Farmgirl Susan's 100% Whole Grain Carrot, Raisin, and Zucchini Bran Muffins

Makes about 12 large muffins

Over the past few years I've noticed that the texture and weight of both wheat brans and oat brans can vary considerably, and some are much heavier than others. If you're weighing your brans (I love my 11-pound Oxo Good Grips digital kitchen scale), you might want to also portion them out in measuring cups the first time, which is how I measured them when I created the recipe, and if you've weighed out significantly more or less bran than the recipe calls for, considering altering the amounts.

I've used both finely shredded and coarsely shredded carrots and zucchini in these muffins and find that the finely shredded bakes up a little bit better. Some people like to squeeze the moisture out of their shredded zucchini, but I never bother. If you're trying to use up a bumper crop of squash, you can replace some or all of the carrots with extra zucchini.

As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients, as they really do make a difference. Organic raisins and carrots are two of the best organic buys around. I like these best with butter and a hot cup of tea, or with peanut butter and apricot jam and an ice cold glass of milk. They taste even better the second day.

2 cups (5½ ounces) organic wheat bran
1 cup (4 ounces) organic oat bran
1 cup (5½ ounces) organic whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large organic eggs
2/3 cup organic milk
2/3 cup organic yogurt
1/3 cup safflower oil (or other neutral oil or melted organic butter)
1/3 cup molasses or cane syrup
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (7 ounces) packed finely shredded organic zucchini
1 cup (5½ ounces) packed finely shredded organic carrots
3/4 cup (5 ounces) organic raisins

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375°. Grease a standard size 12-cup muffin pan or line the cups with unbleached baking cups.

Combine the wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the eggs, milk, yogurt, safflower oil, molasses, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl and mix well. (Note: You can use all honey or all molasses if desired.)

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Gently fold in the zucchini, carrots, and raisins.

Generously overfill the muffin cups with batter. I use a large stainless steel scoop, which is also great for portioning out cookie dough.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefull remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm, or let them cool on a wire rack.

These muffins will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in a cool place, or you can freeze them. I just toss them into a zipper freezer bag as soon as they've cooled completely. Defrost at room temperature (I like to pull them out the night before) or in the microwave if you're in a hurry.

Recipe source: FarmgirlFare.com