Search Results for

Roast local duck with roast local carrots, beets and radish (if you’ve never roasted radish, try it; they’re lovely!). I cooked up the beet greens too and then served with some sourdough barley bread (pic a few posts back).
.
My favourite bit about roasts is pouring the fat and juices form the pan all over my bread.
.
Anyone else can’t be bothered with making ‘proper’ gravy?!
.
Duck from Flavio (@valledelsasso), carrots and beets from Irene (@valdisieveintransizione’s #mercatointransizione) and barley from @spaccio_bio_molinorosso. Thank you for doing what you do.

… Read More

If you came to my house today, I’d offer you one of these. Which would you choose?

… Read More

Back to chocolate-making (because we’ve eaten the last batch!). My son was in charge of making these, and along with the freshly-roasted and home-ground cacao beans, we added cacao butter and (for the first time) a little bit of unrefined sugar.
.
Most chocolatiers use refined sugar in their chocolate, because it has less of its own flavour. But he wanted the dark stuff! I think these little hearts work out to be around the 95% cacao mark.
.
Meantime, I’ve got myself some single origin beans from Nicaragua and am about to roast them in the cast iron pan. I’m swapping back to pan (I was previously roasting the oven) after being inspired by watching cacao expert Marcos Patchett (author of pretty amazing 700+ page book The Secret Life of Chocolate) roasting his on the stove top.
.
We’ve bagged Marcos (who is affectionately known as ‘The Chocolate Man’ in our house) for the @ancestralkitchenpodcast. I’m so excited to bring you 60+ minutes of chat all about ‘real’ chocolate later in the summer.
.
More chocolate in my story today. Because, why not?!

… Read More

This is a home-ground 100% wholegrain barley sourdough. It’s dense – I knew it would be, but when working with a new grain I really like to start with it on it’s own so I know how it feels, acts and tastes.
.
And I don’t mind the density. I’m not striving after some cloud-like loaf. I want local, real and tasty. And this tastes really good. I was kind of expecting a bit ‘cardboardy’ as that’s what I’d heard. But it wasn’t. What was most exciting was that it made my tongue fizz a little as I ate it. No other loaf I’ve made has ever done that.
.
The barley had been destined for ancestral beer, but I can’t get this batch to germinate (and with no germination, I can’t make malt) so decided to make bread with it. I’ve since been reading about malting and it seems I need barley with all of its clothes (i.e. its husk) still on. Yet to find that here in Italy. Working on it though.
.
If you’re a sourdough fan and haven’t heard the latest Ancestral Kitchen podcast episode, head to your podcast app (or stream from the link in my bio). It’s an interview with @ellys.everyday. I think you’ll love it.

… Read More

Strawberry wine anyone?
.
It is wonderful, and the #wildfermentation process has taught me a lot.
.
The best, best bit was taking some to our local farmers’ market for Masimilliano of @radiciumane who grew the strawberries, to taste 🙂
.
Getting some pics and more vid up in my stories…

… Read More

I made ricotta for the first time! I’m a newbie at this and tried first with some citric acid…maybe there wasn’t enough, who knows, but it didn’t really work. I swapped, mid-flow, to lemon juice and finally I started to see the curds separating.
.
This ricotta and is my ‘Freedom’ post as part of the #veryfarmish July challenge.
.
Why freedom?
.
My husband ran up the hill to @aziendaagricolapodereruggeri to collect the raw goat milk. No car needed…just legs and clean air and lots and lots of olive trees. He feels so joyfully free when he goes.
.
I made the ricotta with help from the internet, that encyclopedia of freely-available traditional techniques. With it, I find freedom to create and play.
.
The ricotta is served on a millet and sorghum sourdough. It’s lectin-free. After years of two-steps-forward, one-back with my son’s food intollerances, finding out about lectins blessed us with a huge leap forward in understanding and healing. That has given him so much more freedom.
.
And all of it sourced, made and served here in Italy – the place where despite the many leaps and bounds taken (and still to take) living here, I feel freedom so much more strongly that I ever did in the UK.
.
Thank you @farmandhearth @tiffany.bye and @untamed.nourishment for hosting the challenge this year. I’m really enjoying all the pictures.

… Read More

Lunch from above.
.
Kale topped with goat stew. Alongside there’s sourdough 100% whole grain barley (which was homeground) topped with home-rendered lard.
.
In the little cups are sauerkraut and fermented garlic. The glasses and bottle are hosting home-fermented local strawberry wine.
.
Thank you to all my local suppliers:
@radiciumane (kale and strawberries)
@valledelsasso (pig fat)
@aziendaagricolapodereruggeri (goat)
@spaccio_bio_molinorosso (barley)
@valdisieveintransizione market (all the other veg)
.
All everything you see (aside the Italian but not Tuscan barley) is from less than a few miles away and was brought to our house with leg-power!

… Read More

Do you know Elly? She’s a legend in the online sourdough world. If you want to bake sourdough, or want to bake more sourdough (and who doesn’t?!) her YouTube channel is such a fount of clear, non-nonsense, simple advice.
.
And we got her on the podcast! Quite ambitious for our first ever guest. But the technology, working over three different continents held up and I’m delighted to bring you the interview.
.
We talk about wholegrain baking, starters, milling, gluten-free sourdough, baking issues *and* we even get to chat about Elly’s other passion – soap-making.
.
I’ll pop a run down of the contents from this @ellys.everyday episode in my story today. You can download by searching for Ancestral Kitchen on your podcast app, or stream it from the link on my site (click on my bio link to get there).
.
And if you haven’t yet, head over to @ancestralkitchenpodcast 🙂

… Read More

If you’re interested in whole grain sourdough baking (or soap-making) Elly is the one to know! She has two fantastic You Tube channels with wonderfully clear, non-nonsense recipes. Listen to us quiz her on all things sourdough *and* get a chat in about making your own soap too!… Read More

This is sourdough oat polenta bread. That sounds like three different foods in one, right? Well, it kinda is…
.
I fermented the ground wholegrain oats for a couple of days (inoculated with some sourdough starter). When fizzy, I cooked them up with water and made a polenta-style dish which we ate like porridge.
.
I then stuffed the (intentional) leftovers into a small loaf tin and packed them down! A hour or so later and I turned out this 🙂
.
We’ll slice it throughout the week to make an easy breakfast/supper and if I’ve got more time, I’ll probably fry some slices in ghee or lard.
.
I plan to include this process in a set of three videos I’m hoping to film over the summer. They’ll walk you through the whole fermenting – polenta-ing – bread-ing process.
.
In addition to IG, you can now sign up to my (forthcoming) mailing list (link in profile) if you want to keep in touch with my kitchen.

… Read More