Buckwheat Crackers with Pear Ginger Compote

These lovely buckwheat crackers are simple to make and have become a favorite at our house.  I started making something similar with ground oat flour, but now I've branched out to many other flours and combinations.   Sometimes I add whole oats, toasted sunflower seeds, millet or dried fruit.  I usually make a batch at the beginning of the week and eat them on busier mornings, served with nut butter and apples, slices of avocado and sea salt, or aged cheddar and arugula.  In this week's fancier version, they are served with lebni and pear ginger compote. 

For the buckwheat crackers: Throw about two cups of flour in a bowl with a scant teaspoon each of salt and baking powder.  Mix that, rub in a couple tablespoons of solid fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil), then add warm water until it comes together into a ball.  Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and stamp out rounds with a cookie cutter or an inverted glass.  For a quicker, rustic cracker, simply flatten 1" balls of dough between your palms.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Makes about 20 crackers.

For the pear ginger compote: Skin and slice two or three ripe pears and add to a medium saucepan on low heat with a splash of maple syrup and a teeny pinch of sea salt.  As the pears soften, grate a bit of fresh ginger into the pan (a 1" piece if you like it gingery!).  Stir occasionally, breaking up and squishing some of the pears with your spoon as you go along, for about 15 minutes.  Take off the heat, add a squeeze of lemon and store in a glass jar.  Makes about 1 cup compote and keeps for about 1 week in the fridge.