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Water kefir grains can be used in a lot of ways. You don’t just have to put them in a sugar/water solution. They work with honey, I’ve used them in green juice and here’s the result of putting them with watermelon: Watermelon kefir.
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I’ve transferred it to a swing top with some sliced pear (added so its sugar can be further fermented and the drink will become fizzy) for a second ferment.
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Feels a bit like pink champagne. Tastes complex – fresh from the watermelon, tart from my likeness for sour ferments (I leave them a long time) and sweet from the pear.
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You do not need a juicer for this. I blended the watermelon flesh and then drained it through a sieve.
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Cheers!

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My experiements have shown that having pink piggy slippers helps with fasting. They are so cute, I’m more likely to put my feet up to see them and and actually get some rest!
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Fasting isn’t as exciting as glorious food, but an important part of an ancestral kitchen. Our ancestors would have lived in a feast or famine way a lot of the time. I’m doing it 2 afternoons/evenings a week at the moment – going from lunch till late breakfast the next day without solid food.
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Psychologically and physically it helps me reboot. AND it means I can eat with a little more abandon the rest of the time. I like that!
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The hardest thing is resting whilst doing it. I want to support my body the best I can, but it’s hard to stop. Enter the slippers 🙂

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This is a wholegrain rye sourdough. I make one every week, along with my wholegrain spelt. My hubby eats the rye, it’s lower in gluten and suits him better.
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Because it’s lower in gluten, the technique is quite different to my spelt loaves. In its simplest form, with a good starter, it pretty much looks after itself.
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And horrah! The rye is local. Italy being a bread basket suits me 😉
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Anyone else love rye sourdough?

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Watermelon rind ferment. I added garlic, coriander seeds, yellow mustard seeds and black pepper. Never done this before – thinking of cracking it open early next week, so I’ll let you know how it tastes!
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I juiced most of the flesh. It’s sitting in a glass jar with water kefir grains now. Hoping I’ll have a fizzy pink kefir nectar soon.
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I love summer in Italy 🙂

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How gorgeous is this picture? I have stove envy. A big ol’ part of me longs to me a Mamma in charge of this beauty, creating with it in my kitchen, knowing it inside out.
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According to Darra Goldstein’s latest book on Russian cuisine (where this pic comes from), there’s a high ledge that I could cuddle up on in winter, it’d transform into a sauna, and of course, I could keep all my ferments warm as it cooled.
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And I like her outfit too 🙂

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Are you up for cooking bread lasagna with me this month? It’s such a good dish for using up left-over meat and/or veg and end-of-the-loaf bread.
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The recipe that’ll guide you through is linked in my profile.

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This is soppressata toscana. It is made with ‘waste’; the parts of a pig which, these days, most people don’t eat. It came to us from Francesca, who runs the organic farm up the hill with her husband.
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It tastes delicious.
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I adore the fact that I live in a place where nose-to-tail traditions are very much alive.
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And I want to learn how to make this 🙂

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The crust. Is it the best bit? Or is it the place where the juicy topping meets the dough? Or maybe the crispy bottom?!
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All of those places on the wholegrain spelt sourdough pizza I make are gooood.
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What’s your favourite bit?

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Pancakes are my absolute favourite breakfast. I like them simple. Flour and water. I cook them in a cast iron pan. And then I top them most often with miso and a sprinkling of ground linseed – yet to come on this morning’s golden beauty, which is two-thirds einkorn and one-third chestnut flour.
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Pancakes without eggs in cast iron can be so simple (and quick), providing you get two elements right:
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1 – Heat up the cast iron pan for longer than you think. I put mine on medium heat and then walk away and do something else for 6/7 minutes.
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2 – Use a lot of fat. To stop your house being full of smoke, use a high heat oil. Tallow is best. Lard is good. Ghee better than butter. And good olive oil works too – the high polyphenol count counters any potential oxidization. Don’t be afraid of using ample fat.
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Pour the batter in. Spread it with the back of a spoon. Leave it till the top surface is no longer wet (it will change colour). Flip it. Leave it another 5 minutes.
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Then slide onto your plate and top in whatever way you see fit.

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I live in a town that nestles itself in the hills that surround Florence, in Tuscany, Italy. It’s lively and vibrant, yet verdancy and stillness are on all sides, so easily accessible. We often go for a walk on a … Read More