Yes, they’re banana skins! Cool, weird, amazing, hey? I’m making #bananaskinvinegar. It’s tucked away nicely now in my fermenting nook; going to be there a couple of months, I think. Thank you @mark_diacono for the idea. I used honey, not maple syrup. And @soilassociation I’m carrying on saving my skins to make the banana skin curry soon.

Yes, they’re banana skins! Cool, weird, amazing, hey? I’m making #bananaskinvinegar. It’s tucked away nicely now in my fermenting nook; going to be there a couple of months, I think. Thank you @mark_diacono for the idea. I used honey, not maple syrup. And @soilassociation I’m carrying on saving my skins to make the banana skin curry soon.

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There is still time for you to join me in the #ancestralcookup. We are making beef and barley stew together! At mine, we are enjoying it again for lunch – with home-made soda bread, goat’s butter and some sauerkraut. Check out the link in my bio for all the details of how to join in – I’d love to cook with you :-)

There is still time for you to join me in the #ancestralcookup. We are making beef and barley stew together! At mine, we are enjoying it again for lunch – with home-made soda bread, goat’s butter and some sauerkraut. Check out the link in my bio for all the details of how to join in – I’d love to cook with you 🙂

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What I had in the fridge: Left-over roast chicken, left-over kale, half a packet of mushrooms and a red onion. What I did: Lightly fried some garlic and capers in olive oil, before adding thyme (try this, the smell will floor you, so beautiful). I then chopped the onion and mushrooms and added them. When they were golden, I shredded the chicken and popped that in too, stirring well. Whilst that was happening, I cooked some millet in chicken stock made from the same chicken. We ate it drizzled with lots of extra olive oil :-)

What I had in the fridge: Left-over roast chicken, left-over kale, half a packet of mushrooms and a red onion. What I did: Lightly fried some garlic and capers in olive oil, before adding thyme (try this, the smell will floor you, so beautiful). I then chopped the onion and mushrooms and added them. When they were golden, I shredded the chicken and popped that in too, stirring well. Whilst that was happening, I cooked some millet in chicken stock made from the same chicken. We ate it drizzled with lots of extra olive oil 🙂

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We usually travel into Florence to get our flour – wholegrain local spelt. Not being able to do that, we’re relying on the amazing ladies at the local health food store. They’ve only had semi-integrale (partially wholegrain) spelt recently, so my #sourdough loaves have been a bit whiter. I love not slashing them and seeing where they want to burst out ;-)

We usually travel into Florence to get our flour – wholegrain local spelt. Not being able to do that, we’re relying on the amazing ladies at the local health food store. They’ve only had semi-integrale (partially wholegrain) spelt recently, so my #sourdough loaves have been a bit whiter. I love not slashing them and seeing where they want to burst out 😉

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This is the nicest tea I have ever tasted. And, not being a coffee drinker, I have downed a lot of tea. It’s made from the shells of cacao beans. It literally tastes like chocolate. It has no caffeine. It makes me feel soft. It makes me feel special. It makes me feel calm. And those things are gold. Happy afternoon everyone.

This is the nicest tea I have ever tasted. And, not being a coffee drinker, I have downed a lot of tea. It’s made from the shells of cacao beans. It literally tastes like chocolate. It has no caffeine. It makes me feel soft. It makes me feel special. It makes me feel calm. And those things are gold. Happy afternoon everyone.

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A couple of people have asked me how the cook up works. I’m chuffed (which means very pleased in English slang!) as it’s the first one and I wasn’t sure who’d want to join in :-) So here it is put simply. A community cook up that you can do in your own time with your own twist. Then come share the meal here so we can all see what you’ve been doing inside the (in my opinion) most beautiful room of your 4 walls. Come join in, if you fancy!

A couple of people have asked me how the cook up works. I’m chuffed (which means very pleased in English slang!) as it’s the first one and I wasn’t sure who’d want to join in 🙂 So here it is put simply. A community cook up that you can do in your own time with your own twist. Then come share the meal here so we can all see what you’ve been doing inside the (in my opinion) most beautiful room of your 4 walls. Come join in, if you fancy!

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It’s getting better! #sourdoughspeltwholegrainpizza We took the solid bottom shelf off our oven and replaced it with a grilled shelf. I maxed the oven and put the pizza stone in to heat for an hour. My hubby lifted the entire shelf out and I held my breath as I lifted the dough onto the stone and then topped it. Then we cooked it for 8 minutes. Delicious! . Am I the only one in the world to use that hashtag? Might have to go and have a look :-)

It’s getting better! #sourdoughspeltwholegrainpizza We took the solid bottom shelf off our oven and replaced it with a grilled shelf. I maxed the oven and put the pizza stone in to heat for an hour. My hubby lifted the entire shelf out and I held my breath as I lifted the dough onto the stone and then topped it. Then we cooked it for 8 minutes. Delicious! .
Am I the only one in the world to use that hashtag? Might have to go and have a look 🙂

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It was *really* hard to not eat all of last week’s rye sourdough. But we did it! And here is what I wanted it for: Bread Kvass. I’ve put lots of very dark sugar in it too, so the flavours should be deep and rich. I’m getting another batch of the current Ancestral Cook-up – Beef & Barley Stew – ready for cooking tomorrow. I couldn’t get any cabbage this week, so it’ll be a lot of Tuscan Kale instead. That’s fine – I planned the cook-up like this; so we could add in what we could get hold of. If you fancy cooking along with me, I’d love your company. The link to all the details is in my profile.

It was *really* hard to not eat all of last week’s rye sourdough. But we did it! And here is what I wanted it for: Bread Kvass. I’ve put lots of very dark sugar in it too, so the flavours should be deep and rich.
I’m getting another batch of the current Ancestral Cook-up – Beef & Barley Stew – ready for cooking tomorrow. I couldn’t get any cabbage this week, so it’ll be a lot of Tuscan Kale instead. That’s fine – I planned the cook-up like this; so we could add in what we could get hold of. If you fancy cooking along with me, I’d love your company. The link to all the details is in my profile.

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I am a little obsessed with making a sourdough cake. I want it to be egg-free (my son can’t eat eggs) and have no refined sugar in it. Yet obviously it has to taste *divine*. Chestnut flour always seems heaven-sent to me. So here is a cake made of solely wholegrain spelt, chestnut flour and sweet potato. I’ve layered it with a cream made from cashews, water and 1/2 a tsp of honey. Looks super nice, right? Still a work in progress though…it’s a bit ‘crusty’ for a cake. I’d like to find a way of making it softer. Next iteration might have some fat in the dough.

I am a little obsessed with making a sourdough cake. I want it to be egg-free (my son can’t eat eggs) and have no refined sugar in it. Yet obviously it has to taste *divine*. Chestnut flour always seems heaven-sent to me. So here is a cake made of solely wholegrain spelt, chestnut flour and sweet potato. I’ve layered it with a cream made from cashews, water and 1/2 a tsp of honey. Looks super nice, right? Still a work in progress though…it’s a bit ‘crusty’ for a cake. I’d like to find a way of making it softer. Next iteration might have some fat in the dough.

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