This is seriously the best ever homemade granola. Once you realize how easy it is to make, you’ll never again buy granola from the grocery store. (Sorry, grocery stores.) If you aren’t a granola-eating person, you might want to give it another try. This homemade granola is not only yummy, addictive, and filled with healthy ingredients, but the recipe is adaptable.Continue Reading
Lavender Blueberry Granola
I love granola, but buying it pre-made can make a dent in the pocketbook. I whipped up a batch of my own using Martha Stewart’s Blueberry Almond granola recipe for inspiration. I modified Martha’s ingredients, eliminating the vegetable oil and coconut and adding flax seed and lavender which I have growing in my back yard. (Lavender not flax seed…)
Lavender’s health benefits help aid in digestion plus this herb adds a light floral flavor to whatever you are baking—not overwhelming, just a fresh taste. (I try to throw herbs into all my dishes. The antioxidants are healing, so why not?)
I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy homemade granola is to make.
Lavender Blueberry Granola
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats I used Quaker
- 3/4 cup raw slivered almonds
- 1/4 cup flaxseed whole, not ground
- 1/4 cup local honey I use Zip Code honey from Texas Honeybee Guild
- 1 Tablespoon lavender buds chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
Notes
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except blueberries. Right about now you’ll be thinking wait, this looks strangely like that concoction she made a few months ago for Valentine birdseed feeders… I agree. It does. And although both are edible, this is much better tasting (for humans).
3. Fold in blueberries.
4. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Cool. Transfer to your preferred container for storage.
6. Serve with yogurt or ice cream, sprinkle on salads, add to rice pudding, or leave in a Mason jar beside the coffee pot and take a bite every time you walk into the kitchen.
If you don’t have access to lavender, you can order organic culinary lavender from Hood River Lavender. My husband and I visited Hood River Lavender (Oregon) last summer. If you ever have the opportunity to spend time at a lavender farm, do it. As you might imagine, the air smells heavenly.
Now I’m wondering…have you ever cooked with lavender?
Grace Grits and Gardening
As rosemary is to the spirit, so lavender is to the soul. – Unknown