Saturday Morning



... is merely a couple hours already gone, but how I liked it. Freshly baked bran muffins, a smearing of butter, a dollop of mirabelle jam. A huge mug of tea and me on the sofa. All very simple, but needed. A couple of hours all to myself.

There's a whole lotta going on. Mostly in my head, but man, is it busy up there. I'm "working" (in quotation marks 'cause it's more a matter of looking over people's shoulders, really) the hospital again this semester, and it's not only taking up a lot of time - the time I usually spend blogging, cooking or thinking about blogging or cooking - it's also hi-jacked a huge part of my brain capacity. Because I have to keep re-thinking all the things I learned. And because all of a sudden, it seems there's only an extremely limited time left before... Before I'm done. Seriously. And that, my friends, I have no idea how to deal with. For some reason, I never saw it coming.

So forgive, once again, the quietness around here. I'm all well, just busy elsewhere. Sometimes in scrubs, and very seldom, lounging on the sofa with a mind-buzzing and spinning head. And bran muffins.

Bran Muffins from Home Baking by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

I am no expert on bran muffins, in fact, I only ever tasted the ones Cathy made for me and Martin when we visited her, a year back. Cathy's muffins got me hooked, and now I finally found the bran at home, I can make some myself! Her recipe includes shredded wheat biscuits, which I can't find around here - so I went for this recipe instead. Yummy, indeed!

makes 10 medium sized muffins.

1 cup sour cream
1½ cups wheat bran
1 large egg
½ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Blend sour cream and wheat bran. Add the egg and the milk. Leave to soften and blend for 30 minutes to one hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celcius). Grease a 12-cup regular muffin tin. Stir molasses and brown sugar into the bran-mixture. In a different bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this to the bran-mixture and fold in until combined. Divide the scoopable, but not pourable, batter into 10 muffin tins. Bake for about 25 minutes.

As soon as they're baked, turn out onto a wire rack to cool and firm up. Eat as desired - mirabelle jam is a treat!

Comments

Pille said…
Hang on there, Zarah Maria!!! You'll make a great doctor one day - and not just that, but a doctor who makes great-looking bran muffins to boot:) I made lots of plum jam this year, but never spotted any mirabelles at the market somehow. Love their slightly tart flavour..
Cathy said…
Yum! They sound rich but not too sweet and they look delicious! The cereal I was trying to think of (which is much like shredded wheat) is Weetabix. I was looking around on the web, though, and sounds like that's no easier to find in Denmark :(
Eva said…
Nice to have you back! And I know exactly what you're talking about...

Do you think I could substitute wheat germ for the bran? I've got some in the fridge that needs using... Or is it even the same?
Anonymous said…
I expected you'd been busy! Poor thing. Good you're still getting nourishment though. Hey, what is wheat bran in Danish? And where'd you find it?
Cerebrum said…
Pille! Thank you! If all else fails, I'll bring baked goods to my patients - that way they may like me even though I can't treat them!;-) Re. the mirabelles - I did see some this year, but never got my lazy butt in gear, so this is bought jam - and a good one, too.:)

Cathy - I've seen Weetabix around! Yay! Must try!

Eva - I'm not quite sure what wheat bran is - but I'll snap a photo of the wheat bran so you can see what it looks like, then you could judge yourself?

Jennie - I think I figured out that wheat bran is hvedeklid, but I'll snap a photo as I said above and you can help me figure it out;-) I bought mine abroad, but hvedeklid is availabe at the health food stores - the one at Trianglen has it!
good food said…
This is becoming a happy habit for me - enjoying your beautifully narrative images of your photos and writing.
Anonymous said…
Typical! They were sold out at Trianglen, but I bought oat bran instead. Am headed to the kitchen now to make these for breakfast tomorrow! Mums.
Anonymous said…
Zarah, I agree with Pille -- you will be a wonderful doctor. And if you bring baked goods, so much the better -- goodness knows you remember my stories of bringing baked goods to my grad students! These muffins are reason enough to go anywhere, do anything, just for a bite. Now I'll have to make them, and eat them with lots of butter and some sort of good jam, even if I can't find mirabelle...
Tea said…
I hear you! I recently turned off the radio music I normally listen to because it's just so noisy in my head already I couldn't take any outside sound. It was about to push me over the edge.

Hang in there--I agree you'll make a fantastic doctor, baked goods or no.
Shaun said…
Zarah - It seems to be one of those years, so many of us coming to the end of something. I feel that I have neglected my blog, too, but can't really do anything about it.

I had packaged biscuits (my weakness: gingernuts) with coffee this morning...I couldn't even be bothered to make simple cookies. How sad is that?

All the best for the completion of your rounds.
Cakespy said…
I never knew that bran muffins could be so swoon-inducing!?! My mouth actually dropped open when I saw that photo. And I'm not saying that in one of those "LOL" ways where you say it but aren't really laughing out loud. My mouth actually did drop open! I am going to try this one out!
That looks soooooooo delicious, glad I stumbled upon your blog
Leigh said…
Gi from The UK! Great blog, and i love this recipe - i need no excuse to have muffins for breakfast but these look really good! Also gives you an excuse to use up all that jam from the Summer!
Anonymous said…
zarah! det ser altså lækkert ud :)

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