Honey Bran Breakfast Muffins

The question that torments me each morning...what do eat for breakfast? Somehow, I can never get into a routine about eating breakfast, unless a giant barrel of coffee counts as a meal. I'm not sure if it's that my stomach just isn't ready or I'm too pressed for time (read: lazy) to cook something in the morning, but breakfast is the one meal that I have trouble sticking with. Don't get me wrong...I love a giant, fluffy pancake as much as the next person and I can whip up the most delish scrambled eggs you've ever tasted...but on a daily basis? It's just not happening. But after I realized that a virtually unused carton of buttermilk (it was purchased and only slightly tapped into for Kathy's Irish Soda Bread) was about to expire, I just felt the need to salvage some by way of the muffin. So I pulled out my handy Muffin cookbook (which was the inspiration between my Apple Surprise Muffins and Snickerdoodle Muffins), searched for recipes containing buttermilk with at least a little health value. While the Blueberry Streusel was calling my name, I opted instead for the heart healthy and morning stomach pleaser, Honey Bran Muffins. This bran and fiber filled muffin isn't a pastry, but it's a filling way to get going in the morning.

Honey Bran Breakfast Muffins
*Adapted from Muffins
1 C boiling water
1 C raisins
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C honey
2 3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp salt, optional
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 C buttermilk
3-4 C wheat germ (I used Hodgson Mills) or unprocessed wheat bran

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. Pour boiling water over raisins and add baking soda. Mix slightly (it's like a little chem lab in your kitchen!). In a large mixing bowl (I broke out my oversized red Tupperware mixing bowl, reserved for major batches of baking), lightly mix remaining ingredients together.Add raisin mixture and stir just until moistened.

(Note: it's important not to overmix. If you do, it will make the batter tough and just undelicious, so resist the urge to mix and mix).

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean.

Some notes:

I'm not sure if they used muffin tins for giants or what, but I had a lot more than 12 muffins. My batch produced more like 24...so many that I ended up wrapping some in plastic wrap and freezing them. Now I can just pop 'em in the microwave and add a bit of light butter whenever I want one for breakfast.

The original recipe called for unprocessed wheat bran. Admittedly...I didn't know what this was and couldn't find it. Is it cereal? A box of plain old bran? Is it masquerading under another name? What I did find, however, was wheat germ, located in the cereal aisle. But I took a leap on wheat germ (close enough?) and who would have thought...it worked!

So there you have it. A healthy breakfast muffin with just a hint of sweetness added from the raisins. But what I really want to know is, how do you get down with breakfast?

March Favorites: What I dug over the last month

I'm a tad behind on my March Favorites...let's just say I've been a busy girl. But March was a fantastic month, especially foodwise. I tried out some new recipes and cooked with new ingredients...and I hope that you are all reaping the benefits of my kitchen testing!

Slow Cooker
Though slow cookers are traditionally known for their winter warming qualities, I used mine fairly sparingly this past winter, other than a couple of chili batches. Instead, I broke out the big guns twice in March for some slow cooked, tender meat. Between my Spring dinner party beef brisket cooked in V8 and post-St. Patty's Day corned beef braised in amber ale, the ol' Crockpot produced two fabulous meals that are heading over to the permanent collection.

All Things Irish
I know, I've raved about this a lot, but that's because both of these recipes were just that good. Irish Car Bomb cupcakes and Irish Soda Bread...two beyond fab recipes that I highly recommend you giving a whirl. In fact, TAA reader and friend Danielle, gave these cupcakes a whirl for a family birthday party a few weeks back and shared her awesome photo (above), which admittedly is making me hungry as we speak. Didn't she do an amazing job?

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap
You might call me a big dork, but I guess when you get to be a certain age, you can really learn to appreciate the value of a good cleaning product. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap in all of its glory is enough to make me actually enjoy washing dishes. It's all natural, and unlike a lot of all natural cleaners, it actually cleans! And once you get used to the delightful natural scent, it's really enough to make you never go back to amonia-filled cleaners again. In fact, we're in the process of switching over all cleaning products to be au natural...and yes, Mrs. Meyer's will be making major appearances in all rooms in the house. I like Lemon Verbena, but other natural scents like Basil and Gardenia are great too.

Soy milk
No, I'm not turning crunchy, but after Lauren (aka super friend and Pizza Tour pal) turned me on to the Starbucks Soy Misto (more to come on that next week from the turner on-er), I've just been hooked on the subtly sweet flavor of vanilla soy milk in my coffee. Though my heart still belongs to the Coffee-mate Italian Sweet Cream, Silk soy milk provides a nice flavor change up - and one that I just can't get enough of.

A&P's Greenway Line

I know, a lot of au naturals this month. I discovered the Greenway line of products at my local grocery store a few weeks ago. What is Greenway? It's A&P's private label brand of goods that includes no harmful pesticides, chemicals or artificial fertilizers. I had always noticed the chicken (which, btw, tastes way more delicious than regular old Perdue), but with an organic eye in mind lately, I realized that Greenway can be found in almost every food category in the store. From baby carrots and meats to low-sodium chicken broth and brown eggs, Greenway kicks organic into gear with affordable options for the seasoned grocery shopper.

So there you have it. A wrap up of my favorite foodie things in March. Did you discover any new treats over the last month? A new restaurant? A fun grocery store item? Please do share since TAA is always on the lookout for new and delicious things!

Psst...love the monthly faves? Check out Snickerdoodle Muffins, Gorgonzola Fig Crostini, Marscarpone Cheese and even more cupcakes from January and February!

Easter Fun (and a Special Guest)

This past weekend, I started the Easter festivities a day early by heading over to NYC for a city day with my mom and sisters. Shopping, celeb sightings, a Broadway show, and underrated lunch at Soho Park made this the perfect spring day in Manhattan. Not only did I find some beyond adorable Easter eats at Dean & DeLuca, but as I mentioned, the day was filled with celeb sightings. Down in Soho, it was Bradley Cooper filming his new flick. Oh, he'll always be Will (from his Alias days) to me and I have to say, the in-person viewing did not disappoint. This was quickly overshadowed, however, by sighting the one and only Bill 'n Hill Clinton strolling hand-in-hand down Fifth Avenue. Yup, it happened (be patient and you might just get a sneak peak)...

Anyhow, onto the food. Dean & DeLuca is an upscale little coffee shop slash mini-grocery store with multiple locations, all of differing levels of stock. The Soho location boasts a fairly robust assortment - from fresh produce and baked goods to gourmet coffee and a small selection of housewares. If I made a lot more money, I'd shop there all the time. Anyhow, their Easter goodies were just too cute to pass up. Here's the little birdie cupcakes and full cake...aren't they sweet?

I'm pretty positive that these are the most sugary cookies I've ever laid eyes on...just look at those beautiful colors! Dinos and Bunnies and Carrots, oh my!

And lastly, the little lamb cupcakes...these are almost too adorable to eat!

So there you have it. Some super cute Easter eats from Soho's Dean & DeLuca. Couldn't you just eat them up? And because the highlight of the day really went far beyond food, I'll give you a look at the real stars of the day...

Only deterred from jumping out of the cab by the Secret Service detail, I hung myself out the taxi window and called "Mr. President!" (No offense to Mrs. Secretary, of course, but she was unfortunately a little overshadowed by the fact that we were not 10 feet from one of the greatest living presidents...) Anyhow, he didn't turn around...probably in fear that I was gun-toting or something of the sort. But I did manage to snap the above photo, which isn't too shabby considering I climbed into Mom's lap and hung out of that very cab's back window that you see above. Bradley Cooper, who?

So that was the prequel to my Easter Sunday. Fun food, a showing of Promises Promises, celeb sightings out the wazoo, followed by a fabulous Easter Sunday with the family. How did you spend your Easter weekend?

Psst...jonesing for more adorable Spring eats? Check out Chick Cake Pops!