Ms December - Orange & Cranberry

Ms December is our Christmas offering. The surprising goodness of cranberries embelished with a touch of orange and distant hint of spice. A flavour combination that is suggestive of traditional Panetone, but with our own twist.

Now it's your turn:

We would like another special for the Christmas season that would complement this one in our festive packs. What flavour combination would you suggest? The one we pick receives the first of our mega-boxes of 20 muffins-by-post, including your winning selection.

You can post your ideas as comments below, or e-mail to MagogMuffins@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you - come on creatives!

Travel bag - Kenya

When Magog Muffin has to travel, the sturdy Gog Magog Hills Farm Shop bag goes too, swapping its usual cargo of local goodies for laptop, files and the odd refugee item from an overstuffed suitcase. Thus it sometimes finds itself on the horns of a dilemma or hanging about at the equator.

Magog Muffin does not expend carbon easily, but when it is unavoidable adds on as much value as she can. So an overnight in Nairobi with family came up with some Kenya varieties of savoury muffins (of which more anon). Meanwhile, "safari mzuri" or words to that effect.

Muffin doin' ...

After the TV bunfight on Friday Magog Muffins are doing a one-off special for Children in Need. We are offering a mid-week muffin pack on Wednesday 25th November with all proceeds to Pudsey. Packs of 15 midi-muffins will be mixed flavours but will include a few of our special Pudsey recipe "Spot the Bear". This is a particularly health conscious fruity mixture with apricot (low fat sweetness), a sprinkling of sour cherry (apparently good for circulation) and a smidgeon of goji berries (good for everything else!).

Contact MagogMuffins@gmail.com by Tuesday mid-day for delivery (sorry but we can only offer this in the local Cambridge area) on Wednesday morning. (Watch out also for more specials - and a competition - over the festive season).

Princely fare is fair for forests

Respect to HRH Prince Charles. Not only is he busy using his 'pulling power' to save the rainforests but he is making sure his guests do their bit. Only sustainably-sourced palm oil in the Sainsbury's biscuits (clearly clear out of Duchy Originals), according to the notices in little silver card holders beside the plates. Good.

Have to hand it to HRH Organic champion - the food was delicious. Several guests, stand up do, but not a cold, miniscule, over-worked canope in sight. Just delectable, piping-hot individual cottage pies followed by warm apple crumble and cream. It was, I admit, an up-market crumble scattered over finely chopped spiced apple chunks, rather than the usual squadgy-sitting-in-the-oven-sunday-lunch version. Magog Muffins approved.

Mr November - dark chocolate chunk

Well, we just felt it was chocolate time. Apparently today is the grumpiest day of the year, for which chocolate was invented. Of course, it has to be fairly-traded dark chocolate with not a smidgeon of added palm oil. We chop our own choc so the chips are more like chunks. Introducing then, our choice for Mr. November - your very own Dark Chocolate Chunk.

(posted today to warm up @BugJemm and other chilled out tea-drinking twitterers)