With blackberries coming into season, what better way to bridge cool and warm weather with a comforting and fruity breakfast of Blackberry Cardamom Oatmeal.

Sometimes I feel the need to explore more with spices and herbs that I rarely use. In this case, I was thinking of what to make for breakfast. I knew that I wanted berries in it because this month’s theme for the bloghop is berries, but that seemed a little boring. Really, when you hear the word oatmeal, it’s not usually awe-inspiring; but, it does remind you of comforting moments when you start your day off with a warm, satiating breakfast.

Back to this morning’s oatmeal, I thought about another one or two ingredients I could throw in there that would complement the tart berries and the slight hint of maple syrup.

Searching around my spice cabinet, I was contemplating sprinkling cinnamon in there, but that’s a pretty standard oatmeal ingredient, I feel. What other spices lend themselves to sweet dishes? Another look-through and my eyes set their gaze upon a near-full bottle of cardamom, maybe I’d found something that could work?

Let me tell you, this most definitely worked! I was a little shy with adding the spice, but after a few pinches it was perfect. It has been a while since I’ve had a fruity oatmeal, and it was just so good. So good that I ended up texting my mom telling her that she’d love this Blackberry Cardamom Oatmeal. Now, it looks like I’m kind of obligated to make it for her. 😉

Other oatmeal recipes you may love:

• Matcha Oatmeal [VYA Plant-Based Meal Prep]
• Baked Stuffed Oat Cups
• Pecan Persimmon Oatmeal
• Savory Oat Breakfast Bowl
• Chunky Monkey Baked Oatmeal

What are some herbs and spices that you’d like to use more often? Do you have a favorite one?

The bloghop, this month, is filled with so many amazing blogs! I love that I’m able to be a part of it, and continue to share the foodie love. Here’s a list of all of the bloggers that are participating!

A Little bit of everything ~ Roxana GreenGirl ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl
Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker
Bon à croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @Cakeduchess
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Elephant Eats ~ Amy
GeorgieCakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes
Hobby and More ~ Richa ~ @betit19
Java Cupcake ~ Betsy Eves ~ @JavaCupcake
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth ~ @Mango_Queen
Rico sin Azúcar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem
Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~@TAofCRF
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma

Please join in on the #berrylove fun by linking up any berry recipe from the month of March 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #berrylove event! The twitter hashtag is #berrylove.