The (lost) Art of Walking

In the main stacks of UC Berkeley library there's a wall where the librarians display the covers of new books. I was struck quite strongly (actually almost insulted) by one: "The Lost Art of Walking"... mainly because, to me, the art of walking is not lost. On the contrary, it's more alive than ever.

I don't think I understood the art of walking until college- or really until Irine introduced me to its capacity to change lives.

My high school experience resembled a tightly regimented cycle, with music, school, and track practice each occupying a space of time as I ticked through the day. Then college life brought the unexpected- free time. Yet along with the free time came so many new challenges that didn't exist in my routine high school life. I needed some way to cope, some way to let off steam, or at least some way to let the thoughts and worries that collected in my head evaporate into the fresh air.

I don't know when it happened exactly, but on a chilly day my first roommate and now one of my very best friends was also the first person that I really WENT for a walk with. And for no reason other than to escape a dorm room and talk about life. Aside from one particular 1 mile track race, I never felt more alive, with the cold air entering my lungs and my senses so awake.

But it really wasn't just the walking. It was the company.

Irine is the kind of person that makes you want to actually go out and accomplish the things that you only dream about during the drollness of the day. She's also that person that knows how to give just the right advice at the right time... making you know that in the end, everything's going to be fine. Combined with some epic walks, these qualities were enough to inspire me to try so many new experiences throughout the last three years and not be afraid to express myself. I'm so grateful for such a profoundly life-changing friendship.

Our conversations took unpredictable paths as we made our way along tree-lined streets and the more urban landscapes of the city. I remember talking about tough things, really superfluous but refreshing things, and all of those grandiose academic things that we studied on the side. We constructed grand edifices with our words, and knocked them down with hearty laughter. It got to the point where all I wanted to do at the end of the day was go for a walk.

Ann Arbor's got a few really lovely spots for food. One of them happens to be the famous Zingerman's deli, which also has an amazing bakery. Once a week we'd walk out to Zingerman's and get a latte (Irine), hot chocolate (me), and bran muffins. Then we'd amble back to campus for our joke of a macroeconomics course, laughing along the way.

I truly miss those walks, and those muffins. So for quite some time now I've been working on various bran muffin recipes. If you ask my poor roommate James, he's had to try about three or four varieties of bran bread in the last two weeks alone (because I don't have a muffin tin, I've used these baking pans to make "bran bread")... but I've come up with something comforting nonetheless. The base of the recipe comes from none other than Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks. She does such a good job of making creative recipes with whole grains and fresh produce that taste superb. I substituted some oat bran, flavored yogurt, and other add-ins to the mixture.

Bran Bread
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3-4 tbs. raw cane sugar
2 cups vanilla yogurt... (see note below!)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbs canola oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (*optional)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon (again, *optional)
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
*If you're really cool, you'll sprinkle sunflower seeds on top.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Measure out the flour, brans, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, walnuts and raisins into one bowl. Then mix the wet ingredients (yogurt, honey, egg, oil, etc.) in another, larger bowl. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix... but not too much. You'll find that the batter is clumpy and even a bit dry-looking. That's ok!

Pour batter in a large baking pan (or individual muffin tins... maybe 1/3-1/2 of the way down) and bake until a fork inserted in the bread comes out clean. She says 10-15 minutes, but I remember mine taking about 30 or so. Then again, I'm making bread and she made muffins.

* On the yogurt. I've had my best results with non-fat vanilla from Brown Cow. Now I recognize that that brand is local, so I'd just recommend finding a good, thicker yogurt to use (non-fat to high fat is fine) without high fructose corn syrup or any of those synthetic sweeteners! If you want to use plain then go ahead, but just add 1/2 cup honey to the wet ingredients.

Serve with honey, butter, peanut butter, or jam. The bread is best when heated!

Enjoy!