Extra Carrots, Please!

Hi friends! :)

I don't know about you all, but I am getting a little tired of this wishy-washy spring weather. Here in Maryland, it keeps going from being beautiful out one day to rainy and cold (and windy!) the next. And we have notoriously bad weather prediction here. So I never know when I can get anything done outside. I'm a planner at heart, so that kind of makes me bonkers!

Today it's super overcast (and is supposed to be thunderstorming any minute now), so I thought I'd post a bright and cheery (and Easter-appropriate) project that I made yesterday to brighten up this day a little.

My in-laws are notoriously hard to buy gifts for. We always wrack our brains trying to think of presents for them, and this year we were all out of ideas. At the very last minute, I thought of this idea: I'd "subscribe" them in a granola-of-the-month club. And by "subscribe," I mean I'd make them a batch every month and send it out. :)

It's a fun idea, because it means I get to think of seasonally-appropriate recipes for each month of the year and create something yummy with it. Last month (since it was cold and rainy all month), they got "I've got the blues" blueberry mango granola. This month, I thought since it was Easter, I would craft a carrot cake granola for them.

Once I was done with the granola, I packaged it up and added a fun and cheery tag. And there's nothing cheerier (in my mind, anyhow) then two lovery-dovey smiling carrots, a la Paper Smooches. ;)



To make the tag, I printed out "April" and "24 Carrot Carrot Cake Granola" on white cardstock. The fonts that I used are "Caitlyn" and "CK Slim Mitch." Then I colored in the letters of "April," cut the paper in to a free-form cloud shape, and inked the edges. When I was finished, I colored the carrot images and a heart with Copic Markers and white gel pen, popped them on to my tag, and created a few more fun layers.



I hand-craft my granolas without a recipe, so I'm afraid that I don't have one to share. But I can give you an ingredients list that you can use to whip up some of your own, if you need a last minute Easter basket filler or hostess gift:

Ingredients:
old fashioned oats
pureed cooked carrots
raw shredded carrots
pureed pineapple
mashed banana
maple syrup
coconut nectar (found at Whole Foods, but you could just use more maple syrup)
walnuts
raisins
cinnamon
nutmeg
ginger
salt

I bake it at 350 degrees, checking it and stirring it every 10 minutes until it's crisp (which usually takes a bit over an hour).

Once the granola was crisped up, I drizzled a *very* small amount of glaze over the top of it, to give it that true carrot cake with frosting taste. I made the glaze out of powdered sugar, water and vanilla.

I'm off to clean up a little (a lot). My mom is coming to visit this week, plus we're having about 8 people over for Easter lunch. And because of all the construction around here, the place is a M.E.S.S.! Nothing says "Welcome to our home" like a construction dumpster in the driveway! ;)

Enjoy your day. Thanks for stopping by!