A Taste of Haldimand – January 18, 2024

Muffins have been on my mind this week.  In the fall I had a visit from my friend Sharon Mitchell. She came bearing gifts – banana muffins and the recipe.  She said she wanted to share these because they are “the best”. The recipe was originally from her neighbour and good friend, Cathey Hagan. Sharon and her husband Mike live out in the country on the outskirts of Hagersville. They moved to this location in June of 1979. Their neighbours were Jim and Cathey Hagan. The Hagans were not total strangers, as Cathey and Jim knew Sharon’s family, the Eberts. The Hagans turned out to be type of people everyone wants living next door. If you needed something, you just hollered and they would not hesitate to lend a helping hand. In 2016, the Hagans decided to move to Prince Edward Island to be closer to their family.  Sharon has managed to take one road trip, with her granddaughter Olivia, to visit her friends. I doubt it will be the last. Although separated by almost 2,000km now, they remain good friends and Sharon thinks of Cathey every time she makes these muffins.

There is a recipe book titled “Muffins: a cookbook” by Joan and Marilyn sitting on my shelf. It was a birthday gift from my friend, June Ferguson, in 1983. One of my favourite muffins in this book is the carrot pineapple ones. If you looked through you would see notes on many of the pages. I always make notes next to recipes I try to remind me of the mistakes I have made, what ingredients I may have substituted, or if my family liked it or not. Nothing brings a smile to my face faster than seeing the note “kids liked!”. That was the notation beside the carrot pineapple muffins.  I have sometimes substituted apple sauce for the vegetable oil with success. You can also dress these up and create mini carrot cakes by adding a cream cheese frosting on top.