Dairy Free bran muffins

I love having home made muffins in the morning for my boys to have at breakfast, or to throw into a lunch kit for an extra snack at school or work.  And let's be honest, I love to eat muffins too, all kinds, but if you suffer from a dairy allergy you know that muffins are something you normally should avoid.  Most store bought muffins contain milk, often buttermilk, so I make my own.
I use almond or soy milk as my dairy alternative, depending on who will be eating the baking, and I fake the buttermilk component by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to my almond milk a few moments before adding it.  You would never know the difference.  I love this recipe because it can last well mixed in the fridge in a sealed container for two weeks so that you can quickly bake some up on a Saturday morning for a quick hot breakfast.
In my new house my fridge is pretty small, so I just make half a recipe and bake them all at once, then I individually wrap them and freeze them in a zip lock bag, ready to grab one to place in a lunch kit.

Originally I got this recipe from a friend, and I am unsure as to where she got it, but I have altered it over the years.

Bran Muffins (Dairy Free)
Pre-heat oven to 400

4 cups Flour
4 cups bran
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking soda
2 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 cups almond milk (add a tsp of white vinegar to your milk. Any milk alternative will work. Or if you don't want it to be dairy free, buttermilk)
2 cups oil (I usually use canola)
1/2 cup molasses (I like fancy molasses, but I don't think it matters)
2 cups raisins (or cran-raisins or a mix of both)

1. mix dry ingredients
2. mix wet ingredients in separate bowl and add to dry.  Stir just until blended, Do not over mix.
3. add raisins.
4. bake at 400 for 10 minutes then lower oven temp to 350 and bake for additional 6-10 minutes.  my oven only takes an extra 6 minutes.
You will know that they are done when they crack on top and are slightly firm to the touch.  If you want you can test if they are done by inserting a tooth pick into a muffin and if it comes out clean they are finished. The muffins should be nice and golden brown and smell delicious.

Treasury of Memories

I have always loved to bake and cook, ever since I was a little girl. It probably had something to do with the fact that my mother is a cook and baker.  If you need a meal cooked, a banquet catered or a recipe, my mother is the person to go to.  She has been cooking for fundraisers, schools and churches for as long as I can remember.  She would always convince me to help her with her cooking endeavors and I would always readily agree.  I would love to spend hours in the kitchen with my mom preparing meals for others, reading recipes and making up our own as we went.  One of her go to cook books was, and very much still is, The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes.

 This classic cook book filled with tried and true recipes was so worn that it no longer had covers, there were notes written in every margin and each blank space had other recipes scribbled in.  Some pages had been so used and spilled on that you could barely make out the recipe, then again those pages were mostly memorized already and consulted only as a formality.

I loved this cook book as a kid.  So when I saw it on the shelf of my local Ten Thousand Villages store in Saskatoon this past June I quickly bought.  I love thumbing through the recipes looking for the next one to try.  And that is when I decided that I would cook my way through this wonderful cook book.

Now here is the catch.  As much as I love this cook book, it has some quirks that may make cooking my way through it rather interesting.  This cook book was published in the 60's, a time of jellied food and easy casseroles.  Many of the recipes also take for granted that you know a lot about baking or cooking and they use many vague phrases like ' mix until it feels right' or 'add just enough flour' (without giving a quantity). So the results could be...interesting.  I will be picking recipes to make, following them to the best of my ability, with no changes or alterations, hosting friends to try the recipes and then blogging about them.

So come back often to check out what I'm cooking next.  I'm going to end this post with a quote from the introduction:
        "By the time the book was on the drawing board it was decided to add a chapter of Mennonite recipes. Many of these originate from times of want and austerity and are no longer in use but may be of interest for coming generations, perhaps as inspiration to adventurous cooks."

Consider me inspired!

Baking time

When I'm not at work or doing a million other things I really enjoy baking. I am making squares for a fund raiser and then I thought I would fill the freezer with cookies and muffins and bread so I spent 4 hours baking this evening. 

I made banana chocolate chip muffins (my son's favourite)

Nestles golden brownie for the fundraiser 

As well as a raisin square for the fundraiser 

And two 'loaves' of peasant bread 

I hope to bake more on Thursday as I want to make cupcakes for another fundraiser this Friday. 

And I have really been craving cinnamon buns. 

It is almost time to put my feet up. Soon my son will be in bed and the kitchen will be clean again, then I may pour myself a whiskey and relax.