Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Innovative Oat Bran Report

Staying with the theme of newness, both in general life and in the kitchen, I've been shaking up my morning routine a little. Instead of a messy bowl of yogurt or peanut butter with cereal (a classic favorite, to be sure), I've turned up the heat. As the temperatures dropped again last week, I decided to make something warm for breakfast instead. I decided on some purplicious oat bran.

Why purplicious? Well, obviously due to the purple blackberries that I headed into the bowl. And a scattering of the last of my blueberry flax granola seemed to make it that much more purple. But it's really the secret ingredient that made this breakfast taste purple -- dried lavender. The herb gave the oat bran a more savory spin and a very interesting taste. I'm not sure I'd put lavender into every breakfast, but I'm definitely glad I tried it. Here's what went into this bowl:
  • 1/3 cup oat bran
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup blackberries
  • 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
  • spoonful cottage cheese
  • sprinkling of blueberry flax granola
  • sprinkling of dried lavender
  • 1/2 packet Stevia powder
  • drizzle of vanilla extract
I mixed the cottage cheese in at the end, which is also when I put the blueberry granola on top. The berries went in toward the end of the cooking process (about 8 minutes simmering on the stove top until most of the liquid is absorbed), too, if I remember correctly. This made for a hearty and warming breakfast on a chilly day. Yum!

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