Honey Raisin Bran Muffins

/ jenniferdyck / 1 Comment

I would consider myself a classic baker. I enjoy recipes that are nostalgic, warm my heart and are tied with food memories. Trying new recipes is fun but I find that I always revert back to my basics, especially when I’m craving a taste of comfort.

Everyone needs a classic bran muffin in their repertoire. The original recipe came from my mom’s recipe box and I remember her baking these in my youth.

When these muffins come out of the oven they have that delicious slightly crusty muffin top.

The only real change I made was to add the dash of nutmeg, pinch of cloves and of course swap out that vegetable oil for canola.

If you plan to eat multiples of these babies in one day, be sure to drink your fluids so your digestive system keeps on flowing. Wheat bran is a source of insoluble fibre and while it moves through your digestive system doing it’s amazing work, if will absorb moisture. Don’t let it get stuck, stay hydrated.

From my kitchen to yours, fibre up and enjoy!
Jenn

Honey Raisin Bran Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup liquid honey
3 cups wheat bran
2 cups raisins or dried cranberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray two muffin tins with canola oil cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
  2. In a large bowl mix together milk and lemon juice. Set aside for 5 min.
  3. After 5 min, mix in eggs, brown sugar, canola oil and honey until well combined. Stir in bran and raisins. Let sit for 10 min. Skipping the 10 minutes will leave your batter too runny, your raisins too hard and your bran gritty. Do not skip this step.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together; the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves.
  5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.
  6. Divide the batter into the prepared pans using a full 1/4 cup scoop. I usually get 24 plus 3 muffins. I know, a bit annoying. You can go back to top up evenly or bake off another round or invest in a mini loaf pan and you get a bonus snack for yourself.
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean.
    Notes:
    -You can cut this recipe in half for 12-14 muffins.
    -Muffins freeze well.
    -Store your wheat bran in the freezer to extend shelf life once open. Wheat bran will go rancid once open and nobody enjoys a rancid bran muffin!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

/ jenniferdyck / 1 Comment

We all have that one recipe we can recite by heart. The recipe that feels like a dash of this and a dash of that. You’ve made it so many times that you are not sure you even read the words on the card anymore.

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For me, it is Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. They are a staple in my kitchen and it is not uncommon for me to be whipping up a batch at 9 pm on a Sunday night to fill lunch kits for the week.

But don’t worry, I’ve measured this recipe out and tested them umpteen times!

Here are my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 6 medium bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup chocolate chips plus extra (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare two muffin pans with parchment muffin liners or spray with canola oil. You are making 24 standard sized muffins.
  2. In medium size bowl, whisk together flours, flax, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
  3. If you are using a stand mixer: to the stand mixer bowl add the bananas and beat. Add eggs, beat until well combined. Add canola oil and beat until well combined. Add sugar and vanilla then continue to beat until well combined.
    OR If using a regular second bowl, mash bananas, beat in eggs, beat in canola oil then beat in sugar and vanilla.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir just to combine ingredients but not fully combined. Yes, this is backwards to a standard muffin method but I make mine in my stand mixer for less mess and simplicity and this works just great!
  5. Add 1 cup chocolate chips and stir just to combine ingredients.
  6. Add batter to prepared muffin pans using 1/4 cup self-releasing scoop.
    Optional: drop 2-3 chocolate chips or walnut pieces to the top of each muffin.
  7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes:

If your bananas are ripe but you are not ready to make muffins; peel them and put into a resealable bag in your freezer. Keep adding bananas until you have 6 – now you are ready to bake!

Peeled, frozen bananas are also quick and easy for smoothies!

Storage:

Keep in a resealable container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the freezer for up to a month.

Always…Jenn

What farmers want us to know about roadside photos

/ jenniferdyck / 3 Comments

If you’ve been following the media this week; you might have seen;
Manitoba farmer concerned by selfies sprouting in sunflower crop or
‘We’re closed forever!’: How the search for the perfect selfie let to bedlam at an Ontario sunflower farm or
Sunflower selfies damaging crops farmer warns

Why do you need to pause before you take that field selfie? What I found out from my online farming community is really quite practical and creates a wonderful opportunity for us to all learn together.

What do farmers really want us to know before we stop to take that roadside photo or selfie?

I wasn’t entirely sure so I took to twitter and asked my farmer friends. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Thanks for being curious

Farmers want to thank us for taking an interest in what they do and what they grow. They are very knowledgeable about what is growing in their fields and they want us to ask questions.

Curtis McRae

2. Get Permission

DYK that farm fields are private property? To enter a field you require permission from the landowner. Know that you are trespassing and you can be fined. Yes, it is possible to find out who owns the land, yes that takes planning and yes, this would be the ideal scenario. Yes, we all know asking for permission is not happening in the majority of cases. So, farmers want us to know a few things before we take those roadside photos.

3. Safety must come first

Farmers want us to be safe. Safety is a top priority on farms and this now extends to us, the roadside inquisitors who are on farm property.

Did you pull off the busy roadway in a safe manner? Is it safe to exit your vehicle? Do you know if it is safe for you to enter or touch or eat the crop at this stage in development? Are you bringing foreign seeds or soil particles from another field or parking lot or yard or park into this space (think treads of your shoes, your furry friends, tires of your car)?

If you get permission, the farm family will guide you through all of these pieces PLUS you’ll get to ask all the questions about what you are seeing. Bonus: you might just get a photo with the farmer too!

4. Stay at the edge of the field & no picking

There is never a reason to enter a field. You can take amazing photos from the road, a field edge or approach (that mini dirt road that connects to the field). Learn your camera angles and know which direction you want in the background before you stop.

www.jenniferdyck.com | Sunflower Field

Why is this so important? The plants growing in the field are directly connected to the farmer’s income. By entering the field you may cause irreversible damage to plants which cuts into the bottom line for the farm family. Would you want someone skimming off your paycheck?

5. Take all your garbage with you!

You don’t want people leaving their garbage on your front yard, tossing it onto your balcony or into your car window. Farmers don’t want to clean up after you either. Plus, come on folks, this is nature. Your grade three teacher (and your parents) taught you to respect nature. Leaving your garbage behind is disrespectful to the farmer and to Mother Nature. You can do better (and most of us do).

Did you take a photo this year?

So, pony up, did you stop at a field this year without permission? I did. But now I know more so next time I can do better. #NoPlantsHarmedInTakingThisPhoto

www.jenniferdyck.com | Canola Field Selfie

I’m a proud Prairie girl and thankful for the farmers who feed us – I hope they smile knowing I paused to enjoy the beauty of their hard work. Farmers, I thank you!

Always,
Jenn

Lessons From My Canola Kitchen

/ jenniferdyck / Leave a comment

When planting fails

Sometimes success is not what you grow or do, success comes from the lessons you learn along the way.

Last month I joined a mini challenge to grow a canola plant on my kitchen counter. I turned to my community (both online and in person) for canola plant growing advice and set a plan to grow the best canola plant that I could.

It turns out that my idea of growing the best plant was much different than reality.

So I paused.

Lessons from my Canola Kitchen

  1. Try, Try Again – Do Not Allow Failure to Hold You Back

    When my first attempt at growing a canola plant failed miserably. I took all of my remaining seeds and tried again. Guess what?! I ended up with one germinated seed that has become my seedling.

  2. Even Slow Change is Growth

    A colleague shared this quote with me:
    “Slowly, slowly the egg will walk!” ~Ethiopian Proverb

    Sometimes change is so slow you think it’s not moving, until one day, it is! The lesson in this is to enjoy the journey, no matter how slow or fast it might seem.

  3. Community is: Knowledge, Support & Kindness

    There was a time when your community was restricted by your physical geographical location – think your community centre, local club, church or coffee shop.

    Today with the advancement of technology we can extend our community outside our geographical neighbourhoods and all the way around the world.
    Summer Sunset with Heart Hands | www.jenniferdyck.com
    With technology (mostly Twitter this time):
    –Knowledge was accessed from farmers across Manitoba and all the way to Alberta, Canada!
    –Support, encouragement and questions arrived from peers near and far.
    –Kindness came as tips for best success, offers to send supplies and humour to help me through the failures.

The lesson for me was far greater than how to grow a canola plant. It was a lesson in community building, a lesson that included; humility, patience, asking for help, sharing stories and best of all contributing the the #FarmToFood conversation.

Where will your curiosity and passion for learning take you next?!

Always…Jenn