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I get a horrid feeling any time I am faced with throwing away food. So, when my first lot of beet kvass was well-fermented and I decanted it, I just couldn’t consider throwing away the beets. Instead, I roasted them with some mushrooms, onions and courgettes. . And I am so glad I did! Talk about delicious. The kvass mix also had garlic, black pepper, coriander, cumin and caraway seeds. Those went in to the roasting dish with it. Their smell – along with that of the fermented beet – filled my little kitchen with an aroma that was totally new to me. . . I topped it with ricotta. And I topped the ricotta with black pepper, some zested lemon and a generous drizzle of olive oil. . Zero-waste tasting amazing.

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I get a horrid feeling any time I am faced with throwing away food. So, when my first lot of beet kvass was well-fermented and I decanted it, I just couldn’t consider throwing away the beets. Instead, I roasted them with some mushrooms, onions and courgettes.
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And I am so glad I did! Talk about delicious. The kvass mix also had garlic, black pepper, coriander, cumin and caraway seeds. Those went in to the roasting dish with it. Their smell – along with that of the fermented beet – filled my little kitchen with an aroma that was totally new to me. .
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I topped it with ricotta. And I topped the ricotta with black pepper, some zested lemon and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
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Zero-waste tasting amazing.

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Is a pizza a pizza if it doesn’t have tomato or cheese? Perhaps it’s a focaccia (or as they are called in Tuscany, schiacciata)? This was supposed to be a Fitascetta, but it’s not as I couldn’t find red onions in the groovy local shop that I have fallen in love with since lockdown. . Arghh…you know what (she says quietly considering she lives in Tuscany), I don’t really care what it is. Or if it breaks the ‘rules’. What I know that it tastes d.i.v.i.n.e. :-) . Sourdough spelt dough, mixed by my 6-year old, topped with lard-fried onions, olives, olive oil, garlic and oregano from the garden. Every ingredients is organic. It took 5 minutes in our oven – that’s the quickest I’ve ever got a pizza done. It makes such a difference to the base and dough. . We’ve got a huge wooden table in our kitchen. There’s extra space. I wish you could come and share…

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Is a pizza a pizza if it doesn’t have tomato or cheese? Perhaps it’s a focaccia (or as they are called in Tuscany, schiacciata)? This was supposed to be a Fitascetta, but it’s not as I couldn’t find red onions in the groovy local shop that I have fallen in love with since lockdown.
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Arghh…you know what (she says quietly considering she lives in Tuscany), I don’t really care what it is. Or if it breaks the ‘rules’. What I know that it tastes d.i.v.i.n.e. 🙂
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Sourdough spelt dough, mixed by my 6-year old, topped with lard-fried onions, olives, olive oil, garlic and oregano from the garden. Every ingredients is organic. It took 5 minutes in our oven – that’s the quickest I’ve ever got a pizza done. It makes such a difference to the base and dough.
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We’ve got a huge wooden table in our kitchen. There’s extra space. I wish you could come and share…

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Are you cooking along with me this month?! The recipe is nutritionally-dense soda bread. You can cook it you way – choose your flour, choose your liquid, choose what yummies you add. And you can choose to do these scones – I added lemon zest and raisins to the dough. They are good. Proper good :-) . All the details in the link on my bio. . Give it a read, cook it up, eat it (the best bit) and then show and tell me what you’ve done.

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Are you cooking along with me this month?! The recipe is nutritionally-dense soda bread. You can cook it you way – choose your flour, choose your liquid, choose what yummies you add. And you can choose to do these scones – I added lemon zest and raisins to the dough. They are good. Proper good 🙂
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All the details in the link on my bio.
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Give it a read, cook it up, eat it (the best bit) and then show and tell me what you’ve done.

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Fermenting garlic is easy. You need a lot of garlic, a glass jar, salt and some way of keeping the cloves under the brine you add – I use a bit of cabbage leaf cut to the shape of the jar and ‘pickle pebbles’. . Peel the cloves and chop large ones in two. Pop them in the sterilized jar. Make a brine using 5g of salt to every cup of non-chlorinated water. Pour this over the garlic so they are well-covered. Weigh them down so they stay under the liquid. Lid the jar and leave it covered somewhere warm. Wait. Wait. Wait. . It’s best after 6 weeks – the rawness mellows. Still, they pack an incredible punch and are well-documented as being one of the most potent anti-pretty-much-everything you can get naturally. . I have a chequered history with ferments. I can’t just eat them as I wish. I tried that and couldn’t sleep. It took me a while to realise what was happening. And then it took me a while to get the discipline of weighing out sauerkraut. I started, over 2 years ago with 1g a day! Slowly, slowly I’ve increased it and am now on 24g a day. I’ve done the same with water kefir and currently drink 2 egg-cups of it a day. . My biome needs extra care, I think, after abusing it so royally as a child with the over-eating which saw me twice the size I am now. Changing body ecology is not something I’ve been able to click my fingers and make happen. It’s made in every slow, conscious choice.

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Fermenting garlic is easy. You need a lot of garlic, a glass jar, salt and some way of keeping the cloves under the brine you add – I use a bit of cabbage leaf cut to the shape of the jar and ‘pickle pebbles’.
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Peel the cloves and chop large ones in two. Pop them in the sterilized jar. Make a brine using 5g of salt to every cup of non-chlorinated water. Pour this over the garlic so they are well-covered. Weigh them down so they stay under the liquid. Lid the jar and leave it covered somewhere warm. Wait. Wait. Wait.
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It’s best after 6 weeks – the rawness mellows. Still, they pack an incredible punch and are well-documented as being one of the most potent anti-pretty-much-everything you can get naturally.
.
I have a chequered history with ferments. I can’t just eat them as I wish. I tried that and couldn’t sleep. It took me a while to realise what was happening. And then it took me a while to get the discipline of weighing out sauerkraut. I started, over 2 years ago with 1g a day! Slowly, slowly I’ve increased it and am now on 24g a day. I’ve done the same with water kefir and currently drink 2 egg-cups of it a day.
.
My biome needs extra care, I think, after abusing it so royally as a child with the over-eating which saw me twice the size I am now. Changing body ecology is not something I’ve been able to click my fingers and make happen. It’s made in every slow, conscious choice.

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Two wonderful people, @farmandhearth and @forest.grace have taken part in the first #ancestralcookup – my slow-cooked beef and barley stew. Thank you so very much ladies. My heart is warmed and my feet dancing a little as I wander between fridge and oven. . We ate it again today here in my home. It’s sooo good – if you fancy giving it a go, check out the template recipe in my profile. I’m going to leave it there till we hit May. I have a new cook up coming for next month. I think you’re going to like it :-)

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Two wonderful people, @farmandhearth and @forest.grace have taken part in the first #ancestralcookup – my slow-cooked beef and barley stew. Thank you so very much ladies. My heart is warmed and my feet dancing a little as I wander between fridge and oven.
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We ate it again today here in my home. It’s sooo good – if you fancy giving it a go, check out the template recipe in my profile. I’m going to leave it there till we hit May. I have a new cook up coming for next month. I think you’re going to like it 🙂

… Read More

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I managed to find wholegrain spelt flour again and am back to baking my favourite 100% wholegrain spelt sourdough loaf. The experience of eating it makes me realise just how much I prefer wholegrain hands-down to white or semi-white flour. Its texture and taste pleases me so much. And, thanks to the @smallfoodbakery post about milling waste the other day, I realise just how much it is an environmentally and socially good choice too. . After experimenting with sourdough wholegrain spelt loaves for a while and finding that they went stale quite soon, I tried adding a ‘scald’ to the dough. That is a portion of flour that is made into a roux beforehand and added into the mixing bowl with my flour, salt, starter and water. It makes such a difference – the loaf is softer, more sliceable and ages better. . At some point, I’ll write it up. In fact, at some point, I’ll get to documenting a whole load about wholegrain sourdough. It is magic. . Wish you were here for lunch :-)

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I managed to find wholegrain spelt flour again and am back to baking my favourite 100% wholegrain spelt sourdough loaf. The experience of eating it makes me realise just how much I prefer wholegrain hands-down to white or semi-white flour. Its texture and taste pleases me so much. And, thanks to the @smallfoodbakery post about milling waste the other day, I realise just how much it is an environmentally and socially good choice too.
.
After experimenting with sourdough wholegrain spelt loaves for a while and finding that they went stale quite soon, I tried adding a ‘scald’ to the dough. That is a portion of flour that is made into a roux beforehand and added into the mixing bowl with my flour, salt, starter and water. It makes such a difference – the loaf is softer, more sliceable and ages better.
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At some point, I’ll write it up. In fact, at some point, I’ll get to documenting a whole load about wholegrain sourdough. It is magic.
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Wish you were here for lunch 🙂

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Oven-baked fermented semi-wholegrain millet cakes. They are easier to eat than to say! 4 days in the making, but it’s mostly hands off. Still, it makes me sound like a pro so here we go ;-) This is what I did with the millet (there’s a pic a few posts back of it straight from the shop): Soaked, rinsed, sprouted, blended, fermented, dolloped (the technical term) and then baked. . They really do not keep and are best, as here, straight from the oven. . Looking at the long description above, I can see how absurd this might seem to one who takes a slice of bread from a packet. But I love it. We eat these often. . You can also use the fermented mix to make porridge. It is very good. . A few days left of April to have a go at the #ancestralcookup Beef & Barley stew. We are doing it again tomorrow here. I’d love to see your pictures if you do – the recipe template is in my bio.

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Oven-baked fermented semi-wholegrain millet cakes. They are easier to eat than to say! 4 days in the making, but it’s mostly hands off. Still, it makes me sound like a pro so here we go 😉 This is what I did with the millet (there’s a pic a few posts back of it straight from the shop): Soaked, rinsed, sprouted, blended, fermented, dolloped (the technical term) and then baked.
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They really do not keep and are best, as here, straight from the oven. .
Looking at the long description above, I can see how absurd this might seem to one who takes a slice of bread from a packet. But I love it. We eat these often.
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You can also use the fermented mix to make porridge. It is very good.
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A few days left of April to have a go at the #ancestralcookup Beef & Barley stew. We are doing it again tomorrow here. I’d love to see your pictures if you do – the recipe template is in my bio.

… Read More

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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.

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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.

… Read More

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Want to cook along with me on this dish? If you fancy some company and inspiration in your kitchen, the #ancestralcookup is for you. This first one is Beef & Barley Stew. Click the link in my profile and you’ll find a template recipe and all the details you need to make a tasty, comforting, super-nutritious meal. I’ve written it in a way that makes it easy for you to cook along in your own home no matter what ingredients you can get hold of, no matter what your family can or can’t or like to eat. I’d love it if you want to join in, cook up and show me what you make!

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Want to cook along with me on this dish? If you fancy some company and inspiration in your kitchen, the #ancestralcookup is for you. This first one is Beef & Barley Stew. Click the link in my profile and you’ll find a template recipe and all the details you need to make a tasty, comforting, super-nutritious meal. I’ve written it in a way that makes it easy for you to cook along in your own home no matter what ingredients you can get hold of, no matter what your family can or can’t or like to eat. I’d love it if you want to join in, cook up and show me what you make!

… Read More

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The first online #ancestralcookup will be Beef & Barley Stew. I’m just writing it up and will have the details ready tomorrow. If you’re enthusiastic about real food and fancy joining a group of at-home cooks in making this dish over the next 2 weeks, I’d really love to have you cook a long. It’ll be super-flexible; you can use the ingredients that suit you. And it’ll be really tasty – we’ve eaten it 3 different ways the last few weeks and been super-comforted and nourished by it each time.

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The first online #ancestralcookup will be Beef & Barley Stew. I’m just writing it up and will have the details ready tomorrow. If you’re enthusiastic about real food and fancy joining a group of at-home cooks in making this dish over the next 2 weeks, I’d really love to have you cook a long. It’ll be super-flexible; you can use the ingredients that suit you. And it’ll be really tasty – we’ve eaten it 3 different ways the last few weeks and been super-comforted and nourished by it each time.

… Read More