That would be me (in addition to being the mountain mermaid, of course:) !
Some people like eggs for breakfast and some people like cereal or oatmeal; some people even prefer green smoothies. I just happen to love muffins, and I feel like they do me right! Not just any muffin will do, though. I am pretty picky about what they have in them, so I have taken to making my own.
Half the fun is in the making for me, although I do loving going to a cafe (with journal and my colored pencils in tow). But I’d rather go hungry than eat a sweet, cakey muffin. Muffins I eat must be hearty and healthy.
The staple ingredients of my home baked muffins are oat bran, whole grain flour (and now I’m experimenting with spelt flour and other grain flours) and flax meal. They also have baking powder & salt, eggs & vanilla. Instead of oil I use applesauce made from apples only (no added sugar). I add millet for crunch. I also add sweetener – a little bit of brown sugar and maple syrup (¼ C each). This is for my batch of 24 muffins.
And then the fun begins – depending on what else I have in the house.
Right now the zucchinis are going off in our garden so my latest versions are zucchini-carrot muffins. For these I add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove. My most recent batches also included sunflower seeds and coconut. Yum!
These days I always make a double batch of 24 muffins. This makes for quick breakfast most mornings during the week, when I have to get to work.
On the weekends we some times add bacon and fruit (I often add fruit during the week, too). Who doesn’t love bacon?
Recent Sunday morning breakfast – zucchini-carrot muffins, bacon, mango & blueberries
When I was thinking about this post, the song ‘Do you know the muffin man?‘ kept playing in my head. I don’t remember where this came from, but it sure has stuck with me. When I googled it, it came up on scoutsongs.com. Maybe I learned it as a Girl Scout?
Here is the basic recipe I use for my muffins – which I now have memorized. The original recipe (Basic Muffins with Ten Variations) came from the book High Altitude Baking – 2nd Edition edited by Patricia Kendall
2 C whole wheat flour
2 C oat bran
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C brown sugar
just shy of 1/2 C flax meal
just shy of 1/2 C millet (optional, but I love the crunch; watch out though, they do tend to stick in your teeth:)
2 C milk
2 eggs
1 C apple sause (no sugar added)
1/4 C maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
Then let the fun begin…what do you have in your kitchen that might taste good in your muffins? I have a box with different nuts, and one with different dried fruits. I always add some of both (or sometimes fresh fruit). Other things I’ve added include coconut, spices like cinnamon and ginger.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 18 minutes. Makes about 24 muffins.
Please keep in mind I live at 7,000 feet, so you may need to find your own basic recipe and start adapting from there.
Pumpkin muffins, my fall & winter favorite!
Do you have a favorite breakfast food? I’d love to hear what gets you going in the morning!
the mountain mermaid 