Bob’s Red Mill offers a wide assortment of mixes, to make home baking easier than ever. Sometimes, however, you look at a mix and wish it could make something a little different.  I have been working to create muffin recipes from our various pancake mixes, so if you are feeling like a muffin and all you’ve got is pancake mix, you are in luck! 

A customer called recently who had our 10 Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix and some aging bananas. I came up with a formula for her that works really well. The combination of grains and bananas creates a soft texture that the taste testers here in the office gobbled up. 

10 Grain Banana Nut Muffins
by Chelsea Lincoln from the Bob’s Red Mill kitchen

½ cup Evaporated Cane Sugar
3 medium Bananas, mashed
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tb Oil
1 cup Milk
2 cups 10 Grain Pancake Mix
½ cup Walnut Pieces

Mix together the sugar, banana, egg, vanilla and oil.  Slowly stir in milk to combine.  Add pancake mix and walnuts; stir in until just combined.  Be careful not to over mix.  Fill greased muffin cups ¾ cup full and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 15 muffins.

Check out all our varieties of muffins using our pancake mixes!

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
High Fiber Apple Cinnamon Muffins
7 Grain Cranberry Spice Muffins

We recently received a dozen spurtles we ordered from Tim Cebulla. He made them all of Oregon myrtle wood on his lathe, but each one is a little different from all the others.

 What the heck is a spurtle? you may be wondering. It is a Scottish cooking implement used to stir oats (porridge) as they cook. We will be competing in the 16th Annual Golden Spurtle™ World Porridge Making Championship in Carrbridge, Scotland on October 11 as the first contender from the US. See www.goldenspurtle.com.

 Tim designs and makes hand-turned wood items for his business, Wood I Kid You. In addition to spurtles, he makes writing instruments, kitchen items, desk accessories, vanity items, pendant watches, mirrors, weaving and knitting items, and custom items – he can even make a baseball bat, wine goblets, or a wizard’s wand! He also makes non-turned items such as cribbage boards.

12 Unique Spurtles

A retired USPS maintenance supervisor, Tim has been turning wood since 2002, after working in a woodcraft store and taking a lathe class.

 Tim also makes accessories for his wife Judy and her sister’s business, “Threads of Magique.” They make fantasy dolls, felted wall hangings, and fabric art.

 They both offer their products for sale on etsy.com and artfire.com. Tim also sells his artwork at the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market, where he is a board member.

 Tim uses salvaged wood whenever possible, and native Oregon woods, especially myrtle wood, but also madrone and Manzanita and exotic woods like zebrawood and cocobolo.

 We will be using one of these spurtles to stir our steel cut oats in Scotland. Hopefully it will bring us luck in the contest!

Rosemary and Thyme have complimentary flavors which work well in recipes together.

 This is a great summer dip involving two herbs often times grown in local gardens; rosemary and thyme. The savory flavors are mild and very pleasant. This dip is great for potlucks and family get-togethers. Crackers, chips and vegetables all taste great with it! You could also use this as a spread for a sandwich or wrap. Yum!

Cannellini Herb Spread

1 cup dry Cannellini Beans
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Tb Lemon Juice
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Rosemary
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Soak the beans overnight. Drain and rinse the beans and put into a medium-sized saucepan. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans with cold water.  Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth.