There are many ways to love a vegetable, and for some time one of my favorite ways to appreciate the sweet potato has been in the form of sweet potato muffins. A few weeks ago I wrote about the luscious flavor of a baked sweet potato garnished with butter and river salt, and to be sure that preparation provides a delight all its own. Yet there’s something about these muffins that’s not only irresistible, but versatile. This fluffy combination of shredded sweet potato, cheddar cheese, buttermilk and freshly minced sage graces the breakfast, lunch and dinner table equally well. I often make them as a dinnertime accompaniment to spinach fettuccine, then toast a muffin (or two) the next morning for breakfast. Sometimes I’ll make scrambled eggs to go with, depending on how effective my coffee has been up to that point.

Sweet potato muffins and I go way back. They were among the first things I baked - and ruined - when I met my now husband (then boyfriend) more than seven years ago. The first time I made them they were far too salty, but my husband smiled, ate them and praised my culinary prowess all the same. “These are amazing!” he’d exclaim, then nonchalantly ask, “Could I have a couple more glasses of iced tea?” I knew they had too much salt, but I couldn’t help being impressed by his determination to wash it all down with innumerable servings of tea. It was incredibly romantic - though not as romantic as the next time, when I made the muffins again, burned them to a crisp, and my husband called them toasty. Ah, young love.

Since then this recipe has gone through many transformations. The original recipe appeared in the Step by Step Vegetable Cookbook, which also happens to be the first cookbook I ever owned. My husband bought it for me early on in our relationship as a *hint* about expanding my culinary repertoire - but if you read the paragraph before this one, you already know how that turned out! It wasn’t the recipe, it was me. Really.

The recipe below, you’ll be happy to know, produces moist, fluffy muffins with green flecks of sage scattered throughout. It has been significantly modified, evolving over the years as my comfort in the kitchen increased. Nowadays it’s one of our most loved baked goodies and, best of all, my husband is free to enjoy them without downing exorbitant amounts of iced tea or thinking of creative ways to describe them. I dare say these muffins would make an excellent addition to the Thanksgiving table.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Fresh Sage
Inspired by the Step by Step Vegetable Cookbook

Ingredients: Make 6 large muffins or 12 small muffins.

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 7 oz finely grated sweet potato (about 2 small sweet potatoes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup grated double cheddar cheese (1/2 cup yellow cheddar + 1/2 cup white cheddar)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with Pam butter spray, or lightly brush with melted butter or olive oil.

Peel and grate the sweet potatoes (I used a food processor for grating). Measure 7 ounces of sweet potato on a kitchen scale. Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, minced sage and salt. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the sweet potato and cheese. Stir to combine, then make a well in the center.

In a small bowl combine the olive oil, egg and buttermilk with a whisk. Pour into the well and mix until just combined - the batter will be thick. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins one tablespoon at a time, dividing the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

If using a jumbo tin, bake for 35 minutes, raising the temperature to 400 degrees F during the last 4 minutes. If using a regular sized muffin tin, bake for 25 minutes, raising the temperature to 400 degrees F during the last 4 minutes. Keep an eye on the muffins after you’ve raised the temperature to prevent over-browning. The muffins are done when light golden in color.

Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin. If cooling for longer than 5 minutes, move muffins to a cooling rack to avoid soggy bottoms. Serve warm with butter.

A few times a month my husband goes paintballing, and though we have a number of things in common - a love of SciFi, an interest in cooking, among other things - paintballing is not one of them. He tried to get me into it, offering to buy me my very own Tippmann A5 paintball marker and a camouflage outfit. He sat next to me at the computer and showed me all the different camo patterns, exclaiming: “It’ll be such a good experience for you baby. You’ll be a warrior baking babe!” After a few weeks of this I caved, renting camouflage and a marker for the day then braving the wilds of upstate New York along with a handful of the teens in my youth group. I played for about five hours and I admit, there’s a certain allure to the adrenaline rush that comes with running like a bat out of hell, terrified that the next popping sound you hear will shortly be followed by the impact of a high velocity paintball smacking your bum. But ultimately, it wasn’t for me. I’d rather stay home and bake.

That’s what I did today, starting a batch of dough while my husband was assembling his various paintball markers (yes, he has more than one) and donning his battle gear. As he got in the car and drove off I waved goodbye, then made myself a honey-vanilla latte, put Oreo on the treadmill and watched the Sex and the City movie, on loan from Netflix. Much more appealing start to the day if you ask me. Originally I was going to watch Baby Mama, but because my husband wants to watch it too I magnanimously agreed to wait for him. He’s already seen SATC, so that was fair game… and now you see what I mean about our being kindred spirits, except when it comes to paintball.

The result of this morning’s baking was the loaf of yeasted chocolate-chip pumpkin bread you see here. I’ve been working on the recipe for a couple weeks now, experimenting with bread flour vs. all-purpose, vegetable oil vs. butter, this spice vs. that, conducting all manner of trials in my kitchen until I arrived at the recipe below. I know pumpkins are the thing in October and though I love the traditional pumpkin ‘quick’ bread, I wanted to create a lighter alternative to those dense, heavily spiced loaves. This yeasted version is sweetened with light brown sugar and spiced with an aromatic combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. When I first created the recipe I was adding cranberries and pecans to the bread, but eventually I decided semi-sweet chocolate chips were the way to go. It was a spur of the moment modification, but let me tell you, chocolate and pumpkin make a sweet pair. You should feel free to modify the amount of chocolate in the recipe according to your taste - the more you add (up to 3/4 cup) the sweeter each bite of bread will be! Use the best quality chocolate you can find.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and don’t forget about the monthly book giveaway! September’s winners have been posted on the giveaway page and this month’s giveaway features two of my favorite books: Some Like It Hot: 50 Drinks to Warm Your Spirits by Holly Burrows, and Great Grilled Cheese: 50 Innovative Recipes for Stove Top, Grill, and Sandwich Maker by Laura Werlin.

Yeasted Chocolate-Chip Pumpkin Bread (My Recipe)

Ingredients: Makes 1 large loaf

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 heaping tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup low-fat milk, warm
• 1/4 cup melted butter (warm, not hot)
• 1 large egg, plus one more for the glaze
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, according to taste
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the warm milk, the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the flour. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Add the pumpkin puree, spices, light brown sugar, salt, egg, and melted butter. Mix until combined. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. After you have added 2 cups of flour, add the chocolate chips, then continue with the rest of the flour. When the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl switch to your dough hook, or a wooden spoon if making bread by hand.

If using a stand mixer, knead the dough for 4 minutes, adding extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed - just enough to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. If making the bread by hand, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4-5 minutes, sprinkling with flour as needed to prevent sticking. *Note: Although I generally use my stand mixer to knead my dough, I always turn it out onto a floured surface and finish the kneading by hand, for the last minute or so. It’s the best way to know when the dough has been kneaded enough. The dough is done when it’s smooth and bounces back when you press your thumb into it.

Place the dough in a deep container greased with 1 tsp of olive oil. Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Spray a spring-form cake pan with baking spray (such as Pam) and lightly flour. Sprinkle the flour on the bottom and along the sides, then invert the pan and tap out any excess flour.

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, and roll each portion out into a smooth, thick strip about 15 inches long, with the ends slightly thinner than the middle. Be gentle with the dough or you’ll tear it, which wouldn’t affect the final flavor but would influence the way the finished loaf looks.

Lay the ropes side-by-side, not quite touching. Beginning in the middle and working towards you, braid the lower half of the three ropes. To braid, alternately move the outside ropes over the one in the center - left over, right over, left over - until you come to the end. Now go to the other side of your working space and braid the other half, this time moving the outside ropes under the center one. Braid tightly - you don’t want any gaps. When you finish braiding each side crimp the tapered ends together, then tuck them under. Twist the braid around itself, pinwheel fashion, gently pressing the outside end against the larger body of dough. Transfer to your prepared pan.

Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, this is going to be the glaze for your bread. Gently brush the dough with it. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

About 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the dough with the egg mixture again. The dough will have stretched during rising, so be sure to get any spots that don’t have glaze on them.

Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it with your fingers. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Allow to cool at least 20 more minutes before slicing.