Walnut muffins

This muffin recipe was largely inspired by some similar ones in Recipes from the Weimar kitchen, and some important constraints on this morning's breakfast. In particular, I had no eggs on hand, nor any milk. This eliminated the usual muffin recipes that call for eggs or dairy. Additionally, I wanted yeast as the leavening. The resulting muffins were pretty good...

Begin by dissolving

2 teaspoons of dried yeast, and
3 tablespoons honey

in

1-1/4 cups warm water. If this doesn't begin to froth in about 5-10 minutes, the yeast aren't up for the task of raising the muffins... I keep my yeast in the freezer, so sometimes they take a while to warm up. While the yeast are getting warmed up, mix the dry ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour,
1 cup wheat germ, and
1 teaspoon salt.

Cut in

a few teaspoons of olive oil or vegetable shortening, and
1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Then briefly mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in

1/2 cup (or so) of finely chopped walnuts, and

drop into greased a muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 325 deg F, and let the muffins rise for 10 minutes or a little longer. Then, bake for 12 minutes.