back to school muffins •

I was roused from my bed this morning with the sweet sounds of intense bickering emerging from the main bath. Yes, it’s that wonderful time of year. The days become cooler, the notebooks are new, the backpack is packed, sitting at attention by the front door. The mornings become...well, hell. One of my indulgences of motherhood is to let my girls have a pretty laid back summer holiday. This tends to come back and bite me when school starts. I cringe listening to the shrieks of indignation coming from one daughter about the wearing of her clothes without permission. The other brings up the usage of her personal hair gel or mascara. My husband sheepishly ducks and quickly scoots out the house, avoiding the whole scene. The last thing I want to hear from them in the morning is the lack of food for breakfast. I spent last weekend filling the freezer with waffles and other quick-to-grab goodies. If you, unlike me, are feeling energetic at that time of day, a little icing made with cream cheese would be a perfect topping for these muffins. Or you can just do what I do, put out a plate of cream cheese with a knife.

Back to School Muffins •

Whisk together in a medium mixing bowl:

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

1 cup wet okara (this is referring to the okarastraight from your machine, not drained or dried)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1-1/2 cup grated carrots

Sift together in a large mixing bowl:

1-1/4 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Toss in:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped raisins

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX. Fill your muffin tins with enough paper liners for 16 muffins, or generously grease and flour your tins. Spoon the batter into the liners about two-thirds full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly brown. You can test them with a wooden toothpick; if it comes out clean take them out. Depending on the wetness of your okara, the baking times might be slightly different. Cool for 10 minutes, take muffins out of tins and place on wire racks to cool completely. If you use paper liners, you must cool the muffins completely or the muffins will stick to the liner. Makes one and a half dozen.