Salted Lavender Fudge Oatmeal

What You’ll Need: 

• 3/4 cup plant-based milk* (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• rounded 1/2 tsp dried lavender buds
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oats*
• 1-2 tbsp chia seeds
• 4 tsp (or 1 rounded tbsp) cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• sweetener, to taste (I used 1 tbsp agave)
• pinch of coarse salt (optional)

How to Make It: 

1. Add plant-based milk and lavender buds to a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer for a couple minutes to allow the lavender to “steep.”
2. Add oats, chia seeds, and salt. Return to a simmer and stir occasionally.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, stir in cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and sweetener.
4. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. If you want it salted, sprinkle on a generous pinch (or two) of coarse salt. Add whatever other toppings your heart desires, like shredded coconut, nuts, seeds, or nut butter. I used PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dreams.

FYI: 

* You can make this with rolled or quick oats by increasing the almond milk to 1 cup and the oats to 1/2 cup.
** Add 1/4 – 1/3 cup grated or pureed zucchini to boost volume and nutrition.

*hides face in shame*

So. There was a week in January when I just couldn’t make a post happen–and so it didn’t happen. Then another week passed, and another week, and another week … and here we are.

Previously, I might have thought, “Well that’s it. I can’t show my face to these wonderful people again. I’ve let them down.” But during my unplanned break, I thought a lot to myself about what “failure” would actually look like, or whether or not me being absent for two months was truly going to ruin people’s lives. (It won’t.)

During my long break last year, several readers told me they would happily take just a few recipes from me every once in a while, even if I couldn’t do it every week. The thought of that was awful to me. I have a problem with being a black-and-white thinker (although I’m learning to embrace gray areas) and I couldn’t imagine doing the blog half-heartedly. I was going to do it well, or not at all.

But maybe, as I learn to think in gray areas (and more importantly, reject perfectionism), I can be okay with missing a week (or eight weeks) and then coming back confidently with another post.

You know that viral BuzzFeed article about Millennial burnout back in January? I feel that burnout deeply. Although it’s been several years since I quit teaching (the ultimate soul-killer), and I’ve had a lot of time to restore myself and find *some* sense of peace in my overactive brain, I still find myself existing in a state of low-key burnout on virtually all days.

The author’s description of errand fatigue is so real. Just ask my partner: I leave piles of mail on our coffee table because the thought of addressing these banal adult tasks is just exhausting to me. I feel panic when I get email notifications reminding me a certain bill is due, despite the fact that I have auto payments set up and can definitely afford to pay it. While I have no problem sweeping, mopping, cooking, grocery shopping, waking up early, cleaning my cat’s litter box, etc, there are just a few tasks that mentally overwhelm me (e.g. call the landlord, mail the letter) and I shove them onto my partner’s to-do list.

Sometimes, blogging falls into this category, but unfortunately, I’m the only one who can do them. Even worse, each time I consider preparing a recipe, it’s with the knowledge that the recipe might fail, or the photos might suck, and the effort might all be in vain. With my perfectionism, that can turn blogging into a monumental and intimidating task.

But with each week that has passed, I have tried hard to find a simple, non-intimidating recipe to get me back on the blog, but every time, Friday would come along and I still wouldn’t have a post ready.

One Sunday, I finally was slapped with a bit of inspiration (and a touch of guilt) and came up with this simple recipe. I decided not to use any fresh produce because I just didn’t want anything taking away from the lavender flavor, but feel free to add zucchini or applesauce if that’s your jam. If you don’t like salted chocolate, skip it! It’s still delicious sans salt.