Salted Almond, Grape, and Thyme Oatmeal

This oatmeal is cooked with diced red grapes and fresh thyme to make every bite fresh and flavorful. Then, it’s garnished with salted, toasted almonds and another pinch of coarse salt, just for good measure. BAM. The final result is warm and earthy with the perfect touch of sweet-and-salty flare.

What you’ll need:

• 2 tbsp raw slivered almonds
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup milk of choice
• 1/4 cup quick cook steel-cut oats
• 1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (about 1 tsp worth)
• 10 (or so) red seedless grapes, halved or quartered
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• coarse salt, for topping

How to make it:

1. In a small skillet on medium-low heat, spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add almonds. Toss or stir frequently. Sprinkle with a little salt.
3. After a couple minutes (or once the almonds have turned golden brown), remove from heat and set aside.
4. In a saucepan, bring milk to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you’d like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
5. Holding the sprigs of thyme at their top, slide your fingers down it, to the bottom, to strip off the leaves. Stir into the oatmeal, along with the grapes.
6. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract and salt. Stir.
7. When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl and add a splash of your milk of choice, toasted almonds, another pinch of coarse salt, and any other additional toppings (I added almond butter).

I had to buy thyme recently to make the roasted beet salad for my Oh She Glows cookbook challenge. Whenever I buy an herb for a recipe, I immediately start pondering how I can use it with oatmeal.

I had this again this morning and it was simply divine. I even added almond butter for extra pizazz. The salt. The grapes. The thyme. Be still, my heart.