer and some sauerkraut, this is the lunch I served my hubby today. He was happy 🙂

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When I saw a Christmas ‘fermented’ gingerbread dough being mixed up in October by @kitchencounterculture I *knew* I had to create-a-long! I combined local raw honey with my beloved spelt flour…the combo has been sitting in a cool spot in my apartment doing its thing since then.
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I wasn’t the only one who wanted in – @elliemarkovitch and @zerowastechef mixed up some in their parts of the world and we are all very excited to dig out our super-charged doughs and make them into cookies in time for Christmas. We’re loosely following the fermented gingerbread recipe on King Sandor @sandorkraut’s website.
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I don’t think I’ve had so many messages about a bake before – thank you to everyone who’s joining in. We’re planning a live Zoom bake-up on December 13th at 8am EST/2pm CET. Come see what each of us has made and mix your final doughs with us.
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If you’d like to join us, send me a DM and I’ll make sure you get the Zoom details!
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Thank you to @elliemarkovitch for the beautiful photos of her rye dough baking.

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Mixing another castagnaccio today.
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It astounds me that such simple food (it’s chestnuts, water and oil) can be so attractive. And that a food that literally saved people from dying of starvation here in Italy can be so incredibly tasty.
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That’s joy of cucina povera – the recipe lexicon that was born of necessity – it’s the collective ingenuity of thousands. Sustenance and deliciousness from what was around them, because they needed to.
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I am blessed to be able to access food easily. And yet, every time I bake castagnaccio, I think back to those before me who took painful restrictions and with creativity, created beauty.
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Amidst all the ridiculous food systems and marketing we swim in these days, this is the food and these are the people who need honouring.
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It’ll soon be ready. I wish I could cut you a slice.

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Spelt loaf risen with milk kefir.
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This loaf might sound daunting, but if you’ve got some live milk kefir, spelt flour and a warm place, it’s surprisingly simple.
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And it tastes amazing – smooth, creamy and sweet.
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Let me know if you fancy giving it a go. I’ve not written it up yet, but if it’s wanted, I want it to be made!

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Have you *listened* to your sourdough starter recently?
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I took mine out of the fridge this morning, popped the lid, and it sang to me. The noise of tiny little bubbles, lively and high-pitched was awe-inspiring.
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Whilst I go about my day, there are communities of microbes living a parallel life in my home. That makes me smile.
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In case you’re curious, I keep a 100% wholegrain rye sourdough starter. It’s thick, not watery, as I find this helps it to last longer between refreshes. I keep it in the fridge, bringing it out the night before I want to bake and spooning a bit into fresh flour and water to make a ‘levain’ for the next day’s loaf. When it’s getting low, or when it’s smelling vinegary, I make a new batch and pop it back in the fridge.
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I use this rye starter in virtually all my breads, even my spelt ones. I love rye’s enthusiasm to host lactic and acetic acid bacteria; it makes strong breads.

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The quality of our holidays is important. And they are almost here!
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The latest podcast episodes cover US and UK traditions, our Christmases-past memories, how we do Christmas now and lots and lots of food talk!
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Again and again Andrea and I return to the unspoken quality of the festive period and how we can cultivate that in ways that don’t cost much.
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You can download our episodes from your favourite podcast app or stream/download them from my site, the link for which is in my profile.
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I’m looking forward to seeing how you celebrate the holidays. As the season ramps up, please do share and tag @farmandhearth and I 🙂

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