Buckwheat is more than the name of one of the Little Rascals of 1950's TV fame.

It seemed like a good idea at the time! I recently discovered that Buckwheat was more than just the name of one of the Little Rascals of 1950's TV fame. There was a grain called Buckwheat that was very popular in the Great Lakes area, and used for making pancakes. We had a lot of Spring rain in Juab County, so I figured the time was right and bought some Buckwheat to plant right here in Juab County, the heart of Utah. After all, Juab farmers had so impressed the world with dry land farming, that Utah State University built a satellite office on the Levan ridge in 1903. Well, when summer came, the water went away, and remembered that Utah was the second driest State in the Union. The local John Deere dealer thought I was plum local when I asked about buying a miniature Buckwheat harvester. I had no other choice other than to hire McCord Jones to hand pick the Buckwheat and have a chat with Jeff Banks, the Juab County Agent. The good news is that the Jones Boys may be the first to have produced Buckwheat in the valley and should get a ribbon at the Juab County Fair as the only entry. The bad news is it takes a lot of water to grow, and we are in a severe drought. Jeff gave us some detailed information about farming in Juab County, which we have included. He also said that Buckwheat is good for those who are allergic to Gluten, which is found in grains, and acts as a glue holding foods together. Buckwheat is Gluten free. We had no choice except to grind it the same way the Ancient Ones did, with a thousand year old grinding stone from the Fremont Indians, made out of Basalt. I think in another week or so, McCord should have enough flour for one pancake. While he is doing that I will be at Denny's having pancakes, with a little extra Gluten on the side.