Buckwheat

{Some time ago I proposed the idea of discussing a particular grain each week. I started out with brown rice, which is a wonderful place to start. But unfortunately, I didn't go any further. I'll spare the details of my crazy life, but things got busy. However, I'm back with another installment of A Grain a Week. Hopefully further installments will be less few and far between!}

So, you may ask, why the interest in grains anyway? Well, as Americans, we tend to focus all our grain sights on the almighty wheat. And while there is nothing necessarily wrong with wheat, diversity is always better. Other grains may offer other nutrients. Also, important for vegans and vegetarians, (as well as everyone else) many types of whole grains can supply protein, calcium and minerals. The grain that I'll be focusing on this week is Buckwheat, which ironically isn't a grain at all!




Buckwheat is actually the seed of a fruit. It comes from a fruit that is similar to rhubarb.



It is great for folks who are gluten intolerant. So although it has the word "wheat" in it's name, there's really no relation. Buckwheat appears as little triangle shaped seeds, and must be hulled in order to be eaten. You can roast it, or buy it roasted - which is also known as Kasha (kasha can also refer to a blend of a few different grains - it's a porridge enjoyed in Russia). You may have had buckwheat in pancakes, I've always loved their flavor, especially with blueberries and pure maple syrup!!

Buckwheat also has great nutritional value. It's very high in manganese, magnesium, copper, selenium, iron as well as calcium. It is also a complete protein. And of course it's very high in fiber - which is important for so much of our body's health - and is sorely lacking in the typical American diet.

So, over the next few days I will be cooking up some buckwheat! This evening I plan to try this yummy sounding recipe, since I actually have all the ingredients on hand.

Buckwheat Salad with Mushrooms and Parsley oil



There is also this tasty looking salad as well

Greek Kasha salad



And of course, this Saturday I will have to whip up a batch of buckwheat pancakes!
This will be an interesting experiment for three reasons:
1. I'm pretty horrible at making pancakes at home.
2. Skater Girl is a pancake connoisseur, and she will be hard to please.
3. I prefer vegan recipes that are not fussy (by fussy I mean ground flaxseed or 5 different types of flour) and so far every recipe I've looked at for vegan buckwheat pancakes is very fussy. The one linked above looks promising.

Stay tuned!

color for spring

March has been bringing with it more liveliness and energy. Happily, I can say that my ability to wake up early and exercise has been growing steadily.

Spring for me always brings with it a sense of wanting to get cracking on projects around the house. I've been having so much fun on this website coming up with the perfect color palettes for each room of the house.

our bedroom



the kitchen



the living room

Mornings...

what I imagine they will be like




What they are actually like



tomorrow, I start fresh!
March 1st - here I come!

{Our new yoga room - isn't it lovely?}

Lately, I've been in something of a yoga slump. I want to practice, but I can never seem to make time. This is of course an older than dirt excuse for not doing exercise. I know that if I can find the time to get on facebook or pinterest, I can probably find the time for a couple of downward dogs, right? I admit it, winter makes me really lazy. I'm thinking that I need some way to challenge myself. Right now, at best I'm doing yoga maybe twice a week. We have this great space in our new house. As usual, I want to get up early to do yoga, because I can't figure out how to fit it in any other time of day. I'm totally sick of hearing myself say that I can't get up. But seriously, I can't!! This semester is killing me! I feel exhausted all the time. But the nasty twist is that when I do manage to do yoga, I feel so much better. The second I start, my body just says ahhh, this is what I need. The hardest part is literally stepping onto the mat.

My first inclination is to come up with some sort of crazy challenge, like to do yoga everyday in March. But, I am thinking that I'm setting myself up for disappointment. I thought the whole month of letters thing sounded really fun, but I didn't make it past one week. Granted, it was actually really fun to write some letters, and I think that a few folks were pretty happy to get the mail, so it was totally worth it. Maybe I should just make my goal to do three days a week instead of two. Just incrementally more. I don't know.

One thing I am doing though, is reading some yoga books, and thinking of ways to live my yoga off of the mat too. I can always do that, and I don't have to set aside time for it! Well, I have three more days to decide if I want to do a full on challenge, or just try baby steps. Feel free to weigh in if you have an opinion!

Happy Valentine's Day

patience

Tonight I am struggling with a very dear to me family member who is an addict. I have been dealing with this pain on and off for more than 15 years. Just when I think that maybe things are going okay again though, this person calls me up to have a "philosophical conversation". These usually begin pleasantly enough but end with me realizing that they are getting more and more loaded during the conversation. Finally, I decide that I've had enough when it goes from being a conversation to my getting lectured. What began as a cry for help always ends up with a lot of "I know everything"

I have to take this time to remind myself of these things...

1. An addict will only accept the need to change when the pain of changing becomes less than the pain of remaining the same. (I feel like this has been a long time coming, but not quite there yet)
2. only the addict can make the decision to seek help
3. I love you too much to help you die
4. I also love you too much to make excuses for you, let you blame others for your situation, or let you lie to me.
   

I should really learn to listen to that feeling I got in the pit of my stomach tonight when I picked up the phone. Now I'll probably be upset for several hours. Is it better to try to help, or better to stay away? I never know.

Also, I'd like to state for the record that I really wish it were alcohol that were illegal. More lives have been ruined by that poison. And more lives in my family than I care to think about. It's very sad to think about.

tea and calm (sorta)

For the past week I've been forgoing my morning cup o' joe for some green tea. It's been a nice change of pace. I have found that I feel much more mellow. This is all relative though, since my life right now is really nothing but mellow! Tea is fun to get a little obsessed with I've also noticed. There's so many different kinds and types for each mood. In the evenings, while sitting by the fire I can drink this warm and spicy, Dream by the Fire Tea


And in the morning when I need a little energy, the past few days I've been drinking Chop Wood, Carry Water tea (isn't that just a great name for a morning beverage?)I like to throw in some dried rose hips for tartness and Vitamin C



I even bought a cute little glass tumbler to take my tea to work with me in the morning. It doubles nicely as a water bottle when I'm not increasing my tea habit.

Another thing that goes nicely with my new habit is watching episodes of Downton Abbey. Nothing like British drama to go with your evening cup!



My goodness, letter writing, tea drinking, masterpiece theatre - I'm being quite the sophisticate this February! lest you think I am becoming too serious, here's a tea related video that is both very silly and very funny.