Dennis Weaver
We have a little travel trailer that isn’t very big and sits high off the ground. It’s meant to be towed over rough roads behind a four-wheel-drive truck deep into the back country, in this case the Gros Ventre River Valley in Wyoming. (Yep, those are the Teton Mountains in the background--The Grand Teton National Park.)
On this trip, we forgot the pots and pans, left them in the kitchen back home. I intended to make Blueberry Corn Cakes but alas, with no frying pan, that wasn’t going to happen. But I still wanted breakfast.
We have customers that make cupcakes and muffins with our pancake mixes. I decided to try it in the microwave.
I mixed pancake batter in microwave-safe mugs with just enough water to make a thick, quick bread-type batter, not thin like pancake batter. I cooked them in the microwave. In two minutes, we had very serviceable blueberry corn muffins.
Back in our test kitchen, I told Kamie about my muffins. She went to work testing the concept. She made muffins using different kinds and amounts of mix and with more or less water. Some she turned out of the cups and some she left in. She experimented with different cook times.
The concept works. This is what she settled on: Mix 1/3 cup mix and 1/3 cup of water and cook them for two minutes in the microwave. Then add butter and syrup and eat them right out of the cups.
Last week we were in Yellowstone National Park and I tried it again. This time, I liked them better at 1 ½ minutes instead of two minutes. I think it was just the difference in microwaves. Maybe it had something to do with different cups.
Without the heat of an oven, the tops aren’t crusty. Still, the muffins are very good.
When you’re in a hurry, try muffins in the microwave. The cup holds the heat, the butter melts, and the muffins stay warm. You can eat them with a spoon in the car.
Variations on a Theme
There are a lot of variables when you make muffins in the microwave: the mix, the cup, and microwave. Still, it seems to work with a variety of mixes in different microwaves. You’ll want to do a little testing to get it just right in your kitchen. But it’s a handy way to great muffins in two minutes.
Give it a try in your kitchen.
Recommended Pancake Mixes
If I'm out camping, I want something hardy that will too me for awhile, maybe something like Buckwheat Pancakes, Texas Corn Cakes, Multigrain Pancakes.
If I'm late for work, I'm going to grab Tiramisu and Chocolate Pancakes.
If I have a sweet tooth going on and I need a bit of a bolt, Raspberry Sour Cream Pancakes or Snickerdoodle Pancakes.
The Cowboy Fishermen
We’ve driven to the end of the Gros Ventre Road and hiked up the canyon with our fishing rods several times. We’ve never seen another fisherman—until this past summer.
We were pleasantly fishing, Merri Ann and I, unaware that there was anyone within miles, when two cowboys came riding down the stream, mid-stream, on horseback wielding flyrods from atop their horses. We had never seen that before.
We watched. They did a great job of casting, elevated upon the horses. I asked if they were catching fish and one of them held his hands about 14 inches apart without dropping either the reins or his fly rod.
About that time, the other cast too far and his fly landed in the willows across the stream. He rode across the river and plucked his fly from the willows without dismounting.
They road downstream and around the bend, their horses splashing through the water, their horseshoes clanking over the rocks.
We fished for another couple hours, the best fishing of day, then headed back to the truck four miles away. The last mile or so was in the dark—we always carry headlamps. The blanket of stars at high altitudes and without any competing lights are always amazing and the cool evening breezes are just right for hiking.
The Stubborn Rabbit
Camp was an hour’s drive down the canyon.
The Gros Ventre Valley seems to have a lot of Jackrabbits, the high-altitude variety—White Tailed Jackrabbits. This one was stubborn. Maybe he just wanted to play.
White Tailed Jackrabbits are larger than their desert cousins and they turn white in the winter. This one showed up in the middle of the road on our way back to camp, stared into the headlights for a few moments, and then took off down the road.
We casually followed, waiting for him to get off the road. He wouldn’t. He would wait for us to catch up and then bolt down the road again. He did that again and again.
Finally, we stopped the truck and I got out to scare him off the road. That didn’t work. He just ran down the road again. It happened several more times. By now we felt like we were buddies. But it was late and we wanted to get back to camp.
Finally, he left the road.
Comments (2)
Love the story about the rabbit… Did you ever wonder if he was trying to lead you somewhere special? Who knows what you would have found… or where… if you continued to follow him? Nature has her own motives! haha!