Beauteous Bran

True, beauteous may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of bran. Healthy, boring or bland might lead the list of adjectives. Also true that the bran muffins I made today (and last weekend) aren't particularly visually appealing. But they are damn good and therefore beauteous in my mind.

I'm always in search of healthy baked goods that actually taste good, so I was really pleased that I found a bran muffin recipe that is moist, a bit sweet and delicious. I happened upon this recipe because I was looking for a way to use the rest of the buttermilk I bought for last weekend's cake. I am a firm believer in the wonders of buttermilk for producing exceptionally moist cakes, so no wonder that the buttermilk in these bran muffins made for a moist and tender muffin.

I must admit that my husband was a bit disappointed that I left last week's cake at the BBQ and then made a batch of bran muffins the next day. Trading in cake for bran is not always a winning idea. But we were both pleasantly surprised that the muffins turned out as well as they did. They're great plain and aren't hurt by adding a little butter and jam.

A perfect snack while your watching the Twins get intimidated and lose badly to the Yankees yet again. Watching A-Rod's grand slam last night was one of the more annoying moments in my baseball watching life.

Whole Wheat Bran Muffins

Makes 12

• 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk together oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in raisins and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.