Some Goods.

I have multiple recipes promised to multiple people so here are a few of them, for the multitudes.

Number One! Pumpkin Millet Muffins, care of the fantastic Rebar cookbook. This collection of colourful recipes come from the vegetarian/fusion institution known as Rebar, set in Victoria BC's Bastion Square. I've found it for sale in a cookbook store in London, so clearly it's got a rep.

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup veggie oil (can substitute apple sauce)

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice stirred into 1 cup milk. let sit 10 min)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup millet

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease large muffin pan and line with muffin cups if you like. Set aside. Combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin in large bowl and mix together, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar. Stir in the oats. Toast millet in a hot dry skillet (over medium heat) until lightly browned and fragrant. Toast the pumpkin seeds skillet and add millet and seeds to the bowl. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and gently stir to combine. Do not overmix, or the muffins will be dry and tough.

3. Fill muffin cups generously with batter. Sprinkle tops with pumpkin seeds and bake for 25 min, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Number Two! Granola Bars. I made these for a film crew and they were pop-u-lar. They're good on their own, with yogurt, with ice cream.........and great because you can make them a little different each time by switching up ingredients. Also, they don't require baking, so you don't have to worry about under or over-doing them. I got this recipe from a blog called Joyful Abode.

2 cups oats

3/4 cup wheat germ (I used unsweetened, shredded coconut)

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup peanuts, crushed (I used sliced almonds)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

4 Tablespoons (Tb) butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

approximately 1 cup dried, chopped fruit (I used raisins, dried cranberries, and dried apricots)

Prepare a glass baking dish or small cookie sheet by lining it with wax paper (this is what you'll press the bars in and you'll want it ready ahead of time).

Mix first 4 ingredients and spread on another cookie sheet. Broil them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, tossing every few minutes, until they are lightly toasted and fragrant (don't let it burn!) Remove and let cool.

In saucepan on stove, combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

In a big bowl combine the toasted mixture, syrup mixture, and dried fruit (or chocolate chips if you're adding them, why not) and make sure everything gets coated evenly in the syrup. Pour it all into the prepared, lined baking dish/cookie sheet and spread it out evenly with a wooden spoon. Then line the top with wax paper and use something hard and flat to press the mix firmly into the pan. The harder you press, the better the bars will hold together. Let cool for several hours then remove from pan and cut into bars.

That's it for now. Ryan, happy baking.