We set off for Washington State tomorrow, an extended long weekend of hiking, wine sampling, and roaming the streets of Seattle -- being sure to eat here, see this, and finally get to try some of this. Just like the flight to Jackson, tomorrow is going to be a super early morning -- and packing snacks was a must. Muffins worked really well last time, and since we are flying out of the States, I decided to toss in some fruit salad as well. We land early afternoon and plan on immediately hopping in the car for a 2 hour drive, so realistically, a proper lunch may not be in the cards. Keeping that in mind, I'm including some additional nibbles -- because who are we kidding, while traveling, you can never have too many snacks.
That being said, into the backpack goes:
- too many blueberry bran muffins (recipe below);
- a simple fruit salad of mango & strawberries;
- a whole whack of raw veggies;
- sarah's spicy lentil summer rolls;
- cherry + date granola bars for the long car rides and hikes (recipe coming soon); and
- this week's batch of granola, courtesy of Kimberley's new book.
BLUEBERRY BRAN MUFFINS // makes 12-18
Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day
Preheat oven to 400.
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 T white vinegar + ~1 cup milk)
1/2 cup butter, just melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cups bran cereal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup blueberries
What to do:
Lightly butter a muffin tin and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and maple syrup.
Add the wheat bran and bran cereal to the bowl, stir to incorporate and let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well to eliminate any clumps in the mix.
Transfer the dry ingredients into the wet, and using a wooden spoon, mix just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.
Scoop about 2 spoonfuls of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are golden brown.
Allow to cool just enough to touch, then transfer to a wire rack.