Blueberry lavender chia pudding
Doesn't "lavender" have the loveliest ring? Soft, wispy and gentle, yet this soothing herb is reputed to carry some potent, healthful properties, from aiding the scalp and skin (as oil) and calming the mind and body (as scent) to assisting a healthy gut (as herb). Plus, it's so pretty.
I've been on a roll with chia puddings lately. They're so easy, so delicious, and so good for you. What can beat dessert that packs in omega-3s, iron, calcium, zinc...etc, etc... with no more effort than it takes to open and pour a glass of orange juice and forget about it for a few hours? Bonus, it makes for such amusing experimentation without being time-consuming.
I have some culinary lavender that has been ignored awhile. Obviously, I had to try it as chia pudding. There was a great deal on blueberries at Sprouts this week, and Little Monkey has been all over them, so they seemed like a good fit, too. I imagined chimes in a summer garden, tinkling with these delicate blueberry-lavender notes...
This afternoon, I was reading Little Monkey "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss, and let my mind go ahead and over-analyze, questioning color descriptions/associated feelings. Because, I was feeling too comfortably drowsy not to. On purple days, why sad? I wondered. I've always been drawn to purple and its veiled but deep emotions. Poor dinosaur on purple's page. He groans and walks alone, tail dragging a dull purple smear behind him. Maybe he saw my lavender chia pudding.
My lovely lavender-blueberry concoction looked murky and gray in the Pyrex container. Its appeal quickly became much nicer in a clean white bowl, however. Accessorized by a few blueberries, even better. Best of all, the flavor is so nice! Toddler approved. Even Dave, who has traditionally been a lavender skeptic (as with anything on the perfume-y side), heartily appreciated it. He didn't know I'd been secretly counting on him not to.
Do I get cheesy and cliche and remind myself that you can't judge a book by its cover? Yes, of course. Also, that everything good has beauty and that failure to see the goodness says more about the looker. Lastly, that "it all turns out all right you see", and I think next time maybe mixed berries will yield a rosier hue. There is a place for the grayest gray, just preferably not in every chia pudding.
Blueberry lavender chia pudding Serves 3-4
- 2 cups almond or coconut milk, or blend of both
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 teaspoons fresh or dried culinary lavender buds
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Combine milk and blueberries in a blender and process until smooth.
- Transfer milk mixture to a saucepan and bring to a near boil. Add in lavender; remove from heat and let steep, 10 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer and discard lavender.
- Whisk milk mixture with remaining ingredients in a bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate, at least 4 hours or overnight.