Miracle Foods: Buckwheat

I love the idea of miracle foods. It warms my heart to think that there are foods out there that will cure my ills, make me slimmer and put money in my pocket. Well, ok, I don't know of any that have claimed to make me richer, but the other two claims are pretty standard in the miracle foods arena.

Right now, whole grains are getting a lot of PR for healthy eating. Everyone is eating oatmeal, whole wheat bread. However there are other foods out there that may be better for you than the usual fare. Buckwheat is one of those. High in flavonoids, it is said to lower cholesterol, while the high manganese content causes blood vessels to relax, lowering blood pressure. Buckwheat has a low glycemic index, meaning that it does not cause blood sugar to raise sharply after eating, and there is some indication that the relatively high magnesium content helps in managing blood sugar. For more information, check World's Healthiest Food's page on buckwheat

If you have only been exposed to buckwheat pancakes, you may be surprised to find out buckwheat is not a grain, but rather the seed of a plant related to rhubarb. The blossom of the plant is very attractive to bees, and at one time buckwheat honey was widely available.

Other cultures use buckwheat far more extensively than Americans. Kasha, often made of buckwheat groats, or the whole crushed grain, is enjoyed in many Eastern European countries. Japanese soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, and are delicious eaten cold with soy sauce and chopped green onion. Kasha Varnishkas is a traditional Jewish food- made from buckwheat groats and bowtie pasta.

We chose to make a sort of buckwheat latke. We used grated carrot, chopped onion, garlic and the ubiquitous "curry powder" for seasoning. The recipe is at the end of the post.

Chuck is the patty maker at our house- I don't like having my hands in gucky stuff.

He used his new deep fryer.

They fried to a nice color in about 3 minutes.

I ate mine with applesauce and greek yogurt.

Chuck said he would rather have left out the curry powder.

Buckwheat Latkes. Makes 12 hamburger sized patties
4 medium potatoes, grated. (Squeeze the water out of these to make it drier)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cup buckwheat groats, cooked
1 large carrot, grated
4 eggs
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup buckwheat, barley or whole wheat flour (may need more depending on wetness of the mixture.)

Mix all ingredients, in the order given. Mixture should be wet enough to hold together but not drip. Make into hamburger sized patties. Fry until golden brown.

These are good served with apple sauce and greek yogurt or sour cream, or with cheese melted on top.