Breakfast Serial #25

Good morning, Earthlings.

I've always wanted to say that. And now that I've done so, it sounds so weird to say it that way, but I suppose it's true: you, the reader at home on that cloudy blue ball, are the earthling and I am an ocastan now. That feels strange to say, too. I wonder if it will feel strange to the children growing up here, or who are being born here even now.

Yes, it's true! And I'm certain you heard the news from an actual news source and not little old me and my recipe blog, but at the risk of over-saturating you: A baby was born in Outpost 3! What the news stations probably won't tell you, but I will because I was there when it happened and also I noticed that the WOIS censored my last transmission, so this is a test of the new frequency I'm blogging on.

Reader: the baby's eyes are the most beautiful crystal pink I've ever seen! Like a rabbit's, a little bit, but sweeter. And unlike a rabbit's it's not due to lack of iris pigmentation. Nope, the irises themselves are a soft, almost lilac pink. The doctors ran some tests that I probably wasn't supposed to overhear the results of, but apparently it's the result of ambient microflora present in the air around us. Something they've known about since we first got here, but evidently was not important enough to tell us about. Anyway, it's completely benign and interacting with our own bodies in much the same way microflora does on earth. The difference being, apparently, that if you get enough of the native biota into your system as a developing fetus, your eyes can turn out pink as a result! They're... still figuring out how, exactly.

That discovery has sent up a flurry of questions from outpost residents. Are our eyes going to change colors? Do we need to take extra-strength probiotics to keep our gut flora more earthlike, or should we just let the sparkly glowy bugs do their work on us? All questions that frankly I thought our setup team would have worked out before we landed, but that's a blog post for another time.

Some longtime readers may recall my sourdough experiments last year with the bioluminescent wild yeast harvested near the sea. I'm now testing out ambient biota on yogurt and cheese making, using milk from the goats we brought with us from Earth. Harper, when did you get goats? I hear you ask. Well, I made friends with the outpost goatherds, naturally! I stopped by yesterday with a double batch of my favorite Sunrise Muffins, filled with a rainbow of nutritious and delicious goodies, and by the time I took my leave they'd procured for me 3 liters of fresh, pasteurized goats' milk.

Those muffins are good and they're a phenomenal quick breakfast if you make them in advance and freeze for when you need them later. You can follow my mix-ins exactly if you want them how I make them, or you can swap them out for whatever you like. These muffins are versatile, much like our amazing human bodies! They're also gluten-free, which is convenient because Outpost 3 has run out of wheat!

SUNRISE MUFFINS

• 2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I use a combo of walnuts, pecans, and peanuts)
• 1/4 cup dried cherries or raisins
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 zucchini)
• 1 cup grated carrots (about 2 carrots)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• Zest of half an orange (optional, but gives a bright citrus flavor)
• 1/2 cup dark maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, or grease well with butter
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine together the almond meal, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, sea salt, nuts, seeds, fruits, and chocolate chips.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, zucchini, carrots, melted butter, orange zest, maple syrup, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and mix only until just combined (do not overmix). This batter will be thick!
5. Spoon the batter into your muffin cups and fill to the rim. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center muffin comes out clean.

The Breakfast Serial is the fictitious food blog of interplanetary colonist Harper Luna. While the events and people are all made up, the recipes are quite real, human made and human tested (and delicious!), I assure you. This month's recipe is adapted from the cookbook Run Fast, Eat Slow. The Breakfast Serial is written by Mia V. Moss.