What’s cooking?

The stardust in my cells did a little jiggle when I read this comment on my wholegrain sourdough spelt pizza.
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It wasn’t from my hubby this time, but from @lvtrevino who cooked it up using the recipe in my profile. And this lady has eaten in both NYC and Italy.
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Eating a good sourdough wholegrain pizza base with nutty spelt flour is a joy…so much so that you don’t want many toppings, the dough itself is the star.
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Check out the recipe in my profile 🙂

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I bought some celeriac which still had the abundant green tops on. What better excuse to try out a new ferment?
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I added some garlic, black pepper and coriander seeds. Just have to wait a few days now – the most difficult part!

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The slow cooker is out!
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This is #ossobuco, from Flavio @lavalledelsasso cooked with lots of local veg.
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I’m totally enamoured by stirring sauerkraut into my stew at the moment, rather than eating it separately. The sour flavour goes so well threaded through the meaty broth.
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In gut-healing diets, this is shunned, as potentially the probiotics in the kraut are killed off by the heat of the stew. But I figure, I get so much else alive (with my kefir, kvass, fermented garlic etc) that savouring the flavour like this is worth it.
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Adding probiotically created sour to stews is an ancestral tradition in Eastern Europe (at least). The more I learn about traditional wisdom, the more I trust it *deeply*. And I remember Natasha Campbell McBride saying in her GAPS book that even dead probiotics do great work.
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So I let flavour be my guide.

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My absolute favourite sourdough creation is what I’m sharing as this month’s #ancestralcookup: Pancakes.
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These are so simple. If you’ve got flour, water and some fat for frying, you can make them.
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The link to the step-by-step recipe is in my profile. It includes super-clear instructions, loads of flour/ingredient options and videos showing how the batter should look, and how to get them fried up in a cast iron pan without sticking.
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If I go through a week without a sourdough pancake, my life has far less sparkle. Give them a go and see if you agree!

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“The almond crop alone relies on trucking some 88 billion bees from their wintering homes which is some cases are up to 1,000 miles away…some of these hives will travel 10,000 miles of roads each year.”
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I was completely astounded when I read this in the book Dancing with Bees. It’s talking about almond farming in California.
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I ask myself again and again, “What are we doing?”.
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And then I turn my attention to what’s in my shopping bag and, with trepidation, think about what has gone into each and every thing that I buy.
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These are Italian organic almonds. I’ve soaked them for a day in ample water with salt added. This neutralises the mineral-depleting phytic acid. They’ll go on top of our fermented oats for breakfast a fair bit this week.
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And as I eat them, I’m super-grateful for every crunch.
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Sustainable? (I’ve added a question mark!) post for the last of this month’s wonderful #veryfarmish

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Most Saturday mornings our apartment smells of roasting coffee as my husband, Rob, prepares his beans for the week. He buys them in bulk, green, and roasts them in our cast iron pan, meditatively stirring for almost an hour.
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He does this for 2 reasons: Firstly the taste – he likes them fresh and he likes a very light roast, more fruity and complex than heavy, bitter coffees. Secondly for health – the beans are fresher and are much less likely to have the mould very common on pre-roasted beans.
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I also think he likes standing there, stirring. That’s usually my domain, so it’s a novelty for him 😉
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I don’t drink roasted coffee. I have what one might term a ‘delicate’ nervous system! But, interestingly, I do like to boil up the green beans and drink green coffee.
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Seeing as it’s #internationalcoffeeday on Thursday and that one of this month’s #veryfarmish challenge posts is Hot Drink, I thought I’d snap a pic and share the beautiful colour of the two different organic beans he’s doing here.

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I sent my two boys off this morning carrying lunch boxes graced with Russian Sourdough Rye Bread. The little one has his with lard on and the big one has got almond butter.
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This bread is super filling, so it’ll keep them going till 6pm tonight when they’ll be back home.
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I’ve shared the recipe – which includes molasses and malt – as this month’s #ancestralcookup. Check the link in my profile for a step-by-step guide and some seriously mouth-watering photos.
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I’d love to have you bake-it-up with me!

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More is not better. This is my Lesson Learned for #veryfarmish.
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I’ve always lent on the side of too much. I make too much food. Historically I’ve eaten too much (a story for another day). I give more than necessary.
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I started teaching myself how to bake #sourdough from library books a year and a half ago. When fermenting, I’d pretty much always end up leaving it too long. And then I’d miss the magic of enjoying all the potentiality for risen loaves.
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This is a 100% wholegrain spelt sourdough. It was made on a hot, hot day here. I was brave and chose to shape and bake it ‘early’. It worked and I was rewarded with a wonderfully-risen loaf.
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Too much is not good. Neither is too little. Just right is the charm. This is true of my cooking *and* my life. It’s part science and experimentation, but it’s also partly trusting our guts, that wonderful source of knowledge that gets deeper the more we dance with it.

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Pigs brains. A first time for me. I boiled them for a few minutes to firm them up and then rolled them in sage-spiked spelt flour before frying.
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We ate them with Italian rice and a local salad.
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My son proudly announced they were his favourite food ever. The two adults in the house weren’t so sure…but I’m getting them again this week and having another go, as when it comes to #nosetotail, I don’t give up.
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These brains came from Flavio’s pigs at @lavalledelsasso – a few miles from our home. I went there and stood in the pig pen a month or so ago. If I choose to have a pig killed on my behalf, the least I can do is ensure it has a good life and not waste it.
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This is my *Farmish Meal* for the wonderful #veryfarmish challenge this month – can’t believe we are almost through a month. Check out the hashtag to see more inspiration.

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