“Jannock is scarcely ever seen in south east Lancashire now; but it used to be highly esteemed. The common expression “That’s noan jannock” applied to anything which is not what it ought to be, and commemorates the fame of this … Read More
Oatmeal, or porridge, is a wonderful way to start the day. And soaking your oats the night before you cook them can make the breakfast you consume tastier, easier to digest and more nutritious. Soaking oats potentially, depending on how … Read More
If you eat grains and follow an ancestral diet, you’ll probably have heard that we should soak our grains (or flour) in water and an acidic medium before cooking. This process not only softens and hydrates the grain, but it … Read More
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?!
Many of the cereals we see on breakfast tables these days are ridiculously-processed. Ridiculously-processed is my term…‘extruded’ is the scientific term. Yes, some of the contents of the cereal packet may have started life as a grain but let me … Read More
The Weston A. Price Foundation published my article So Much More Than Scottish Porridge: The Rich Culinary History of British Oats in the Winter 2023 edition of their journal Wise Traditions. It is an exploratory dive into the wonderful legacy of … Read More
This post describes the health benefits of the ancestral technique of fermenting grains. It then explains that very few Scottish (and Welsh) traditional oat recipes included fermentation and yet the oat-eating communities enjoyed incredible health. It asks why this could … Read More
Oatcakes were the one of the staple foods of the Scottish, Welsh, Irish and northern-English populations long before the advent of the more modern grain, wheat. The ‘cake’ in their name may make our modern minds think that they are … Read More