Honey Apricot Bran Muffins

 

     These muffins? They're the bee's knees. Seriously, I can't think of a more perfect way to describe them.  Sweetened with honey, crunchy with walnuts, moist with homemade applesauce and filled with bran (just in case you didn't think they were healthful enough already) they were a breakfast delight.

   
      Some time ago I found a recipe for bran muffins that I really wanted to make, but couldn't find any bran in the local grocery store. By the time I got to town to a real grocery store that carried it (You wouldn't think that bran was so exotic, would you?) I had lost the recipe. Thankfully there was another recipe on the side of the Bob's Red Mill bag. Though it wasn't what I originally set out to make, with just a few changes it ended up being just what I wanted.

    
      So do you think it's probably a good thing that these are now in my back yard?  I have a feeling I'm going to be needing some of the fruits of these hive denizens' labors. Think they'll share? (more on these new additions later...)

Honey Apricot Bran Muffins
adapted from a recipe for Moist Molasses Bran Muffins from Bob's Red Mill
Ingredients
1 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots (I used a generous 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup milk
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup applesauce
2 Tblsp. oil
2 eggs, beaten

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400F 
• Combine wheat bran, flour, baking soda and baking powder.
• Stir in fruit and nuts. (Make sure you coat the apricots well with the flour mixture to keep the pieces from sticking together.)
• In a small bowl, blend together applesauce, milk, honey, oil and the eggs.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just moistened.
• Spoon into greased muffin tins (or paper baking cups) and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Yields 12 muffins

Curried Turkey Wraps

    Are you in a brown bag rut?  I admit that I am. Peanut butter and jelly is always a quick and easy option for a workday lunch, but it does get tiresome after a while. I'm always on the lookout for tasty alternatives that are quick and easy to put together, and also satisfying enough to keep hunger pangs away all afternoon.

     I found the recipe for these wraps in an old Cuisine at Home magazine as I was browsing at my favorite thrift store. Thankfully, it turned out to be a delightful change from my usual lunchtime fare.  The curried cranberry-apricot cream cheese spread paired with thinly sliced turkey made the perfect sweet-savory combination, while the cucumber and lettuce gave it just the right toothsome crunch. Paired with an apple, it was just enough to keep me on my toes until the three o'clock bell.
 
      Wraps are definitely one lunchtime option worth further investigation. They're easy to customize according to your tastes, and also to what's in your refrigerator. What's your favorite brown bag lunch?  I'm always open to suggestions!

Curried Turkey Wraps
recipe from Cuisine at Home, June 2004
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel)
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 Tablespoons apricot jam (I used my habanero gold jam.)
Juice of 1/2 lime
4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
6-8 leaves red lettuce
8 oz. deli-style roast turkey, thinly sliced
1 cup cucumber: seeded and thinly sliced (I used an English hothouse cucumber.)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (optional)
 
Directions:

• Combine cream cheese, chopped cranberries, apricot jam and lime juice.
• Warm tortillas gently in a dry skillet until soft and pliable.
• Spread 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture on one tortilla. 
• Layer lettuce, turkey, cucumber and cilantro on top of lettuce. (To keep fillings from squeezing out, leave the top edge of the tortilla filling-free, then roll it up from the bottom.)
• Roll up tightly, and then cut in half at an angle.
• Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Some Like it Hot!

                                                                   Habanero Gold Jelly
Jelly, that is. I meant to make this in August, when the habanero peppers were at their sizzling peak at my brother's produce stand. But I didn't. I meant to make it again in November, right after I used my very last jar. But the peppers I bought for it slowly disintegrated in my vegetable bin, forgotten behind a head of cabbage. This time however, I was determined to follow through...those neglected peppers were calling me, and I'm so glad I listened this time!
Since I made it last weekend, I've eaten it almost every day. (Trying to make up for lost time?) This jelly (more of a jam, really) is superb over cream cheese on toasts or crackers. Its sweet/savory combination of apricots, peppers, and red onions also makes an unforgettable glaze for pork or chicken. It's a great jelly to make in the winter...the habaneros will warm you right up!

Habanero Gold Jelly
(printable recipe)

1/3 cup finely sliced dried apricots
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup finely diced sweet red pepper
1/4 cup finely diced habanero peppers, including seeds (omit the seeds and membranes if you're a wimp you prefer a milder heat)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

• Cut apricots into 1/8 inch slices. (I dice these slices as well.) Measure into a large deep stainless steel saucepan with vinegar; let stand 4 hours.
• Individually, cut onion and peppers into 1/8 inch slices; cut slices into 1/4 inch dice. Measure each ingredient; add to apricots.
• Stir in sugar.
• Over high heat, bring to full rolling boil. Stirring constantly, boil hard for 1 minute.
• Remove from heat.
• Immediately stir in pectin, mixing well.
• Pour jelly into hot jars, dividing solids equally among jars and filling each jar to within 1/4 inch of top rim. Wipe rims. Apply lids.
• Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool upright, until lids pop down, about 30 minutes.
• When lids are concave, but the jelly is still hot, carefully grasp jar without disturbing lid and invert, twist, or rotate each jar to distribute solids throughout the jelly. The jar can be inverted temporarily but do not allow it to stand upside-down for prolonged periods. Repeat as necessary during the cooling/setting time, until solids remain suspended in the jelly.