Of Buckwheat and Galettes

When Sara, Rowen and I visited Brittany, we were introduced to the wondrous cuisine of the region. http://www.frenchentree.com/france-brittany-restaurants-shops/home.asp Has a sample. Apples, butter, honey, cider, beer, fish, mussels, custard and crepes, oh, my! Good hearty food, friendly people.

One of the dishes I liked best was the galette. A galette is a crepe made out of buckwheat flour, in the local stores it was labeled ble-noir or saracen. I picked up a kilo of local buckwheat while we there, but I used it even before we left Europe. Good luck finding plain old buckwheat flour in Abilene. I had been using Hogden's Mills Buckwheat Pancake mix, but I wasn't happy with the results. Too thick and fluffy to be a proper galette. Imagine my happiness when Sara brought home some Hogden's Mills Buckwheat Flour! I made galettes today for lunch. Yummy!

Galette Breton
8 oz buckwheat flour
pinch of salt
2 cups water
2 eggs
1.5 oz melted butter
cheese, diced ham, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, onions, sausage, fried apples or whatever for filling
Mix everything together, making sure you got rid of the lumps. Let the batter rest for at least 45 minutes. (Some recipes say 2 hours) Pre-heat your griddle. Pour on some batter, spread it thin, let it cook. cover one half with filling, fold and flip. This takes some practice. I cheat and use a mondo pancake flipper. The galetterries use this long narrow wooden spatula, but end result is what matters, not the tools, in this case. Anyhow, cook until crispy brown. Serve hot with apple cider and a salad.

Going back to Jersey for September

I haven't been posting regularly, bad on me, I know. Anyhow, since my last post, we decided to head to Jersey to visit my folks. I say we, but itwas really more of a case where Sara said "If really want to, we can." From what Mom was saying, Mom-mom isn't doing well, so Mom and Tony coming out to visit was a no go. Dad and Sherrie (gotta luv second marriages) can't come out because college for my brother is heinous on a retired carpenter's budget. That left us going back East. My daughter hasn't seen her Grandpa or her graet grandma. Add in the fact that I'm going to Korea, I really wanted to go back to show Rowen and Sara off.

Now the trip looms large, of course. It's going to be a long drive, but we felt drive would be better than flying. I hope we're right!