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?!
Home-grown oats!
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Back in spring, when Silvia at @lebarbarighe sent me some of her naked oats (so I could sprout them for ale), I had the crazy idea of planting some.
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Crazy because I have no garden; no soil…just a collection of pots squeezed together on a patio. Crazy because I no *nothing* about growing grain. Crazy because I knew I would be away for 5 weeks with no-one to care for them.
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But I couldn’t help myself!
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And look at these! They are one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen for ages. I literally can’t stop looking at them and smiling. The experience has given me just a tiny, tiny taste of how my ancestors, who subsisted on oats, whose calendar was built around them – who literally grew up with all their smells, tastes routines and rituals – must have felt.
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I feel joyful and amazed and humbled and connected. ‘Just’ by a grass.
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Next task (if I can bring myself to do it) is to thresh them and get the grain out.
As ancestral foodies, gut healing is something that, if it didn’t bring us to this way of eating in the first place, plays a very large part in our consciousness. I first became aware of the concept of healing the … Read More
Struggling with milk kefir?
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Me too! Turns out it wasn’t me…it was my grains. Listen in to hear why.
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How’s your milk kefir? Have you experienced this before?
These are the show notes for a podcast episode recorded especially for patrons of my main show (Ancestral Kitchen Podcast). These patrons pay a monthly subscription to be part of the podcast community and in return receive monthly exclusive recordings … Read More
You can make rye bread kvass with old rye sourdough and use the same bread for batch after batch. It’s simple, fizzy, delicious and doesn’t need much attention.
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I like it flavoured with fresh mint (which is going crazy in the garden!). If you’re a kvass fan, I’d love to hear how you flavour yours.
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My method is in my profile (it’s the first one under the recipes sections).
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If you are interested in expanding your fermented drinks repertoire, have a listen to @ancestralkitchenpodcast #60 ‘”What Fermented Drinks Can I Make?’
Just like the Ancestral Diet is so different from the standard American diet, so the ways our ancestors birthed bears very little relation to how modern industrialised communities bring the next generation into the world. In this intimate episode, originally recorded for patrons of the podcast, Andrea and I share our birthing stories.… Read More
Mace is my favourite spice. Last week, I stumbled on it whole in my local herbalist shop.
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Italy has a herbalist (‘erboristeria’) in most towns. Some of them have almost been taken over by ‘products’ (i.e. the plastic-encased things you can spray or squeeze!) but usually, at the back, there are shelves and shelves of herbs and behind the counter there is an extremely knowledgeable person who can help with a myriad of things…including getting me some whole mace!
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So back to the mace. I love it with sweet potato, add it to my fermenting beet kvass and often plop some into my stock pot at it’s bubbling.
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Here I’m grinding it with all spice berries, black pepper and sea salt to make a spice mix for beef liver pate. The pate will also include onion, mushrooms, red wine and lots of butter/lard. Mace mixed with all spice brings wonderful warm tones to the pate, making liver-eating a really pleasurable experience (my 9-year-old loves it).
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Have you tried mace? What do you use it for?
Sourdough spelt and carrot muffins.
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There are no eggs here – sourdough provides all the rise and carrot gives softness to the inside.
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There’s no sugar either – the sweetness is from the carrots and some local honey.
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This is an adaptation of a recipe that I previously made as a cake. Why reinvent the wheel if you like what you did?! I love taking things I know how to make and presenting them differently.
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The recipe will be in the forthcoming @ancestralkitchenpodcast spelt sourdough cookbook.
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Talking of grains…I’m really excited that I have finally taken the plunge and decided to buy an electric grain mill! It should be arriving in the next few days. I can’t wait!
Boza ice lollies!
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It’s very hot here and my little man is in need of something summery, so, thanks to a nudge from @kitchencounterculture, I made ice lollies (or popsicles) by simply pouring fermented Boza into freezer moulds. I know the starter for Boza can survive freezing, so I’m officially calling these lollies probiotic!
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Whilst I was in the UK, I passed on some Boza starter to @iamcultured_ – the second pic here is of her first batch which she declared both ‘feisty’ and ‘delicious’ (a great combo, right?!).
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The same day the lollies were ready, I got a fab email from a student of my Boza course – swipe for the words that made me smile. And, if you don’t know what Boza is, keep swiping to my explanation.
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A video of the boza lolly being eaten is in my story today!