Thursday, May 27, 2010

do-it-yourself Cream of Buckwheat

Despite having just gone to Costco, I couldn't find anything for breakfast this morning. We ate almost everything that came in our Door to Door Organics box already, and no one was feeling in the mood for smoothies. Mornings in Colorado can be kind of cool, since the temperature drops so dramatically at night, like it does in the desert. We felt like something warm to eat.

I looked in the pantry, but didn't have any Ponoco, Cream of Buckwheat, our usual favorite. I did however, have buckwheat groats from iHerb. Remembering Stephanie's post on hot millet cereal, where she ground millet in her blender, I decided to try it myself with buckwheat, and it came out perfectly.

Do-it-yourelf Cream of Buckwheat:

Add 1 cup of buckwheat groats to the blender and blitz until finely ground.
Note: If you don't have a Vita-Mix or BlendTec, I would do this in a coffee grinder.

Add to a medium size pot:
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups water

Bring to simmer.
Whisk in the ground buckwheat.
Continue whisking for a few minutes or until the porridge has thickened.

Remove from heat. Add:
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

I topped mine and the girls with my favorite coconut sugar and organic cherries that I got frozen at Costco. I just warmed them quickly in a bowl of hot water.

Andy topped his buckwheat with walnuts and a little maple syrup—that was really good too.

♥, Kelly

"Buckwheat is actually not related to wheat at all. Buckwheat is a bush-like plant, which comes from the same family as rhubarb. Buckwheat flour is made from the triangle-shaped seed, or fruit, of the plant. The seed is similar to a sunflower seed, with a small seed inside a hard outer hull. This tiny seed is what the buckwheat flour is made from. This seed may be tiny, but it is mighty powerful when it comes to nutrition.

Buckwheat has a high concentration of all the essential amino acids, which even whole-grain wheat can’t claim. Buckwheat especially contains high levels of lysine, threonine, tryptophan and the sulpher-containing amino acids. Our bodies cannot make most of these amino acids, so we have to get them through our food sources." -Delicious Gluten-free Baking

15 comments:

dirtyduck said...

yay somebody else that uses flavored stevia!!! lol i love that stuff!!!

Sara said...

I hate how that Door To Door box runs out so easily! Its only Thursday!

I love the idea of Cream of Buckwheat. I loved Cream of Wheat as a kid on cold mornings. I wonder if you could do this with buckwheat flour, or if that would be more like pancake batter.

Stephanie said...

What a great idea! I've never had cream of buckweat, but I do have buckwheat groats and had no idea what to do with them... until now. I'll be trying that soon!

Heather said...

I just wanted to say that it's a delight to read your website, I look forward to your new posts and am fascinated by your story. Thanks so much for always sharing!

tam said...

What a fabulous idea! I have some buckwheat groats that need some attention thank you for the inspiration! x x

Leah said...

I like the Pocono brand too, but the time I tried to duplicate it, I couldn't get an even grind on my buckwheat groats. Some were still pretty big, while others had become basically flour.

I had better luck using a mortar/pestle, but who wants all that work?!

Did you use a Vitamix? Would that make a difference, I wonder?

Stephanie Eastman said...

i don't know if my last comment went through. will this also work in your recipes for lasagne that call for cream of buckwheat?

Stephanie Eastman said...

wow.. what a coincidence...moments ago i ordered my first batch of cream of buckwheat that you recommend in your cookbook. i have my own grain grinder and make my own buckwheat flour. do you think this method could also substitute in your lasagne recipes?

Kelly said...

Thanks guys! =)

Leah, I use a BlendTec.

Stephanie, What a great question. I bet that would work for the lasagna.

Ricki said...

This is one of my very favorite things in the morning! Your bowl looks very inviting--yum!

I've never ground mine in the blender first (as I'm very lazy) ;)
But if you have pre-cooked buckwheat (or any grain, really), you can mix it with some milk of choice, then blitz in the blender until smooth, and THEN gently re-heat--works just as well! :)

Carrie said...

I can't wait to try this Kelley! I think my magic bullet should grind my buckwheat groats into the right consistency for this type of cereal! I'm always on the look out for healthy gluten free, vegetarian breakfasts!! Can't wait to try it!

Stephanie Eastman said...

I forgot to mention that I made your chocolate chip cookie bars (I think that is what you call them.. the ones with the picture where they are cut like triangles) from your cookbook with my home ground buckwheat and they were delicious. I don't know what they are like with the cream of buckwheat so I can't compare... but we loved them and will be making them agian. We also made your chocolate chip cookies yesterday with the pulp from almond milk and today we are making your bean cake. We have absolutley loved your cookbook!

Kristi B. said...

Mmmm...just tried this this morning and it's great! I can't imagine a faster warm breakfast! Just happened to have frozen cherries on hand so made mine just as you described (just made a personal portion with 1/4 cup buckwheat groats that I ground in my cuisinart spice and nut grinder (it's like a coffee grinder that can be washed!!) and 1/2 cup each of coconut milk and water. Thanks for this great idea!

Lexie said...

Kelly, we've been making this and it is a hit! What I love is that it is soooo very affordable (ordered from Azure). I've been buying gluten-free oatmeal packets and they are so expensive. With just 1/2 cup of groats I can make enough hot cereal for me and the two boys. Today I used almond milk instead of coconut milk and it was just as tasty. Thanks for this great recipe! And for showing us how to use those groat-y things :)

Anonymous said...

wow. I will have to try this out with my boys. Sounds delicious! You are a culinary genius!

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