Using the recumbent exercise bike is becoming a habit. I think once it hits a month it’ll be pretty routine. Also, watching less TV is becoming a habit. I’m using the time on the bike as my time to watch “bad” TV without guilt. Otherwise, I’m watching mostly TV I deem decent, or even better, listening to more music.

Today repetition paid off; I was able top bust out a double batch of muffins and a batch of granola in minutes. Plus I made my first batch of homemade popsicles in my new ten-cent mold.

I used the big bag of quick oats I got from Freecycle, as part of the grain in the muffins, and for the granola. I took a cheapo can of papaya, drained part of the juice for popsicles, and blended the rest into a puree for the muffins. I put some of the puree back in the popsicles for texture and color. I used some homemade bread crumbs for the muffins too; we make them more quickly than we use them. I also use soy flour instead of eggs, and substitute apple sauce for half the fat. Since it’s the second time I made the granola, I altered the recipe to make it cheaper, and lower-calorie. (I can’t necessarily say healthier; I’m trying use up some corn syrup, which ain’t the best, and I also used some Splenda, which some might object to.) The oven was used for both the muffins and the granola, and now I have snacks and breakfast galore.

The first time I made muffins it took a while. Now it’s so familiar, and I can use what I have on hand.

It’s Amy Dacyczyn’s basic recipe, Tightwad Gazette II, page 164.
* 2 to 2-1/2 cups flour/grain (substitute oats, cornmeal, bran, etc. for part of the flour)
* Up to ¼ cup fat (Oil, lard, butter, etc. Applesauce can be substituted for part-or all if you don’t mind dryer muffins.)
* 1 cup milk (reconstituted dry powdered, or regular, or soy, or some juice)
* 1 egg (can substitute 1 heaping tablespoon soy flour and one tablespoon water)
* Up to ½ cup sweetener (sugar, corn syrup, brown sugar, Splenda, honey)
* 2 teaspoons Baking powder
* ½ teaspoons Salt
* Up to 1-1/2 cup additions (moist or dry. Raisins, shredded zucchini, mashed banana, sunflower seeds; the choices are endless)

Preheat to oven to 350. Bake 20 minutes at 350 in lightly greased muffin tins.

Homemade breadcrumbs: put bread bags with unused heels or broken pieces of bread in the freezer. Next time the oven is used, put all the miscellaneous pieces in a metal container in the oven after using it; let the left over heat dry the bread out. Put these pieces in a tub in the cupboard (I use a one gallon mayonnaise tub). When the tub is full get out the Universal grinder, and grind all the pieces. Store in an airtight container. Use as a topping on casseroles with butter or margarine; used as a breading for oven-fried fish; sneak into muffins. I only dry the bread every few months, and I grind the crumbs maybe once or twice a year, when I’m in a rare kitchen putter mood.