Saturday, January 21, 2012

Buckwheat pancakes

My mother was always an adventurer in the kitchen.  When my friends were eating simple pancakes for breakfast, we had buckwheat pancakes.  Certainly richer in fiber, a little more "earthy" tasting and to me, very delicious.  I, personally, have never liked maple syrup.  If you can imagine, I preferred Karo white syrup on my pancakes.

We lived for 20 years in northern Wisconsin when our children were growing up.  A lot of Scandinavian influence in that area.  In fact, lingonberries could be found fresh in the produce section around Christmastime.  That is when I first fell in love with them.  Since then, whenever I am in a store with unusual foods, I search for lingonberries.  This jar says they are from Sweden.  If you have never tasted them, I would say that they are very tiny and remind me of cranberries.

So this morning, we had buckwheat pancakes with sour cream and a topping of lingonberries.  Absolutely delicious.  The Trout added some maple syrup to his, but I liked them 'just the way they are.'


It was probably 20 years ago when Martha Stewart was raving about her buckwheat hull pillows.  So, yes, I ordered a massive amount of buckwheat hulls and made pillows.  They were comfortable to lay on...comfortable to the head and neck, but I could not get used to the sound.  Kind of  like a crunch with each turn.  Hmm...wonder what happened to all those pillows.

In the end, I still prefer my buckwheat in a pancake with these delightful lingonberries.  But....I do remember visiting friends in Soltau, Germany, in the northern part of the country.  Actually it was in the "Heide," the heather country.  After spending an afternoon walking through the heather, we stopped at a delightful little restaurant.  It must have been about 4 p.m., because that is when Germans have their afternoon coffee and sweets.  I ordered a slice of buckwheat torte spread with layers of lingonberries.  It was so good, I remember the taste and that was over 30 years ago.  I hope one of my German friends reading this will tell me how to make this torte.  That would be a real tasty surprise!!

14 comments:

  1. I don't think I have ever seen buckwheat here but maybe it has another name in French! I love pancakes and this sounds delicious. Diane

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  2. I wish these pancakes were my breakfast right now!!
    The flavor of buckwheat with the lingonberrys must be delicious, certainly they are a pretty combination. I think I would like maple syrup on mine;-)

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  3. My mother often made buckwheat pancakes too....And one of my grandmothers made buckwheat groats with her potroast and I love that and still make it myself....It's not really a grain...I think it may be a fruit. I beat an egg and stir a cup of buckwheat groats into it and then cook them briefly in a warm skillet with perhaps a very little oil. This keeps the buckwheat from becoming mush at the end. Then I add two or 2.25 cups of water or broth and cover and cook the groats till all is absorbed. Great with gravy from the roast!

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  4. Anonymous10:40 AM

    funny! I remember Martha and her pillows also. Maybe they have been replaced by that Japanese pillow that is advertized on TV. I once bought cocoa husks as a ground cover from a garden store--you know -- natural and all that. But everytime you walked by, it smelled like burnt cocoa or coffee. Was never sure if I liked them. Needless to say, I never purchased them again. Loved your pancakes. Just not on my diet esp the syrup part. Hey-- I never liked maple syrup on anything either. I am a 'butter will do it' person.
    And Lingonberries-- they are awesome. They still serve them at the Northwoods pub here because it is all scandanavian cooking-- or as my mother would say-- scandahoovian.

    From Laurie in the great white north-- which is finally white and cold. Wisconsin rocks.

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  5. Those pancakes sound so good. Makes me wish that I'd not had a boiled egg and toast for breakfast so that I could start all over again!

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  6. I've never tried making buckwheat pancakes but they sounds delicious! I'll have to look for some buckwheat and lingonberries! I'm not a big fan of maple syrup on my pancakes either and would rather top them with good preserves or apple sauce.

    Those must have been some looooong winters in northern Wisconsin!

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  7. To Diane in France. I have done some searching and in France buckwheat flour is call sarrasin. They makes crepes out of sarrasin in Brittany.

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  8. Susan, your pancakes look delectable. I love buckwheat pancakes but haven't had them in a good while. And the same with lingonberries. My MIL was Swedish and made goodies with them quite often. That certainly brings back great memories for me.

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  9. OK, Karo syrup . . . that's just wrong!!! LOL!!!

    I love buckwheat pancakes! I usually order them out when I see them on a menu, and I like maple syrup on them too! LOL!!!

    I made buttermilk & honey pancakes this morning!

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  10. I grew up eating pancakes right from the box...I love earthy flavors and buckwheat pancakes would be delightful. I do love real maple syrup.

    Cheers.
    Velva

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  11. I love having something so good the memory of it stays fresh over thirty years of time.... Susan, those pancakes look soooo good and thick and fluffy!! Just like I love 'em! Oh, my! I just ate dinner, but you've made me hungry again. blessings ~ tanna

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  12. I've never tried buckwheat anything! Pancakes and I don't really get along... they tend to just "sit" and make me uncomfortable!

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  13. Karen, buckwheat is gluten free.

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  14. What a breakfast this would be!

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