One thing leads to another

While shopping for groceries today I noticed all kinds of cool grain choices near the flour.  Are they new (to the store at which we usually shop)?  Or, did I just notice them when assessing my choices of whole wheat flour?  Bob's Red Mill®.  There must have been 20 different cute 16 oz. packages from which to choose. 

I just got back from Denver.  (I had a wonderful week with Ashley, Alex, Michael, Liam and John Paul!)  Ashley makes the most amazing banana bread.  Doesn't taste a bit like it.  (movie line - guess before you look!)  Lots of cinnamon and cardamom.  And flax seed.  Bob sells flax seed!  But, thinking Mike might not like the seed-like seeds in his baked goods, I picked flaxseed meal. Bob is also good at marketing.  While checking the nutrition facts (4 g fiber in 2 Tbsp) I noticed the bran flax muffin recipe.  Which calls for oat bran.  Hey, Bob sells that, too.  While at the checkout line I remembered that I'd been wanting to find recipes that a friend of ours can eat, who comes to the UPT meetings we host at our house, as she is gluten intolerant.  As our checker was checking us out I quickly ran back and picked up rice flour to use in the muffins.  (I didn't seen any in Bob's assortment, so picked up Hodgson Mill brand.)

Bob's recipe for bran flax muffins:
1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
3/4 c Bob's Red Mill® flaxseed meal
3/4 c Oat Bran
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c carrots, shredded
2 apples, peeled and shredded
1/2 c raisins (optional)
1 c nuts, chopped
3/4 c milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together flour, Bob's Red Mill® flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Stir in carrots, apples, raisins (if desired) and nuts.  Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla.  Poor liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.  Stir until ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.  Yields 15 medium muffins.

Cindy and Mike's alterations:
Substituted rice flour for white flour.  Used 3/4 c brown sugar instead of 1 c.  Left out the salt.  Used cranraisins and left out the nuts (as they were not desired by one of us).  Added 1/2 tsp cardamom.  According to Ashley, anything that calls for cinnamon is better when you add cardamom.

How did they turn out?  They are a little weird but delicious.  They didn't rise.  I've never baked with rice flour, so maybe that's the reason.  They seemed a little hard to get done (took the full 20 minutes plus maybe a few more in my oven that usually cooks things quicker than the recipe indicates).  But, they are very tasty.  Remind me both of carrot cake and zucchini muffins.

And, four grams of fiber per serving of two.