peachy oat bran muffins

last tuesday as i took my usual lunchtime stroll to the ferry building farmers market i noticed that the delicious citrus i had become accustomed to buying was on the way out. in it's place? peaches and apricots! i only bought three peaches...just to test the waters...as they were the first of the season. they were fantastic. i ate them at work for snacks but ended up with one lil lonely peach at home this weekend. i also found a bag of oat bran in the fridge left over from some bread baking venture. and wouldn't you know, one super ripe banana that needed to be baked into something. only one thing to do...peachy oat bran muffins! i pretty much made this recipe up as i went along. the good? the texture is perfect! they are super moist and a little bit chewy from the oat bran. the bad? they're sadly bland. but! i know exactly what i would do to make them better next time and what you can do to make them awesome right now. more ginger! i would increase the powdered to one teaspoon (at least) and also add some minced fresh and/or crystallized ginger and i think they would be delightful. you could also switch out the peach for another fruit, add nuts, and experiment with spices to compliment the fruit you have on hand. below is the recipe i used for you to build on.

peachy oat bran muffins
ingredients:
2 1/4 cups oat bran
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 peach, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

preheat oven to 425.

in a large bowl, combine oat bran, baking powder and sugar.
in a separate bowl, mash the banana and whisk in soy milk and oil.
pour the wet ingredients into the dry. add peach pieces and mix until just combined.
spoon into muffin tin and bake 15-17 minutes.

-d.

also, i would like you to notice my pretty new blue bowl. we've had a gorgeous weekend here in san francisco and kris and i took the ferry over to sausalito yesterday and made a trip to heath ceramics. i want it all. if you're willing to deal with slight imperfections you can get a great deal (a teeny little crack discounted my bowl from $55 to $15!).