Blueberry Bran(ness)...

Buying a small flat of delicious blueberries and the thought to make a batch of bran muffins from my mother led to the baking of a small batch of truly wholesome Blueberry Bran Muffins this afternoon.

I bake when I'm stressed and at the moment I am, so not only did the muffins taste terrific they also brought down my tenseness a notch or ten.

The muffins were a bit dense for my taste, so in the recipe below I scaled up the baking soda content. They tasted great though - moist, slightly sweet, and hearty.

Look at that texture...

Blueberry Bran Muffins (Adapted from Hodgson's Mills)

2 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

3 cups Unprocessed Wheat Bran
2 cups Buttermilk
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Canola oil +1/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flower + 3 or so tbsp Wheat Gluten
1/2 c Brown Sugar + 2 tbsp Blackstrap Molasses (Mmmm...)
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

1 cup of Boiling water, brewed into a spicy (chai) tea

Don't over-mix it!

Combine hot tea, being sure to save extra to sip as you bake, with 1 cup of wheat bran; set aside to soak.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt in a small bowl. Combine Butter, oil, sugar, and molasses. 

Combine all ingredients: moistened bran and flour mixture with sugar-butter mix followed by the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries and walnuts last.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, check with a toothpick - when its just barely moist, they're done! 

Beware the over-baked bran muffin - ruined will your meal be!

Bon appetite, Now you may eat...