Catriona here, pulling myself out of the Christmas whirl to write a blog post (Nicki is picking herself up off the floor right about now!). Anyway, I have a great suggestion for a Christmas gift that is inexpensive but invaluable if you know someone who likes baking or would like to learn. It is a book about how to make excellent muffins called Muffins: Fast and Fantastic, and it is written by a lady who goes to our church, Susan Reimer. She wrote it several years ago when she first moved to the UK from Canada with her family. She was frustrated when her tried and tested muffin recipes just didn't work with British weights and measures so she set out to re-write the recipes for use in Britain and this book (which was self-published) was the result. It is extremely practical, and full of helpful comments about how to modify the recipes for different diets or just for variety. And even if you live in North America, it will still be useful to you as she gives advice on how to modify the recipes for US/Canadian ingredients and measures.I can personally endorse almost all the recipes as I've virtually baked my way through the whole book and not one of them has been a flop. (My husband has enjoyed trying them out!) I even gave a copy to Rachel for her engagement and she made some excellent summer fruit muffins for her engagement party. If you can't wait for the book to arrive you could visit Susan's website where you will find the recipe for her amazing banana muffins and can get started right now!
(And Susan, hope you don't mind me giving you a plug - have a great Christmas!)
