Ancestral Kitchen

Every month we ask our supporters to send us their questions so we can tackle them on a special podcast called kitchen table chats, which is shared exclusively with our supporters as a special bonus and a thank you for keeping the podcast on the air for all our beloved listeners around the world.
In these episodes we are much more informal and perhaps a bit more forward than we are in the main feed.
In the summer, it has become our tradition to take one or two of these episodes and post them to the main feed so you can step in and enjoy this casual, more intimate time with us. Many of our supporters tell us these are their favorite episodes, maybe because sometimes we get a little bit obnoxious and opinionated.
In this episode we answered questions from Hannah, Brittney and Ella, four questions in all. We tackled how to handle potlucks and events where you share food with others, and others share food with you? We talked about how to help children adjust or transition to ancestral food, and do we have thoughts on bringing ancestral food to the plates of foster children that may be in our homes? We also discussed the fun question, how did we meet? Lastly we talked about attending social obligations with young children, with all of the junk food and potential scenes that can come from repeatedly telling children they cannot have all of the good things being put in front of them or even handed to them by well-meaning people. There is also a lot more in this episode including discussion of good books we have been reading, and several good titles we recommend; Alison’s quick pancakes; and a contribution from our supporter Rebekah, the most interesting cock-a-leekie soup!
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Sign up to the pod's newsletter here.
Get a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains
Read our Guide to Milling Your Own Flour
Get all three of the podcast cookbooks
Wear our beautiful, sustainable merchandise
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop: US here and UK here.
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Come join the podcast community! You can select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion group Find out more here!
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What We Talked About:
Welcome to our 50th KTC episode!!!
Cock-a-Leekie Soup from Rebekah
November's KTC Live Zoom call with podcast supporters
Alison's quick pancakes
Hodmedods and YQ Wheat - another wheat Rob can have?
The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
The November KTC 49 recording of Andrea with 3 other ancestral moms - referenced several times in this episode
Alison's recording with Marcos Patchett, Episode 119
Plus, the Kitchen Table Chats private podcast aftershow with Marcos Patchett
Feminism Against Progress by Mary Harrington
Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes (not on Bookshop)
The Happy Dinner Table by Anna Migeon (not on Bookshop)
Cindy Rollins' podcast: The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins
First Catch Your Gingerbread by Sam Bilton
Against the Machine group read-along
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If you love the show, leave us a 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts:
Open the Apple Podcast app and find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews', click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

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Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

Today we’re bringing you an episode of the podcast that originally went out in 2023. It’s one of our favourites, all about fermented drinks. In it, we cover over 20 different fermented drinks, including:
SCOBY ferments
whey ferments
grain ferments
wild ferments

And we talk to you about how you can incorporate these super health-giving, delicious foods into your life.
So if you’ve ever asked the question, “What fermented drinks can I make?” or “What other fermented drinks can I make?” This episode is for you.
For supporters of the podcast, there is a bonus e-book containing four of our favourite fermented drinks to download from the website.
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Sign up to the pod's newsletter here.
Get a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains
Read our Guide to Milling Your Own Flour
Get all three of the podcast cookbooks
Wear our beautiful, sustainable merchandise
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop: US here and UK here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Come join the podcast community! You can select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion group Find out more here!
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What we cover:
Scoby ferments
Whey ferments, and how you don't have to use whey
Grain ferments, including ale and boza
Wild ferments
Dairy ferments
Gluten-free ferments
Sugar and alcohol content concerns
Using fermented drinks in smoothies
Second-ferments

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If you love the show, leave us a 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts:
Open the Apple Podcast app and find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews', click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

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Resources:
Boza course
Sowans course (affiliate link)
DIY proofing box article
Kobo Fermentary (the gingerbug queen)
Andrea's Kombucha article
Alison Rye Kvass article
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

If we understand the importance of eating nose to tail, preparing bone broth and fermenting our grains, we understand that these ancestral principles for preparing food help our body to benefit more from the food we are eating and to avoid some of the damaging effects of industrial foods.
But are there other areas in our life where industrialized habits, behaviors and products are damaging our bodies and lives and are there ancestral, traditional ways of living we can look back at and try to imitate or recreate in our lives today, for optimal human thriving, longevity and happiness?
Yes, there absolutely are. There are ways of ancestral living that reach beyond the doors of the kitchen that support our habits in the kitchen, and our habits in the kitchen support our life outside. It’s all inextricably interconnected. In this episode we talk about what some of these ancestral aspects of modern life are, and how we have been integrating them and what you can do to bring them into your life today.
We have a further aftershow on our private supporter podcast, Kitchen Table Chats, where we discuss some important habits to cultivate, and we dropped a lot of links and resources in the show notes to support all of what we are discussing today. Rather than push our body to the limits of its tolerance, let's place ourselves in a prime position for thriving and succeeding, and enjoying our life more every day.
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Sign up to the pod's newsletter here.
Get a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains
Read our Guide to Milling Your Own Flour
Get all three of the podcast cookbooks
Wear our beautiful, sustainable merchandise
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop: US here and UK here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Come join the podcast community! You can select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion group Find out more here!
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If you love the show, leave us a 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts:
Open the Apple Podcast app and find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews', click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

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Resources:
Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth
Whoop sleep study (one of many!)
Episode 76: Essential Oils in an Ancestral Kitchen
Episode 37: A Peek into Alison and Rob's Ancestral Lifestyle
Episode 12: Why I Gave Away My iPhone
Decluttering help from Minimal Mom on YouTube
Whoop Podcast (they are on YouTube also)
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne - signs of PTSD in children in heavily programmed lives matching signs of PTSD in children raised in war zones
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Whole Body Barefoot: Transitioning Well to Minimal Footwear by Katy Bowman
Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman
Nutritious Movement, Katy's website
Xero Shoes
Many, many styles of barefoot shoes for all ages and styles: Anya's Reviews
e-Ink Screen devices
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

Eggs seem the simplest of foods, right? Why would someone write a book with over 800 egg recipes? We both have this book: "Too Many Eggs", and it has blown our minds with its plethora of recipes, practical tips and fascinating history.
So we were very excited to talk to its author, Mimi Smith Dvorak. In this episode, she shares with us the story of this book. We talk about the crazy lengths she went to when researching and some of our favourite recipes in it. We also talk about the practicalities of eggs, with some really helpful tips on how to work with them including a deep dive into mayonnaise, with her expert tips from having made it over and over again. Along the way, we talk about sustainable food, her incredible historic cookbook collection and much more.
This is a fun episode, and with the book that you can buy in hardback or download free as a PDF from toomanyeggs.com, you'll never look at eggs the same way again.
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Sign up to the pod's newsletter here.
Get a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains
Read our Guide to Milling Your Own Flour
Get all three of the podcast cookbooks
Wear our beautiful, sustainable merchandise
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop: US here and UK here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Come join the podcast community! You can select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion group Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The personal views and opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect our own personal views or opinions. We recognize that our guests are whole persons and this may include views we or our audience actively disagree with; our guests are invited to the show because we feel they have something valuable to share with us all, and we do not ask them to censor their personal views on air. Our sharing of their work is not necessarily an endorsement of their personal views.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If you love the show, leave us a 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts:
Open the Apple Podcast app and find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews', click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Get a copy of "Too Many Eggs" from Mimi's website. You can buy a hardback there, or you can download a PDF copy for free.
You can also, in the US, buy "Too Many Eggs" from our Amazon-free online bookstore. In doing so, you'll be supporting the podcast.
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay

Whether it's anticipating busy days between work and school, heavy project days writing or working in the garden or canning, postpartum or surgery recovery period - there are many reasons why having a stocked freezer supplied with ready to go meals and ingredients is an enormous benefit to living an ancestral, locavore style life. For many reasons - financial, ingredient concerns, sourcing concerns, access - many of us are not able to rely on the fallback of quick easy prepared foods from a grocery store or restaurants, and many of us don't have a village around us that can supply emergency meals in time of need, much less meals that would comply with our sometimes complicated or weird dietary requirements.
Building the routine of freezer stacking has been invaluable for our family, and in this episode I hope to share some of the ideas, meals and ingredients that have been helpful for us. Of course I thought of many more as soon as we finished recording, but there is plenty here to work with!
There is a bonus download for this episode available to all listeners, where we included recipe links for many of the foods we are going to discuss. If you are in our supporter community, we look forward to hearing your freezer ideas and contributions in our discussion boards on Discord. Let’s get the ideas flowing and keep those freezers stocked!
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Sign up to the pod's newsletter here.
Get a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains
Read our Guide to Milling Your Own Flour
Get all three of the podcast cookbooks
Wear our beautiful, sustainable merchandise
Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics
Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course
Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop: US here and UK here.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Come join the podcast community! You can select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content, and a Discord discussion group Find out more here!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What we talked about:
Leah's business, which relies on freezers!
The free bonus download for this episode
Why and when freezer meals can play an important role
Ideas to consider when planning your freezer meals
All-in-one prepared meals and casseroles
Sidekicks, or parts of meals that can be paired with more
Prepped ingredients, meant to be use in a dish
Containers and storage solutions

The personal views and opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect our own personal views or opinions. We recognize that our guests are whole persons and this may include views we or our audience actively disagree with; our guests are invited to the show because we feel they have something valuable to share with us all, and we do not ask them to censor their personal views on air. Our sharing of their work is not necessarily an endorsement of their personal views.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If you love the show, leave us a 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts:
Open the Apple Podcast app and find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library
Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews', click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Resources:
Ketchikan Sam’s podcast link or go to Ketchikan Sam’s and use code ANCESTRAL26
For more recipe links and our working notes, check the download here
Industrial Sharpie
Non-Gummy Masking Tape (I use for everything in the kitchen)
Souper Cubes
Spaghetti Sauce
Swedish Meatballs
Enchiladas
Mexican Lasagna (not Mexican, and not lasagna)
The Pastured Pork Cookbook
Meals at the Ancestral Hearth Cookbook
Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? Visit our website here for how to share
The podcast has a website here!
Stay in touch with Alison via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen
The podcast is on You Tube here
The podcast is mixed and the music created by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay