Reviving Traditional Foods
Sourdough focaccia with grapes, fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt found its way to our kitchen last week. Loosely adapted from the classic Italian grape bread or schiacciata con l’uva, this sourdough focaccia with grapes and rosemary takes an even more rustic approach – omitting enrichment by egg and sugar in favor of only the [...]
Homemade ketchup – it sounds complicated as though you’d spend all day in the kitchen pounding your way through vats of tomatoes and slowly simmering them away in kettles on a wooden stove. Making homemade ketchup from scratch seems complex, almost unfathomable in an era when quick-fix, all-in-one bagged skillet dinners constitute “cooking from scratch.” [...]
Election cake , like a bite from American history, makes its rounds every November. I make it every year, but only once a year – the first Monday of November. Preparing Election Cake is a celebration of love, of patriotism, of politics and of history. And for those of you who’ve read Nourished Kitchen for [...]
Staititai, sweet, tart and perfumed by sweet bay and fragrant olive oil, is, perhaps, the ancient grandfather of modern day pizzas. Soured spelt dough is first fried in olive oil, brushed with even more oil and topped with crumbled ewe’s milk cheese, sesame seeds and honey. The combination of whole grain spelt flour coupled with [...]
Onion gratin with fresh herbs is one of those special indulgences: fragrant, rich with cream and herbs. It’s an old-fashioned dish with no pretense. It’s comfort food at its best: sweet and savory and salty all at once. Warm for the growing chill of mid-September, onion gratin, humble as it is, deserves a place on [...]
Each week, through online video tutorials, downloadable print materials, easy-to-read charts and other comprehensive materials I’ll provide you with simple tools, techniques, tips and advice on preparing whole, local foods from scratch easily and affordably. After covering tips for sourcing local, fresh nourishing foods in the first week, you’ll learn how to master a recipe for a basic soaked, whole grain pilaf that you can adjust as your kitchen creativity dictates.
Sprouted wheat bread has a bad rap: it tends to be chewy, dense and coarse unlike those lovely, light sandwich breads to which we’re usually accustomed. This version of sprouted wheat bread is unlike the others: it’s soft, mild and pleasantly sweet. Great for sandwiches, this sprouted wheat bread recipe is flavored by [...]
Sprouted grain – rich in food enzymes and natural vitamins – grows closer and closer to the mainstream as people across all walks of life search for a better way to incorporate wholesome foods into their diet on a regular basis. While sprouting grain requires extra attention and, like many aspects of traditional foods, [...]
Natural sourdough is a fantastic way to leaven bread without the use of commercial yeast (which is often a GMO). Working with sourdough can be easy and rewarding if you follow a few simple tips and tricks: Use an established starter. Although it is possible to create a sourdough starter from scratch (as discussed [...]
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The Thing About Blueberries . . . is that they don't grind their Harleys over the hot desert tarmac, … [read more]
Confused about grains? You're not alone! It seems that everyone is telling you - to either get … [read more]
Did you know that a simple process can actually increase the nutrients your body absorbs from whole … [read more]
Jenny McGruther is a wife, mother and cooking instructor specializing in real and traditional foods. Her work has been featured on CNN, the Globe & Mail, the Atlantic, the Christian Science Monitor, Denver Post and WebMD. Click here to learn more.
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