Overnight Carrot Cake Buckwheat Breakfast

Buckwheat in a jar with grated carrots, walnuts, and crystallized ginger, getting ready to spend the night soaking up the almond milk, yogurt, and kefir.

In the realm of cooking, I have a long list of things that fascinate me, and this dish combines two of those fascinations.  One is the versatility of the grated carrot.  The other is the ability to "cook" things (or to further along their cooking) by soaking them in liquid overnight.

This whole recipe, which I made this past weekend as part of Andrew and my monthaversary, came to me in a dream.  I had a dream about overnight carrot cake oats, in which I kept grating carrots to keep up with the large proportion of raisins that I was adding to the dish.  I used a mixture of kefir, yogurt, and milk in the dream, in part due I think to a recent waking-life obsession with grated carrot and yogurt salad.  When I woke up, I thought, hey, what a great idea.  Thanks, dreamland, for doing some creative thinking for me.

The oats turned into buckwheat because of a morning preference of Andrew's not to have oatmeal in the a.m.  I love buckwheat, so it was all good.  This recipe calls for RAW buckwheat groats, and I'm not sure how it would work with kasha, which is roasted buckwheat. 

Even though it takes some advance planning, the benefits are satisfyingly delicious.  The buckwheat is wholesome, and the yogurt gives it a little bit of a bite.  Carrots and raisins sweeten up the dish, along with the obligatory addition of ginger.  If you're lucky and are able to digest coconut, I'd recommend adding a few spoonfuls of it, shredded, to complete the carrot cake affect.

The next morning -- Basil's being nosey and smells the yogurt - his favorite treat!

 

 

 

 

 

Overnight Carrot Cake Buckwheat Breakfast

• 1 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 3 large carrots, grated (this measured almost 2 cups -- you can use less if you desire a less vegetable-y morning)
• 5 pieces crystallized ginger, sliced finely
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raisins or other dried fruit
• a combination of almond milk, yogurt, and kefir (I use lactose free kefir and goat milk yogurt) - enough to cover the combination of food.  For me this took about 2 cups of liquid/yogurt.  The proportions are up to you -- you can use all milk or all kefir if you desire!

So, the instructions are super easy.  Put all the ingredients in a large jar or bowl that you can cover overnight.  Store in the fridge.  In the morning, voila!  Breakfast is done.  I thought about blending 1/2 of this but decided I liked the more hearty texture -- blend away if you're feeling like something more creamy and smooth.  Serves 2.

What do you like to eat for breakfast?