Friday Food for Thought—Lavender-Flavored Fruit Crisp

Here’s the first of this month’s recipes for dishes that use edible flowers. Since lavender is one of my favorites, and since I believe that every now and then we need to have dessert first, here’s a recipe for a luscious fruit crisp.

Lavender-Flavored Fruit Crisp

3 cups blueberries
1 cup cranberries
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lavender
3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup nuts (chopped pecans, chopped cashews, sliced almonds, etc.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the blueberries, cranberries, lavender and sugar, and pour the mixture into a lightly buttered 8-inch-square ovenproof pan.

To make the topping, combine the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar and nuts. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the oatmeal-flour mixture.

Sprinkle the topping in an even layer over the fruit.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until filling is bubbly. Cool slightly and serve warm.

The blueberries and cranberries are chockablock with antioxidants, but I think any combination of fruit—apples and raspberries, blackberries and strawberries—will be delicious.

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Lee

PS: The fresher the lavender, the more potent the flavor. If you buy lavender instead of growing your own, be sure it’s food grade.