Jambalaya Muffins & Our Magic Bus

When my husband Kevin and I moved to Georgia from Montana back in ‘95 we ended up living in the modified school bus we made the trip in for 3 months.

During that time I worked as a waitress in a not so upscale fish restaurant at an old boat Marina.

In the bus I had a camper size propane stove that pretty much cooked everything at 400 degrees, a crackpot, my Mom’s old microwave circa late 1970’s, and a toaster oven.  What was left of the 15-foot wooden counterpace that ran almost the length of the bus was my workspace.  No sink. I did dishes inside the Marina we lived behind, courtesy of the restaurant/marina owner.  We slept in our bed that lay just inside the rear end emergency exit door.

This was early November and the weather would be 90 degrees one day and 50 the next. 

Some days I would simply sit and read cookbooks inside the empty warm restaurant.   Being Southern California native, I had never eaten Southern Food.  I started coping recipes. We lived hand to mouth so meals required leftovers and very reasonable ingredient costs.

I’d tried out a good number of muffin recipes, creating a few in the process.  And as it turned out, I would make muffins almost daily in that school bus.  Spice muffins, bran muffins, banana muffins, corn muffins, sausage muffins, yam muffins, herb muffins, and yes, plain muffins. They served well with beans or soup.

I was excited to try Southern food. I was 32 and had a lot to learn.  I don’t know how southern this recipe is, but I did discover it in the Georgia.  LOL

Muffins Jambalaya

Step 1/ Sauté together and set aside ~

3T butter

1/2 c bell pepper

1/2 c onion (green or white)

Step 2/ Mix just until combined ~

1 /14 c flour

1 c corn meal

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 eggs

2 c buttermilk (or 2 c milk & 2 T vinegar  - let sit 15 min before using)

dash cayenne

dash paprika

Step 3/ Add Sauté from Step 1

Step 4/ Additions of your choice:

1 c chopped ham or cooked sausage

1 c frozen beans, broccoli or corn

(*Note: add what ever cooked meat or vegetables you like)

 30 minutes @ 400 – makes around 24 muffins

~ Cheryl