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If you want to eat ancestrally and have ever heard yourself saying, “I can’t afford it”, this is the @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode for you. . @farmandhearth and I had so much to say about it that we kept talking over two episodes, today’s release is part one! Thank you to the podcast patrons who helped us, with their own hard-won advice, put this episode together. . Download this, episode #66, from your podcast app or stream/download from my website. There’s a PDF for you to print out too – check the show notes. . We’d love to hear what you think!

September 12, 2023 by

If you want to eat ancestrally and have ever heard yourself saying, “I can’t afford it”, this is the @ancestralkitchenpodcast episode for you.
.
@farmandhearth and I had so much to say about it that we kept talking over two episodes, today’s release is part one! Thank you to the podcast patrons who helped us, with their own hard-won advice, put this episode together.
.
Download this, episode #66, from your podcast app or stream/download from my website. There’s a PDF for you to print out too – check the show notes.
.
We’d love to hear what you think!

… Read More

Podcast

#66 – 50 Ways to Save Money on an Ancestral Diet – Part 1

September 12, 2023 by

In a post-industrial world where globally imported subsidized factory food is perceived as the cheaper or only option for a budget, these are questions most of us have had at some point. In this episode Alison and I want to make the case that not only are there ways to eat an ancestral diet and save money, but you can actually save money BY eating an ancestral diet.… Read More

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Threshing Home-Grown Oats

September 11, 2023 by

Threshing my home-grown oats.
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Diving into oats, historically, culturally, nutritionally and culinarily is connecting me to my ancestors in such a beautiful way.
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See how small (and beautiful) my harvest is?!
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I haven’t used my oats yet…you know when something is so precious, you just can’t bring yourself to?!!
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What shall I do with them?!

… Read More

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Home-grown oats! . Back in spring, when Silvia at @lebarbarighe sent me some of her naked oats (so I could sprout them for ale), I had the crazy idea of planting some. . Crazy because I have no garden; no soil…just a collection of pots squeezed together on a patio. Crazy because I no *nothing* about growing grain. Crazy because I knew I would be away for 5 weeks with no-one to care for them. . But I couldn’t help myself! . And look at these! They are one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen for ages. I literally can’t stop looking at them and smiling. The experience has given me just a tiny, tiny taste of how my ancestors, who subsisted on oats, whose calendar was built around them – who literally grew up with all their smells, tastes routines and rituals – must have felt. . I feel joyful and amazed and humbled and connected. ‘Just’ by a grass. . Next task (if I can bring myself to do it) is to thresh them and get the grain out.

September 7, 2023 by

Home-grown oats!
.
Back in spring, when Silvia at @lebarbarighe sent me some of her naked oats (so I could sprout them for ale), I had the crazy idea of planting some.
.
Crazy because I have no garden; no soil…just a collection of pots squeezed together on a patio. Crazy because I no *nothing* about growing grain. Crazy because I knew I would be away for 5 weeks with no-one to care for them.
.
But I couldn’t help myself!
.
And look at these! They are one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen for ages. I literally can’t stop looking at them and smiling. The experience has given me just a tiny, tiny taste of how my ancestors, who subsisted on oats, whose calendar was built around them – who literally grew up with all their smells, tastes routines and rituals – must have felt.
.
I feel joyful and amazed and humbled and connected. ‘Just’ by a grass.
.
Next task (if I can bring myself to do it) is to thresh them and get the grain out.

… Read More

Instagram

You can make rye bread kvass with old rye sourdough and use the same bread for batch after batch. It’s simple, fizzy, delicious and doesn’t need much attention. . I like it flavoured with fresh mint (which is going crazy in the garden!). If you’re a kvass fan, I’d love to hear how you flavour yours. . My method is in my profile (it’s the first one under the recipes sections). . If you are interested in expanding your fermented drinks repertoire, have a listen to @ancestralkitchenpodcast #60 ‘”What Fermented Drinks Can I Make?’

August 31, 2023 by

You can make rye bread kvass with old rye sourdough and use the same bread for batch after batch. It’s simple, fizzy, delicious and doesn’t need much attention.
.
I like it flavoured with fresh mint (which is going crazy in the garden!). If you’re a kvass fan, I’d love to hear how you flavour yours.
.
My method is in my profile (it’s the first one under the recipes sections).
.
If you are interested in expanding your fermented drinks repertoire, have a listen to @ancestralkitchenpodcast #60 ‘”What Fermented Drinks Can I Make?’

… Read More

Podcast

#65 – Our Birthing Stories

August 29, 2023 by

Just like the Ancestral Diet is so different from the standard American diet, so the ways our ancestors birthed bears very little relation to how modern industrialised communities bring the next generation into the world. In this intimate episode, originally recorded for patrons of the podcast, Andrea and I share our birthing stories.… Read More

Instagram

Mace is my favourite spice. Last week, I stumbled on it whole in my local herbalist shop. . Italy has a herbalist (‘erboristeria’) in most towns. Some of them have almost been taken over by ‘products’ (i.e. the plastic-encased things you can spray or squeeze!) but usually, at the back, there are shelves and shelves of herbs and behind the counter there is an extremely knowledgeable person who can help with a myriad of things…including getting me some whole mace! . So back to the mace. I love it with sweet potato, add it to my fermenting beet kvass and often plop some into my stock pot at it’s bubbling. . Here I’m grinding it with all spice berries, black pepper and sea salt to make a spice mix for beef liver pate. The pate will also include onion, mushrooms, red wine and lots of butter/lard. Mace mixed with all spice brings wonderful warm tones to the pate, making liver-eating a really pleasurable experience (my 9-year-old loves it). . Have you tried mace? What do you use it for?

August 28, 2023 by

Mace is my favourite spice. Last week, I stumbled on it whole in my local herbalist shop.
.
Italy has a herbalist (‘erboristeria’) in most towns. Some of them have almost been taken over by ‘products’ (i.e. the plastic-encased things you can spray or squeeze!) but usually, at the back, there are shelves and shelves of herbs and behind the counter there is an extremely knowledgeable person who can help with a myriad of things…including getting me some whole mace!
.
So back to the mace. I love it with sweet potato, add it to my fermenting beet kvass and often plop some into my stock pot at it’s bubbling.
.
Here I’m grinding it with all spice berries, black pepper and sea salt to make a spice mix for beef liver pate. The pate will also include onion, mushrooms, red wine and lots of butter/lard. Mace mixed with all spice brings wonderful warm tones to the pate, making liver-eating a really pleasurable experience (my 9-year-old loves it).
.
Have you tried mace? What do you use it for?

… Read More