OK, once again I must eat a large helping of humble pie! Because I stated many years ago that I didn’t particularly like muffins. At least most store-bought or bakery made muffins, and even some homemade muffins just didn’t rock my socks. But over the years, things have changed regarding muffins. There are some homemade muffins now that I really like. These for example. And maybe I even like them a bit too much.

But for many years, I only truly liked my recipe for homemade bran muffins. And in writing up this preface I came to the realization that I had never posted that recipe.  What? How could that be? I’ve been making bran muffins since my beloved sister-in-law Evelyn gave me the recipe in about 1973!

Her recipe is in my first self-published cookbook (1998), but I hadn’t written it up for my blog? Shame on me! Because the bran muffins I’ve been making now since God was a child are the tastiest and easiest bran muffins to ever come out of an oven.

The recipe used to be found under the catchy title of Six-Week Bran Muffins. Because apparently, the refrigerated batter would still be fine even if it was allowed to happily reside in your refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Never happened in my household, so I’m not going to make that statement. But I will state unequivocally that the recipe you find below makes for absolutely wonderful bran muffins. So, if you too love bran muffins, please find the recipe below. But back to orange raisin nut muffins. (That’s really why you’re here right? I do get so carried away!)

So, in getting ready for an upcoming trailer trip, I decided muffins for breakfast would be lovely. But for years now, I have been trying to duplicate my grandmother’s orange raisin cake. With poor results I must confess. So, why not an orange raisin muffin? So based on a recipe by Wescott Sharples on the relish.com site, I came up with this version.

And boy oh boy are these muffins tasty. Not too sweet, and semi moist and chewy from the oats, chopped golden raisins, and walnuts. And the simple crumble topping gives these muffins just the boost of flavor and crunch that I feel is needed. All in all, a truly great muffin. And just a super breakfast treat.

Since I am getting ready for a trip with buddies, I am going to keep this preface short. Lucky you! And of course, lucky me too. (For the trip of course.)

We are so blessed to live in this beautiful part of the world. And to have a trailer and wonderful friends with whom we can share amazing adventures. As I said, we are well and truly blessed. So, here’s to Craig and Marsha – old friends, great friends, musical friends, intelligent friends, and every possible type of friend in between. Let the fun continue.

And as always, dear readers and friends, peace and love and lovely muffins to all.  

Crumble Topping:

½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ c. brown sugar, packed

¼ c. old-fashioned oats

1/8 tsp. salt

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, at firm room temperature

Whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, and salt. Work in the butter, mixing until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate until needed.

Orange Raisin Walnut Muffins:

¾ c. whole wheat flour, fluffed

¾ c. whole wheat pastry flour, fluffed (or unbleached all-purpose flour if you must)

1 c. uncooked old-fashioned oats  

2½ tsp. baking powder

¼ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. fine sea salt

1 T. orange zest  

1 lg. egg

1 c. (8-oz.) sour cream

2 T. vegetable oil

¾ c. orange juice (does not have to be fresh squeezed orange juice)

¾ c. chopped golden raisins (I almost always use golden raisins because I like them best)

½ c. chopped walnuts (but pecans would also work)

Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking liners. Set aside.

Whisk the whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, oats, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg, sour cream, vegetable oil, and orange juice together in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture mixing only until blended. Gently stir in the chopped raisins and nuts.

Using a #16 ice cream scoop (scant ¼ cup – 2-oz.) plop batter into prepared muffin cups filling until almost full.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the muffins, dividing evenly, and patting gently.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Best warmed a bit before serving.  

BRAN MUFFINS (½ recipe from the original) (the best bran muffins imaginable)

3 c. bran cereal (I use Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal)

1 c. boiling water

½ c. veggie or canola oil

1½ c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 c. buttermilk

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 T. wheat germ

2½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. fine sea salt

Line 24 (or more as needed) muffin cups with paper baking liners. Set aside.

Combine the cereal and boiling water in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes or more. Combine the remaining ingredients with the softened bran.

Using a #30 ice cream scoop (scant ¼ cup – 2-oz.) plop batter into prepared muffin cups filling until almost full.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Best warmed a bit before serving.  

For our 4^th of July dinner, I served hot dogs and a Caesar salad. I know, not a traditional combination, but hey, this is what sounded good to me and because I was doing the cooking….. Well, I’m sure you can see how this works!

Anyway, with Hebrew National all-beef hot dogs happily residing in our refrigerator, I decided that because these were especially good wieners, they deserved special treatment. And to me that meant that they should be served in a really great bun. (And coincidentally, we deserved good buns too.) And since I happen to know how to bake bread, I decided to play around and see what I could come up with. So, this recipe is kind of a mishmash of several recipes I reviewed. And as luck would have it, the buns were amazingly tasty. But a bit more about hot dog buns before I go any further.

I recently read an article about New England style buns. This unique bun predates, by several years, other hot dog buns found almost everywhere else in the United States.

Before the “invention” of the New England bun, commercial bakers would simply slice rolls all the way through. But New England style buns are different. Not only do they have a very tender crumb, but because they are baked close together, they have very soft sides. Then they are cut on top about halfway down through the bun allowing frankfurters, chicken salad, lobster filling, etc. to fit easily in the slit without the filling oozing out the sides. (Which of course makes consuming one of these babies a lot less messy!)

But to make “proper” New Englund style buns, they must be baked in a special pan. Which BTW, I do not ever plan to purchase. (I already have too many baking pans that have only been used once. And I feel guilty enough without adding possibly 1 more pan to the list!)

Anyway, I tried to duplicate the official New Englund style pan by using a 6×6-inch square pan and an 11×6-inch rectangular pan. And it worked, but I will not go to the trouble next time. Because, to my thinking, what makes these buns special is the flavor and texture, not the shape or the requirement to use a special pan. (If you are interested, you can see what the pan looks like for yourself by searching for one on Amazon. Only $31.95 each!)   

Regardless of special pan or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be making these buns again. Because they are delicious, tender, easy to make, and a lot smaller than the kind of hot dog buns you can buy in a grocery store.

Like the Mikado sings in Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta The Mikado – “let the punishment fit the crime”. To my thinking, it’s of equal importance to “let the bun fit the hot dog”! So, I hope you will give this recipe a try when next you choose to serve gourmet hot dogs.

Now I know there are some who would argue that a gourmet hotdog qualifies as an oxymoron. All I can say is – poor deluded person. Because done right, hot dogs are magnificent! And I’d argue with anyone that a really great frankfurter, in an outstanding bun, decorated with fabulous condiments, deserves nothing less than 5 stars!    

Even if you disagree, I still wish you all the peace and love you can handle. 

½ c. warm whole milk

½ c. warm water

2 tsp. instant yeast

1 T. granulated sugar

1½ tsp. kosher salt

1 egg

¼ c. powdered milk

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp., plus more to grease the baking pans

extra virgin olive oil, to grease the mixing bowl

whole milk

In the bowl of your stand mixer, using your dough hook, combine the warm milk, warm water, instant yeast, and granulated sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Then add the salt and egg. Mix until combined.

Add the powdered milk and the flour. Knead the dough for several minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too wet. The dough should come away from the sides of the mixing bowl but stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl.

Add the butter, a little at a time, and knead for a further 4-5 minutes until the dough is shiny and smooth.

Pour a little olive oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a nicely greased ball.

Overnight method:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

On the day you bake the buns, turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly dust the surface of the dough with flour as well.  

Same day:

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place, or until the dough has doubled in size. Then gently punch the dough down to remove some of the air bubbles. Turn onto a floured surface and add a bit of flour to the dough ball as well.     

To shape and bake the buns:

Butter a large baking sheet and set aside.

Cut the dough into 10 equal sized pieces. (Or as close as you can get!)

Roll each portion into a flattened piece of dough about 5 inches long. Then roll up the long side up tightly to form a tube shape. Place the formed buns ¾-inch apart, sealed side down, on the prepared pan.

Cover the buns with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with cooking spray and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Just before baking, gently brush the buns with milk before placing them in a pre-heated 350-degree oven.   

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a light golden brown on top and the internal temperature reaches at least 190-degrees.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Best eaten the same day.  

Just before serving, slit along the top and add lots of yummy condiments and a great frankfurter or any other filling that rocks your socks.

And yes, of course you can cut the bun in half lengthwise for a traditional, non-New Englund presentation. But why?

OK, if you are new to this site, then the first thing you should know about me is that I am a bread fanatic. I love it all. Sourdough, whole grain, quick, cornbread, overnight, you name it, I will eat it with pleasure. But I am especially eager to enjoy bread that has at least some redeeming qualities. Besides of course tasting wonderful!

Doesn’t mean I always succeed in staying clear of those breads which have no nutritional value whatsoever. Because, bottom line, I am only human. But I honestly do endeavor to eat bread that is not only pleasantly palatable but would be moderately acceptable to a hard-nosed dietician. (Which BTW, is not an easy feat to accomplish!) So, in this recipe, I am using whole wheat pastry flour in place of all-purpose flour, raw honey rather than processed sugar, and veggie oil instead of butter. (I’m pretty sure a dietician would still frown on me even considering this to be a quasi-healthy cornbread. But there are just some things I do not intend to discuss with anyone who relies on scientific facts rather than how I want to perceive a situation.)

Wait! I sound just like many Americans who disvalue science in favor of what’s easier for them personally. Or believe what some nut case tells them is true. So, perhaps I should take a step backward.

So, in full disclosure, this cornbread is quick and easy to build and ever so tasty. And it is possibly healthier than other cornbread recipes. But it is never going to be considered a health food or better for you than steamed broccoli, spinach, or a naked green salad. (But it’s still really good.)

Peace and love to all.  

1 c. fairly finely ground cornmeal  

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

½ tsp. kosher salt  

2 tsp. baking powder

1 lg. egg

¾ c. whole milk

¼ c. sour cream

3 T. raw honey

¼ c. veggie oil

Whisk the corn meal, flour, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, sour cream, honey, and oil together.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is lump free. 

Pour into a buttered 8×8-inch pan. Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Warm before serving.

Miles had been enjoying the sun with his brother. But when I came in to take their picture, he had to move and then pose for me. Such a darling boy.

The true sun worshiper in the family. Max will follow the sun wherever it happens to appear. Love this little critter.

I often serve leftovers from the previous dinner when I have overachieved on the amount I prepare. (This happens more often than not! We simply can’t eat as much as days of yore.) So, in an effort to change things up a bit, I often add a new and different side dish to stave off gastronomic boredom. And this is the result of wanting a new and exciting addition to thrill and delight our tastebuds as we slurped down the leftover Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (on site) that I had served the night before.

I knew what I wanted was a bread product that leaned towards the nutritious side. Well as much as possible and still taste great and not at all like buttered cardboard! (Believe me, in all my years of trying to bake low calorie, nutritious bread products, I have baked my fair share of edible cardboard. So, I know whereof I speak!) Anyway, I researched several on-line recipes and came up with this recipe. And we both thought the biscuits were wonderful. Full of flavor, tender and moist, and a wonderful base for butter and jam (Mr. C.) and honey (me). And the biscuits had been ever so easy to make.

You will notice that in many of my biscuit, cookie, cake, muffin, and quick bread recipes, my instructions remind you to not overbake whatever it is your baking. I find that one of the mistakes many otherwise excellent cooks make is that they tend to leave certain baked goods in the oven just a few minutes too long. So, a quick reminder for us all.

For tender and moist Biscuits: If you are unsure if a biscuit is done, use an instant read thermometer and remove from the oven when the internal temperature reaches between 205 and 210-degrees. Once out of the oven, immediately transfer to a cooling rack.

For perfectly baked Cookies: Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven when the cookies are just set unless otherwise directed. Underbaking is better than overbaking.  And the good folks at Southern Living recommend letting your cookies cool right on the baking pan instead of on a separate cooling rack. The only exception is shortbread cookies. They need to be overbaked just a bit to provide that lovely crunch we all appreciate.

For perfectly moist Cakes and Muffins: When the top of your cake or muffins becomes more golden or darker and starting to pull away from the side of the pan, gently press on the top with your fingers and check to see if the cake or muffin springs back fully. That’s a good sign to reach for your instant read thermometer.

For most cakes the internal temperature should read between 200 and 205-degrees. For muffins, 205-degrees. Just be sure to avoid 212-degrees and beyond, because that’s the temperature that water turns to steam, which means you’ll start losing precious moisture very quickly. And loss of moisture results in a dry or tough consistency in both cakes and muffins.

For moist and tender Quick Breads: Quick breads are perfectly done when the internal temperature hits between 200 and 205-degrees. Most recipes almost always give the baking time rather than the temperature. So, to ensure perfectly baked quick breads, start checking the internal temperature at 20 minutes if the recipe bake time is stated between 20–30 minutes.

OK, that was my quick and dirty lesson on not overbaking some types of baked goods. And do forgive me if I seem to be preaching to the choir. But as a choir director with over 20 years’ experience, preaching to the choir just comes naturally to me. But then I figured that everyone needs a quick reminder occasionally. I know I sure do.

Well, my work is done here for the day. It’s still sunny and warm outside so I thought I might forget about all things kitchen and treat myself to a bit of a read in our courtyard. May you also make the time to treat yourself to whatever it is that brings you pleasure.

I found this on Facebook when I went online this morning. It pretty well sums up my philosophy on life as an older person. So, I thought I would share it with you.

And as always, peace and love to all.

By Mário Raul de Morais Andrade

(Oct 9, 1893 – Feb 25, 1945)

Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, photographer

“I counted my years and found that I have less time to live from here on than I have lived up to now.

I feel like that child who won a packet of sweets: he ate the first with pleasure, but when he realized that there were few left, he began to enjoy them intensely.

I no longer have time for endless meetings where statutes, rules, procedures and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be achieved.

I no longer have time to support the absurd people who, despite their chronological age, haven’t grown up.

My time is too short:

I want the essence, my soul is in a hurry.

I don’t have many sweets in the package anymore.

I want to live next to human people, very human, who know how to laugh at their mistakes, and who are not inflated by their triumphs, and who take on their responsibilities.

Thus human dignity is defended and we move towards truth and honesty.

It is the essential that makes life worth living.

I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch hearts, people who have been taught by the hard blows of life to grow with gentle touches of the soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry, I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.

I don’t intend to waste any of the leftover sweets.

I am sure they will be delicious, much more than what I have eaten so far.

My goal is to reach the end satisfied

and at peace with my loved ones

and my conscience.

We have two lives.

And the second begins when you realize you only have one.”

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

2¼ c. whole wheat pastry flour, fluffed 

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp.  kosher salt

4 T. (½ stick) frozen unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes  

1 c. cold buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, see recipe below)

Pre-heat the oven to 425-degrees. Line a medium sized baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your food processor, mix the pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add the cold butter and whirl just until the butter is evenly distributed and the dough resembles coarse meal. Whirl in the buttermilk until just blended. The dough will be quite wet. Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop or pastry cloth. Knead the dough 4 to 5 times until it comes together, dusting the dough lightly with flour as needed.

Pat the dough gently with your hands into a disc and fold the dough over itself 2 to 3 times. This will help create layers in your biscuits. Then pat the dough into a roughly 1-inch-thick square. Cut the biscuit with a sharp knife that has been dipped in flour. (I got 12 various sized biscuits.)

Transfer the biscuits to the prepared sheet pan leaving about 2-inches apart.

Increase the heat to 450-degrees and place the biscuits in the oven. Bake until a light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Do not overbake. The internal temperature should be about 205-degrees.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Biscuits are best served warm slathered with a bit of butter and either honey or jam.

To warm the biscuits, place in microwave on high for about 25 seconds. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.   

BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE

1 T. white vinegar

milk (I use whole milk)

Pour the vinegar into a one cup liquid measuring container. Add enough milk to make exactly one cup. Gently stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes before using. You might see some light curdling, so stir the mixture again just before using. Even if you don’t see a texture change, the acid in the milk will still work its magic in the recipe.