Is That a Muffin in Your Oven?

Why, yes, it is. Thanks for asking.

While I was in Macedonia I picked up some wheat bran that I could use to make bran muffins. I love bran muffins and today was the day I was going to make my very first batch. There's no shortage of recipes, but I decided to steal bit and parts from two: the Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread from 101cookbooks, and the Banana Bran Muffins from allrecipes.

This is what I ended up doing (and if I can do this in Kosovo, you can do it, too):

Mash's Roasted Banana Bread

Roast 3 unpeeled, unpierced bananas at 165C/325F for 15 minutes (until skins turn black)

Peel bananas and mash together with 1/4 C honey. Add 1/4 C liquid yogurt (you could use buttermilk or milk or soymilk), 1/2 C applesauce, 1 t of vanilla, and 2 egg whites. Mix well.

In a seperate bowl, mix together 1 1/2 C flour, 1 C wheat bran, 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, a generous sprinkle of ground cloves, a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, and a small pinch of salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend until just moistened.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 190C/ 375F for 20 minutes.

And that's where I'm at. The batter tastes divine. I can't wait to try the muffins with the applesauce I made a bit earlier. I think next time I might try adding diced dried figs.