Refrigerator Bran Muffins

By Hklbrries

"Montana farmer Alvin Rustebakke is the new American farmer, having transformed a three-generation family spread on the High Plains into an organic paradise. Discharged from the Army in August 1945, Rustebakke returned to his family's 1,500-acre farm outside Scobey with his "city-gal" wife, Dorothy. The newlyweds soon bought the 240 acres adjacent to his father's wheat-and-barley spread; the two generations worked side-by-side, using traditional agricultural methods for 34 years. After his father's death, the land was incorporated into one operation.

One day in the mid-1970's, Rustebakke got to thinking that something was off. "Here I was spraying my wheat with poison," he says in his gravelly twang, "and we were eating this stuff - and feeding it to other people, too." So, in 1979, when his friends were thinking about retirement, Rustebakke kicked into high gear and transformed his spread into a certified organic farm growing hard red spring wheat. "The Cadillac of wheat," he says. "You won't find any better."

To match his new harvest, Rustebakke bought a brand new granite stone mill, which doesn't crush the wheat the same way steel rollers can. Today, Rustebakke's son John has taken over most of the farming duties; Alvin and Dorothy work in packaging and distribution, selling their organic whole-wheat and golden-wheat flours, wheat bran, and unground wheat berries, terrific for adding nutty crunch to soups and salads. Theirs is an ongoing success story, three generations of American farming, adapting and changing to meet the times.

Story by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, food writers in Colebrook, CT

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-Bran cereal
• 2/3 cup wheat bran
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pasteurized egg substitute
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from relishmag.com

Preparation

Step 1

Mix cereal and wheat bran in a large bowl. Add boiling water, stir well and set aside 1 hour.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray.

Add 1 cup buttermilk to bran mixture; stir well with a whisk. Add remaining buttermilk, egg substitute, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla, stirring until smooth.

Add flour mixture; stir until a thick batter forms.

Fill each cup with 2/3 cup muffin batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned.

Nutrition Information:
Per muffin
150 calories
5 g fat
0 mg cholesterol
3 g protein
26 g carbohydrates
2 g fiber
250 mg sodium