The First Signs of Spring

Despite the occasional slice of pumpkin or apple pie, toast with cheese or scrambled eggs, I mostly eat the same thing for breakfast—cold cereal (I’m currently a fan of Quaker Oat Squares), granola or oatmeal.

This week I bought my first batch of California strawberries to have with my cereal and simultaneously noticed that it’s getting lighter earlier in the morning—a glimmer, just a glimmer, that spring is on its way. My next move is to immediately go out and buy some sweet pea seeds to plant asap.

Having fresh fruit in granola makes me happy. Strawberries now, blueberries once they come into season in Washington, blackberries that I pick on the roadside in August, and then back to the end of the strawberry crop whenever that runs out—September I think. My fruit-rotation-system isn't 100 percent local, but I allow myself to count California produce as local since it's all at least West Coast. And beginning my day with fresh fruit gets me closer to the recommended 5 daily servings of fruit and vegetables. (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/PolicyDoc.pdf).

I like to cut store-bought granola that I buy in the bulk-foods section with about two cups of oatmeal that I toast myself—spread on a cookie sheet and baked for about 25 minutes in a 325 degree oven. This cuts the sweetness of the granola and the price. I usually add some toasted sliced almonds too and lately have started to sprinkle on some wheat germ—just a teaspoon or so.