My very dear friend Judy had a knee replacement just after Easter. I
knew what she was experiencing as I have had both by knees replaced. We
are told the drill…take your pain pills and do the exercises. To keep
things moving, so to speak, no pun intended haha, I baked some bran
muffins to take to her. The muffin batter can sit in your fridge for 3
weeks or you can bake them all at once and freeze some. It makes 5 to 6
dozen nice moist, tender muffins that don’t have the texture of fibre
golf balls. It uses both oat bran and natural wheat bran, soluble and
insoluble fibre. I like to add chopped dates but you could add any fresh
or dried fruit you like.

I will have to go through my recipes to see what I can bring her this
week. By the time the weather is nice and warm Judy, you will be
strolling down Anthony Street with a brand new knee feeling great! Take
good care! Ken, you are doing a great job looking after Judy.We love you
both!

THREE WEEK REFRIGERATOR BRAN MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups natural wheat bran

2 cups boiling water

1 cup butter or margarine

2- 1/3 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup fancy molasses

1 litre of fresh buttermilk

2- 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2- 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tbsp. sifted baking soda

1 tsp. fine salt

2 cups oat bran

2 cups of any bran flake cold cereal eg. bran buds, raisin bran, all
bran cereal (that day I used 2 cups of Shreddies crushed with my potato
masher)

dried fruit can be added into the batter here – I used 1 lb. of dates,
chopped

*fresh fruit must be added only when baking the muffins e.g. blueberries
or raspberries or they may mold if sitting for 3 weeks in the fridge in
the batter

METHOD:

-In a small bowl, place the natural wheat bran and pour over it the 2
cups of boiling water. To avoid splashing, pour the boiling water along
the inside of the bowl, not in the middle of the bran. Stir to combine
and set aside to cool to room temperature.

-In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs and
molasses and buttermilk.

-Combine the whole wheat and all purpose flour, baking soda and salt.
Add this to the creamed mixture.

-Stir in the cooled bran and water mixture. Then add the oat bran and
bran cereal. Mix well.

-If you are adding the dried fruit, do it now. I use a pair of kitchen
scissors to snip the dates. It goes faster than a paring knife.

-Pour the batter into a container with a lid. I use an empty 4 litre ice
cream container. The batter fits perfectly.

-*The batter must sit overnight before you bake your muffins.

-Use a handy stainless steel scoop (from Sharyn’s Pantry of course) to
scoop out the muffin batter into paper lined muffin cups.

-Bake the muffins in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 18 to 20
minutes. Test for doneness by gently touching the top of the muffin with
your fingertip. If no indentation remains, they are done. ENJOY!!!