What’s cooking?

Mixing another castagnaccio today.
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It astounds me that such simple food (it’s chestnuts, water and oil) can be so attractive. And that a food that literally saved people from dying of starvation here in Italy can be so incredibly tasty.
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That’s joy of cucina povera – the recipe lexicon that was born of necessity – it’s the collective ingenuity of thousands. Sustenance and deliciousness from what was around them, because they needed to.
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I am blessed to be able to access food easily. And yet, every time I bake castagnaccio, I think back to those before me who took painful restrictions and with creativity, created beauty.
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Amidst all the ridiculous food systems and marketing we swim in these days, this is the food and these are the people who need honouring.
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It’ll soon be ready. I wish I could cut you a slice.

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Spelt loaf risen with milk kefir.
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This loaf might sound daunting, but if you’ve got some live milk kefir, spelt flour and a warm place, it’s surprisingly simple.
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And it tastes amazing – smooth, creamy and sweet.
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Let me know if you fancy giving it a go. I’ve not written it up yet, but if it’s wanted, I want it to be made!

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Have you *listened* to your sourdough starter recently?
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I took mine out of the fridge this morning, popped the lid, and it sang to me. The noise of tiny little bubbles, lively and high-pitched was awe-inspiring.
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Whilst I go about my day, there are communities of microbes living a parallel life in my home. That makes me smile.
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In case you’re curious, I keep a 100% wholegrain rye sourdough starter. It’s thick, not watery, as I find this helps it to last longer between refreshes. I keep it in the fridge, bringing it out the night before I want to bake and spooning a bit into fresh flour and water to make a ‘levain’ for the next day’s loaf. When it’s getting low, or when it’s smelling vinegary, I make a new batch and pop it back in the fridge.
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I use this rye starter in virtually all my breads, even my spelt ones. I love rye’s enthusiasm to host lactic and acetic acid bacteria; it makes strong breads.

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The quality of our holidays is important. And they are almost here!
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The latest podcast episodes cover US and UK traditions, our Christmases-past memories, how we do Christmas now and lots and lots of food talk!
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Again and again Andrea and I return to the unspoken quality of the festive period and how we can cultivate that in ways that don’t cost much.
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You can download our episodes from your favourite podcast app or stream/download them from my site, the link for which is in my profile.
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I’m looking forward to seeing how you celebrate the holidays. As the season ramps up, please do share and tag @farmandhearth and I 🙂

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I had my sourdough spelt pizza dough cooked in a hand-made wood-fired oven this weekend!
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It’s the first time I’ve had the honour of having my recipe baked in such a traditional, amazing way and I was super-excited. We did a few like this, and then others a schiacciata (think focaccia but thinner) with just olive oil and herbs on top.
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It tasted very good. Gabriel, my 7 year-old was so excited, I thought he was going to pop!

I’ll put some more pictures from the lovely day out at a community garden in my story today.
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And, if you want a go (it works in normal ovens too!) the recipe for the pizza is in my profile.

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When you’ve got home-made sourdough and freshly rendered lard, there’s nothing more divine than putting them together in a pan.
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My delicious lunch: Slices of sweet potato and spelt bread fried in lard made from @valledelsasso’s back fat, accompanied by local mushrooms and an egg with ample black pepper.
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For years, after losing half my body weight, I was terrified of saturated fat. When I finally had the courage to embrace it, my weight maintenance issues just melted away.
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I am so grateful to all that ancestral food techniques have given me and for how they taste every day.

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Our weekends get assigned certain tasks. Sometimes, there’s sauerkraut making, other weekends it’s grain grinding. This last weekend it was chocolate making.
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I’d previously roasted and shelled the single origin Nicaraguan beans. I then gently warmed the mortar and Rob spent 60 minutes pestling (is that a word?!) the cacao nibs. As he goes on, the natural fat inside the beans releases and a paste is formed.
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And that’s it. All I do is press the finished 100% cacao mixture into a mould and wait for it to set.
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We end up with a coarse chocolate – a bit like one of those expensive ones ‘with crunchy nibs’ you see in the shops. All three of us love it. It’s bitter and deep and smokey and so, so strong.
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I made a rough-round-the-edges short video of the process. To show that you *can* make bean to bar chocolate at home without any special equipment. It’s linked in my profile if you want a look.

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Milk kefir bread first came into my life as a rookie sourdough baker. I found a mentor online, and when he told me that he’d made breads risen solely with the power of milk kefir, I just *had* to have a go.
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That was 3 years ago and since then, I’ve made this bread many times. I adore it’s delicate, milky flavour. I keep my standard sourdough starter quite sour and this kefir bread provides a lovely contrast in my bread bin.
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I love nurturing multiple types of wild yeast cultures in my kitchen. The sense of autonomy, wonder and pleasure I feel creating with them is something that now I’ve ‘tasted’ it, I couldn’t live without.
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Check my story today for a picture of the starter and a crumb shot.
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And, while I’m on kefir in bread, someone told me last weekend that they’d heard of people putting their actual milk kefir grains in bread. Anyone know anything about that?

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I started eating sorghum after learning about lectins.
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Lectins are a protective protein produced by certain plants to help them survive – one that can cause problems humans who are particularly sensitive to them.
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My son is, and we’ve been able to continue his healing journey by cutting certain lectin-containing plants out along with increasing plants – like sorghum – that are lectin-free.
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Because this grain is easier to digest, it is one of the few grains I don’t always ferment. Here is it cooked in stock, mixed into a kinda of pilaf, with raw carrots, cooked kale, onions and garlic and a sauce made from olive oil and miso.
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The veg were from the local market (see my story today for some *serious* local veg pictures!), the oil is local, the sorghum was grown in Italy and even the miso was made here.
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If you’re looking to get the most from the grains in your diet, Andrea and I talk about lectin-free grains along with re-introducing grains and other ways to minimise grain digestion-difficulties and maximise grain flavour and nutrition in the current episode of @ancestralkitchenpodcast.

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