You've seen it, right? The long cereal aisles in a U.S. supermarket? Crammed from top to bottom with colorful boxes? I bet you have. Cereal arouses a sense of nostalgia in a lot of the Americans that I know; it brings about memories of childhood, simpler times, family breakfasts. It's a wonderful topic of conversation that you can have with native speakers. Ask them: What was your favorite cereal when you were a child? You'll see their eyes light up. Then maybe you can share something that you learned in today's lesson! Premium Content:  Season 4 (Episodes 150 - 200) = Each episode includes a quiz, the PDF transcript (the text of the audio) with definitions of challenging words and the mp3 file.All Premium Content for Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (Episodes 001 - 150)Raisin Bran Muffins: 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola)2 cups buttermilk (I use low-fat)2 eggs2 cups flour4 cups Raisin Bran cereal1 cup sugar1.5 teaspoons baking soda1 teaspoon salt1/2 cup raisins 2 teaspoons cinnamon1 teaspoon all spiceOptional Topping: 1/2 cup chopped pecans (small)Heat oven to 400 degrees.Mix all of the muffin ingredients in order.  Let mixture sit for 10 minutes, so that the cereal softens.Bake in a muffin tin at 400 degrees for 14-18 minutes (depending on the color and size of your muffin tin.) I like the pecans to develop a very toasty flavor, so I generally cook them closer to 18 minutes.Let cool at least 10 minutes. Top with butter and/or honey.Each batch makes about 18 muffins. My family doubles it and it makes 36 at a time! We freeze them. Then, in the morning, we microwave each muffin for 40 seconds, slice in half and spread a bit of butter on each side. :)  Enjoy! Support the show