Slavic Kitchen Alchemy - An Interview with Zuza Zak

So, some big news about changes to the podcast plus a wonderful story: Davey & The King of the Fishes. You can find out and get updates about my new podcast at my new website: A Question of Death You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ which will continue as purely as storytelling podcast with a monthly folktale or two featuring food. You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠⁠. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠⁠ You can also ⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠ here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠⁠ which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

A collection of wintery and festive tales for the season: Why the Sea is Salt, The Christmas Bear and Twelve Brothers. The first is 'Why the Sea is Salt' a Norwegian tale adapted from Christmas Fairytales colled by Neil Phillip. The story begins on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve when a poor and hungry man finds himself unable to provide for his family and turns to his rich brother. The brother unwittingly starts him on the road toto a better life, but first he must pay a trip to hell with a side of bacon ......... The second is The Christmas Bear inspired by and adapted from the tale shared by both Lari Don in Fire & Ice and by Margaret Sperry in Scandinavian Stories. The story begins in the coldest part of Norway with a hunter and the capture of a strangely stubborn but wise snow bear. They stop on their journey to find out why a family is forced from their home every Christmas Eve ........ The third is Twelve Brothers, adapted from Folktales of Scandinavia collected by Polly Curren. The story begins when a Queen of the of the cold northern lands who has been blessed with many sons, spills red blood on the white snow and dreams of a daughter. This sets in train a set of entirely unforeseen circumstances ..... You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠⁠. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠⁠ You can also ⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠ here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠⁠ which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

In which we discover that strange food stealing horses don't always have your best intentions at heart, that you should always be kind to cats, rowan is good for protection and that kale has its very own folklore. The Story: The Widow & Her Daughters adapted from the version in Popular Tales of the Western Highlands collected by Joseph Campbell. The Recipe: Wilted Kale If you would like to find out more about what I talked about in this episode you can find books and links at ⁠Further Reading⁠ You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠Linktree⁠ You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠ You can also ⁠subscribe⁠ here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠ which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

The ⁠Stories⁠ in this episode are: Golden Hair, The Lass & her Good Stout Blackthorn Stick and The Tailor in the Church adapated from Sorche nic Leodhas and Ruth Manning Sanders  This is another just the stories episode, this time for All Hallows Eve. There are three traditional tales which are just a little bit scary but also a little bit clever and maybe also just a little bit silly in the case of the last tale. I hope you enjoy these tales even if you prefer yours a bit more bone chilling normally.   You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my ⁠Linktree⁠ You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: ⁠How Food Frames Stories⁠. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: ⁠Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller ⁠ You can also ⁠subscribe⁠ here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at ⁠Hestia's Kitchen⁠ which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

In which I explore a completely different direction, have fun with food symbolism and folklore at this interesting time of year and make a realisation about how I really feel about good food. I hope you enjoy this bonus episode as it is very different to anything I have done on the podcast before. I will be presenting a menu for a Halloween or an All Hallows Eve Feast, providing some of the folk beliefs or symbolic meanings for the foods involved and folklore around some of the ingredients for each course. You can download the recipes and menu on my Ko-Fi page for free. If you would like to find out more about what I talked about in this episode you can find books and links at Further Reading You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

In this episode I interviewed the wonderful Sarah Robinson about the fabulous book she has created with Lucy H Pearce: The Kitchen Witch Companion: Recipes, Rituals & Reflections If you are reading this on or before 19 October 23 there is still a chance to pre order this direct from the publisher there will still be a chance to pre-order the book direct from Womancraft Publishing (pre-ordering direct from Womancraft gets you a selection of free e-goodies, signed copy & bookmark) https://womancraftpublishing.com/product/kitchen-witch-companion/ Then from 3 November 23 its available worldwide from all the usual online booksellers, or direct from Womancraft, or you can get you local indie bookshop to order it in!  If you have any questions or just want to find out more you can find the publisher @womancraft_publishing or Sarah @yogaforwitches on Instagram You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

In which we discover that everything is not always as it seems, that you should take advice from helpful travellers, that bees can be excellent as a home protection system and that the taste of honey can make you cross worlds. The Story: The Beekeeper & The Hare adapted from Thistle & Thyme collected by Sorche nic Leodhas The Recipe: Hot Honey If you would like to find out more about what I talked about in this episode you can find books and links at Further Reading You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

My current research is around the areas of food and death and the rituals around both. We talk so much about food being a huge part of life but it is also a large part of death and the rituals we have developed to help us cope with loss. The American South is well known for its traditions and rituals around food and funerals and funerary practices so I interviewed Ashley-Anne Masters, a Presbyterian Pastor from North Carolina and we discussed how food can bring us together in grief just as it does during times of great joy. I found this an incredibly comforting and uplifting discussion even though we were discussing nominally sad topics. However, we do talk openly about death, grief and the loss of a family member so if you are not in the right space for that right now, you may want to wait before listening. We also discussed how food and humour and ritual can really be of help during difficult times. Ashley-Anne is a wonderfully warm, incredibly kind, human being and I cannot thank her enough for taking the time to share her thoughts, experiences and memories with me. If you want to know more about Ashley-Anne, you can find her on Instagram or her blog. You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

I met with Zuza Zak and we talked about her wonderful new book Slavic Kitchen Alchemy: Nourishing Herbal Remedies, Magical Recipes & Folk Wisdom. Zuza is also the author of ‘Polska: New Polish Cooking’, ‘Amber & Rye: A Baltic Food Journey Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania’ and ‘Pierogi: Over 50 Recipes to Create Perfect Polish Dumplings’ all of which I own and have allowed me to do some of my favourite travelling via food and books without leaving my kitchen.   This book is different to her previous books and is essentially a wonderfully illustrated notebook steeped in Slavic lore containing natural remedies, healing recipes and wellbeing rituals with accompaniment of magic and folktales. You can pre-order Slavic Kitchen Alchemy and buy Zuza's previous books via this link: https://linktr.ee/zuzazak You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  

If you want to pre-order Icy's new book Rebel Folklore you can find links below: US Bookshop.org : Pre Order Link UK Bookshop.org : Pre Order Link You can also find out more about Icy at her website You can find more about me and Folklore, Food and Fairytales via my Linktree You can find the interviews in my newest interview series here: How Food Frames Stories. You can find my interviews with storytellers here: Vernacular Voices of the Storyteller  You can also subscribe here (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail. You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.