What’s cooking?

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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I am a little obsessed with making a sourdough cake. I want it to be egg-free (my son can’t eat eggs) and have no refined sugar in it. Yet obviously it has to taste *divine*. Chestnut flour always seems heaven-sent to me. So here is a cake made of solely wholegrain spelt, chestnut flour and sweet potato. I’ve layered it with a cream made from cashews, water and 1/2 a tsp of honey. Looks super nice, right? Still a work in progress though…it’s a bit ‘crusty’ for a cake. I’d like to find a way of making it softer. Next iteration might have some fat in the dough.

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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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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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What I had in the fridge: onions, cauliflower, the end of a piece of fontina cheese and half a jar of tomato paste.

What I made: A tomatoey-cauli, fish bake!

I chopped the onion finely and broke up the cauliflower into small florets. I put these in a bowl with the tomato paste, added a drained tin of mackerel, two cloves of chopped garlic, a generous sprinkle of dried oregano and a dash of red wine vinegar. I greased a dish with lard, tipped in to mix, flattened it down and then grated the fontina on the top. I baked it, at 180C (350F) for 20 minutes covered and then a further 25 minutes uncovered.

We ate it with sourdough bread spread with local lard. The cauliflower was still a little hard and contrasted really well with the gloopy cheese. The boys loved it!

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Are you an enthusiastic home cook? Would you like to cook along with other stuck-at-homers to a recipe you could easily adapt to what’s in your fridge? I’ve been feeling a little isolated in my quarantine kitchen so am working on Ancestral Cook-Up, a bi-weekly community cook where I’ll share a tasty, traditional foods recipe template that we can all have a go at. I’d love you to cook it with me and share your pics and thoughts. Check the link in my bio for information – I’ll be posting the first dish in the next few days.

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6am on a Friday morning and I’m standing, with my husband, in a room of half open, half-filled boxes. We’ve sold our house. We have to be out of it in 3 hours and on a plane later that day – we’re moving countries. There’s been a huge misunderstanding: the van that arrived last night to take our things across Europe could only take 1/3 of what we own. I’m now looking at the 2/3rds of our possessions splayed across our front room, in chaos. We have to throw or give it all away to charity shops (in the next 3 hours without a car!). I say goodbye to my much-used two slow cookers along with countless other much-loved stuff. It’s only stuff, right?

I’ve missed slow cooking so much. It suits me. It suits ancestral traditions. Finally, a few weeks ago, I felt able to get a new one.

Curls of beef and barley stew are scenting my #quarantinekitichen here in Italy.

And part of me feels much more content.

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Raw goat’s milk, still warm, from a farm up the hill a few miles. It took me a while to find a farm and then organise an order, but I am so very happy to have #realmilk back in my family’s life. And my son was in love with the warmth! We drank a little each and then I poured the rest in two jars; one for kefir and the other to sour for curd cheese and whey.

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