Cakewreck

Yesterday I threw away nearly 3/4 of a jar of buckwheat honey. I bought it from our local beekeeper, never having tried buckwheat honey before, but having enjoyed the carrot, blackberry, meadow foam and other flavors he offers. It was a dark, tarry, grainy honey and when I opened the jar and the smell hit me I thought maybe it had gone bad. I took it back and learned that buckwheat honey is supposed to be like that. It's FULL of antioxidants and is very, very good for you. So I gave it a try. Yuck. It tasted like blackstrap molasses on steroids and sweating. It ruined a cup of tea. It rendered toast and peanutbutter inedible. I thought that maybe if I used it like molasses, in baking with lots of cinnamon and cloves and other spices, it would be better. So I made a honey applesauce cake, and the cake smelled so bad that before it finished baking, I threw out the rest of the honey and washed out the jar. The cake was a beautiful cake with a lovely texture and might have had a good taste except for that nasty honey. I threw it into the back yard, and the crows fought over it. "You try it!" "No, YOU try it!" "I don't want to try it." "But it might be food." "I don't care. I'm not that hungry." "Hey, here comes Mikey. He'll eat anything!" Mikey ate part of the cake, and left the rest for the possums and raccoons and they deserve it!

My friend DJ loaned me a book called "Victorian Cakes" - sort of a memoir of a childhood in the early 1900s, with recipes. I got the honey/applesauce recipe from that. I also tried a "feather cake" which had much happier results. DH bought me a flour sifter and for the first time in my life I have sifted ingredients together three times before adding them to the batter. The cake turned out quite nicely, if a bit too sweet, but I think I can cut down on the ammount of sugar with no ill effects. The feather cake is to be flavored according to taste. I made almond flavor, and will make another one for knitting, and maybe a honey applesauce cake with diced dried apricots. And wildflower honey. Never again with buckwheat!

I know you can make buckwheat pancakes and they are heavy, felted-flannel-like discs that take a mess of butter and syrup to get down. What else do you do with buckwheat? Who grows it, and why?