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Breakfast is usually such a functional meal that making a real effort and taking time to eat it at leisure can feel so much more of a treat than a special lunch or dinner. . This was a festive breakfast is our home: Spelt and millet pancakes (naturally leavened overnight with some the help of a big spoonful the Turkish drink Boza that I make) studded with the last of our mead-fermented chestnuts, topped with creme fraiche, sliced banana and ground linseed. . Gabriel was delighted with the bananas, I can’t remember the last time we bought them; he’d almost given up asking :-) . More pictures in my story today. Check my highlight ‘fermented chestnuts’ for details on this treat.

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Breakfast is usually such a functional meal that making a real effort and taking time to eat it at leisure can feel so much more of a treat than a special lunch or dinner.
.
This was a festive breakfast is our home: Spelt and millet pancakes (naturally leavened overnight with some the help of a big spoonful the Turkish drink Boza that I make) studded with the last of our mead-fermented chestnuts, topped with creme fraiche, sliced banana and ground linseed.
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Gabriel was delighted with the bananas, I can’t remember the last time we bought them; he’d almost given up asking 🙂
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More pictures in my story today. Check my highlight ‘fermented chestnuts’ for details on this treat.

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Are your holidays stress-free? . We asked our listeners for what they wanted to hear on the podcast Christmas episode: . How can I not overindulge? How can I eat well when I’m going to someone else’s home? What good food can I take to with me when I’m travelling? What can I prepare in advance so I’m not in the kitchen all Christmas morning? How can I help my children avoid the onslaught of bad food? How can I have the Christmas I always intend to have but never quite achieve? . We answer all these questions and more in today’s episode, which we decided to call The Christmas Survival Guide! . If you want some tips to help you stay sane and well over the holidays do listen in. And if there’s someone else you think this’d help, send it to them! . You can download @ancestralkitchenpodcast from all the podcast apps or stream/download from the link in Alison’s or the podcast’s profile. . A very Happy Christmas from both of us to you and all you love.

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Are your holidays stress-free?
.
We asked our listeners for what they wanted to hear on the podcast Christmas episode:
.
How can I not overindulge?
How can I eat well when I’m going to someone else’s home?
What good food can I take to with me when I’m travelling?
What can I prepare in advance so I’m not in the kitchen all Christmas morning?
How can I help my children avoid the onslaught of bad food?
How can I have the Christmas I always intend to have but never quite achieve?
.
We answer all these questions and more in today’s episode, which we decided to call The Christmas Survival Guide!
.
If you want some tips to help you stay sane and well over the holidays do listen in. And if there’s someone else you think this’d help, send it to them!
.
You can download @ancestralkitchenpodcast from all the podcast apps or stream/download from the link in Alison’s or the podcast’s profile.
.
A very Happy Christmas from both of us to you and all you love.

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When you make your own English ale and you see a recipe from an old English cookbook for ‘Cheese & Ale’, you have to try it! . I used pecorino (trying to find an English cheese in Tuscany is hard, and with all our great cheese here, I can see why!) and wholegrain mustard, baking them in a bath of my home-made English ale (unhopped, made from rye I malted myself). . Those three ingredients warm and mushed together make the most delightful topping for toasted sourdough. . More pictures in my story today (I’ll save to the ale highlight). . I’m reading Hilary Mantel’s amazing Thomas Cromwell trilogy and wondering whether he, or Henry VIII ate this?!

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When you make your own English ale and you see a recipe from an old English cookbook for ‘Cheese & Ale’, you have to try it!
.
I used pecorino (trying to find an English cheese in Tuscany is hard, and with all our great cheese here, I can see why!) and wholegrain mustard, baking them in a bath of my home-made English ale (unhopped, made from rye I malted myself).
.
Those three ingredients warm and mushed together make the most delightful topping for toasted sourdough.
.
More pictures in my story today (I’ll save to the ale highlight).
.
I’m reading Hilary Mantel’s amazing Thomas Cromwell trilogy and wondering whether he, or Henry VIII ate this?!

… Read More

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Llymru is a Welsh oat ferment. It is similar to sowans, the oat fermentation method native to Scotland, but uses whey or buttermilk to start the ferment (there’s a lot of good milk in Wales so a dairy starter would have been natural). . When finished, it sets into a beautiful jelly which you can slice. Here I’ve served it with local honey and some borage flowers from the garden (I still have flowers in my garden!!). . Check my story today to watch it wobbling! I can’t keep my eyes off it! . If you’re interested in traditional oat fermentation, you can learn via my course Sowans: The Scottish Oat Ferment over at @thefermentationschool (there’s a link in my profile)

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Llymru is a Welsh oat ferment. It is similar to sowans, the oat fermentation method native to Scotland, but uses whey or buttermilk to start the ferment (there’s a lot of good milk in Wales so a dairy starter would have been natural).
.
When finished, it sets into a beautiful jelly which you can slice. Here I’ve served it with local honey and some borage flowers from the garden (I still have flowers in my garden!!).
.
Check my story today to watch it wobbling! I can’t keep my eyes off it!
.
If you’re interested in traditional oat fermentation, you can learn via my course Sowans: The Scottish Oat Ferment over at @thefermentationschool (there’s a link in my profile)

… Read More

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How many times have you heard this: “Yes, regenerative agriculture’s all well and good, but you couldn’t feed the world that way”. . Today, in the podcast, we speak to the man who is building a roadmap to show us that *it could*. . Sir Patrick Holden runs the Sustainable Food Trust who have just published a report that shows how Britain could feed itself using pesticide and fertiliser-free, animal-involved agriculture whilst feeding grain to humans, not animals. . We talk about all the details, how this can be taken global, lab meat, how we can create change as individuals and much more. . We’re so grateful to Sir Patrick for sharing his 50-year experience as both a dairy farmer and an activist. Subscribe to @ancestralkitchenpodcast from your podcast app or stream/download from the link in my profile.

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How many times have you heard this: “Yes, regenerative agriculture’s all well and good, but you couldn’t feed the world that way”.
.
Today, in the podcast, we speak to the man who is building a roadmap to show us that *it could*.
.
Sir Patrick Holden runs the Sustainable Food Trust who have just published a report that shows how Britain could feed itself using pesticide and fertiliser-free, animal-involved agriculture whilst feeding grain to humans, not animals.
.
We talk about all the details, how this can be taken global, lab meat, how we can create change as individuals and much more.
.
We’re so grateful to Sir Patrick for sharing his 50-year experience as both a dairy farmer and an activist. Subscribe to @ancestralkitchenpodcast from your podcast app or stream/download from the link in my profile.

… Read More

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Brewing ale (like baking bread) used to be a household task, performed by women using kitchen equipment and shared yeast. . Then, in England at least, along came hops, industrialisation, marginalisation and what followed were large-scale operations, run by men. That’s now been honed into the brewing world we see as normal. . I don’t want to partake in industrial bread, with it’s whipping, chemical additives and packaging so why should I do so for alcohol? . Bringing ale back into my household, making it accessible and successful is proving quite a ride! Reading, guessing, experimenting, tasting, revising…over and over again. . Here’s the latest batch, brewing with…shock, horror… commercial yeast. I’m doing it to try and understand whether my attempts at home yeast (which have been many and varied) are making my beer taste the way it does or whether home-malting or my equipment makes the difference. . Check out the layer on the top of this ferment. The yeasts, not wanting any competition from opportunistic bacteria, have created a physical barrier to keep the sugary grain liquid all to themselves! . If you want to see more of what I’ve been up to, check out my ancestral ale highlight or support me by becoming a patron of @ancestralkitchenpodcast where I’ve recently shared what I’ve been up to.

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Brewing ale (like baking bread) used to be a household task, performed by women using kitchen equipment and shared yeast.
.
Then, in England at least, along came hops, industrialisation, marginalisation and what followed were large-scale operations, run by men. That’s now been honed into the brewing world we see as normal.
.
I don’t want to partake in industrial bread, with it’s whipping, chemical additives and packaging so why should I do so for alcohol?
.
Bringing ale back into my household, making it accessible and successful is proving quite a ride! Reading, guessing, experimenting, tasting, revising…over and over again.
.
Here’s the latest batch, brewing with…shock, horror… commercial yeast. I’m doing it to try and understand whether my attempts at home yeast (which have been many and varied) are making my beer taste the way it does or whether home-malting or my equipment makes the difference.
.
Check out the layer on the top of this ferment. The yeasts, not wanting any competition from opportunistic bacteria, have created a physical barrier to keep the sugary grain liquid all to themselves!
.
If you want to see more of what I’ve been up to, check out my ancestral ale highlight or support me by becoming a patron of @ancestralkitchenpodcast where I’ve recently shared what I’ve been up to.

… Read More

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Keeping warm in winter has always been a challenge for me. But here, as in many areas of life, ancestral wisdom has taught me so much. . I’m writing a newsletter to go out tomorrow which will share what I do – with food, drink and routines – to help keep warm. And it’ll include details of this fabulous beef and barley stew. . You can get on my mailing list via the link in my profile or by typing ancestralkitchen.com/newsletter into your browser.

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Keeping warm in winter has always been a challenge for me. But here, as in many areas of life, ancestral wisdom has taught me so much.
.
I’m writing a newsletter to go out tomorrow which will share what I do – with food, drink and routines – to help keep warm. And it’ll include details of this fabulous beef and barley stew.
.
You can get on my mailing list via the link in my profile or by typing ancestralkitchen.com/newsletter into your browser.

… Read More

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The tin you bake in makes a big difference to your loaf. Two identical rye sourdoughs here, one cooked in a ceramic baker, the other a metal ‘pullman’-style pan. . We’re so used to seeing tall rye bread with straight edges, so the pullman pan, though non-stick (which isn’t my favourite), creates such a pleasing loaf. . If you’ve been contemplating my course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics, don’t delay! @thefermentationschool’s 50%-off sale ends today, Monday 28th at 11:59pm PST. There’s a link to the course with the discount already applied in my story today.

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The tin you bake in makes a big difference to your loaf. Two identical rye sourdoughs here, one cooked in a ceramic baker, the other a metal ‘pullman’-style pan.
.
We’re so used to seeing tall rye bread with straight edges, so the pullman pan, though non-stick (which isn’t my favourite), creates such a pleasing loaf.
.
If you’ve been contemplating my course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics, don’t delay! @thefermentationschool’s 50%-off sale ends today, Monday 28th at 11:59pm PST. There’s a link to the course with the discount already applied in my story today.

… Read More

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Fermented Chestnuts! I discovered these by accident (“I wonder what’ll happen if I stick these chestnuts in some honey and put them somewhere warm?!”) last year and they were a revelation…so, of course, I couldn’t wait to do them again this year! . They are boozy (in a delicious mead way), spicy and soft. I’m planning to cover them in home-made bean-to-bar chocolate and then feel like a goddess as I eat them over the festive period! . If you want to have a go, score, roast and peel your chestnuts. Take time over it, so as to get as many as possible in one piece. Add to a jar along with some whole spices. Top up with a 50/50 (by weight) mix of honey (preferably unpasteurised) and water. Try to get the chestnuts under the liquid. Put a loose lid on. Keep somewhere warm (ideally 22-28C) and stir gently every day. They’ll take a good couple of weeks…keep tasting the liquid to judge how they are coming on! . I’ll put more pics in my story today and save as a highlight too.

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Fermented Chestnuts! I discovered these by accident (“I wonder what’ll happen if I stick these chestnuts in some honey and put them somewhere warm?!”) last year and they were a revelation…so, of course, I couldn’t wait to do them again this year!
.
They are boozy (in a delicious mead way), spicy and soft. I’m planning to cover them in home-made bean-to-bar chocolate and then feel like a goddess as I eat them over the festive period!
.
If you want to have a go, score, roast and peel your chestnuts. Take time over it, so as to get as many as possible in one piece. Add to a jar along with some whole spices. Top up with a 50/50 (by weight) mix of honey (preferably unpasteurised) and water. Try to get the chestnuts under the liquid. Put a loose lid on. Keep somewhere warm (ideally 22-28C) and stir gently every day. They’ll take a good couple of weeks…keep tasting the liquid to judge how they are coming on!
.
I’ll put more pics in my story today and save as a highlight too.

… Read More