Buckwheat? Otay!

Buckwheat Mmmm…it’s my go-to morning cereal more than oatmeal or any other warm cereal.  Buckwheat is not a grain.  It’s a fruit seed related to the rhubarb and sorrel and is ideal for people with sensitivity to wheat or protein gluten.  It’s also a warming grain – a good remedy for colds or when the body has a yang deficiency.

When I have a choice between a sweet flavored breakfast and savory breakfast  I go with savory almost every time.  Buckwheat makes the perfect savory breakfast, much like grits, it’s better with salt and pepper rather than sugar and milk.

So if I’m going to make my breakfast buckwheat with salt, pepper, and butter it can’t be BORING!  I doll it up with salts sourced from both mountain and sea.  The pepper I’m using right is from Cambodia.  I grind it fresh.  The butter right now that I love is a French goat milk butter.  It’s super-light, melts like cotton candy on the tongue.  Oh, and if I leave it out of the fridge accidentally overnight it becomes the lightest, tastiest blue cheese spread ever!

The salts I have currently in my cupboard are all from the sea.  The black salt  above is a coarse Cyprus black sea salt.  The maroon salt is Gusto Mundial Hibiscus from Mallorca, Spain. The white is also a sea salt from Cyprus. The red in the background is Hawaiian Red sea salt, and the pink is a Murray River Austrailian Pink Flake. I love the Murray River salt because it is very fluffy.

These salts by themselves have a distinct flavor but it is when they are paired with the buckwheat, pepper, and butter that they really pop.  The same is true for pairing them with other foods and also with beverages.  I would love for you to share your pairings and discoveries with me.