5yo comments

So, she's not 4 anymore, but she hasn't stopped with the comments.

We are reading. Well, actually, she's reading to me from an early reader book. I decide to take the opportunity to show her a few things about the mechanics of the sentence. I point out that the He is capitalized, and explain why. "yes, that's interesting," she says. And I talk about how the letters at the beginning of each sentence are capitalized. Then I move to the end of the sentence and point to the dot. I begin "Do you see the dot at the end of the sentence?" To which she replies, "yes, that's called punctuation." what? I can't believe she already knows the word!!?? That's what I get for sitting her down in front of educational DVDs... Maybe I should buy some of those Teaching Company DVDs. Then she'll know everything by the time she's 10.

Buckwheat

No, not the character from Little Rascals. This is one of the side dishes that I serve. I first ate buckwheat while visiting friends in Poland. It has an interesting flavor, one that I found I actually liked. So when I came back to the States, I looked it up, found a source to purchase it, and learned how to cook it.

I also learned, in Nourishing Traditions, that "buckwheat is not technically a grain, but the seeds of an herb, a relative of rhubarb... It is high in lysine and calcium as well as vitamin E and the entire gamut of vitamin B complex. It is especially noted for its high nitriloside or B17 content, a vitamin that plays an important role in the body's defense against cancer." Sounds like good stuff to me!

The ratio of water to buckwheat is 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of buckwheat. (1/2 tsp salt)

I put the dry groats into a pot and turn the stove on to med high. Stir the groats and let them toast a bit. Meanwhile, I boil the water. When the groats get toasted, I turn the heat off and pour the hot water over them. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand until the water is absorbed, maybe about 20 min. Toss with a fork and serve.