Pumpkin Coconut Curry Muffins (TWD)

I love pumpkin. I love it in a pie, I love it in a cake, I love it in a bread, I love it in a cookie, I love it in a soup, I love it in a risotto. Morning, noon, evening, night - I'll eat a pumpkin treat anytime of day. I love pumpkin so much that we even named one of our kitties after my favorite squash.

(Aw isn't he adorable?)

Pumpkin season (aka October and November) is a big deal in our house. Almost every Saturday, I cart back a pumpkin or two from our farmer's market for roasting and pureeing. Tom knows it's fall when he finds the sink full of pumpkin pulp and seeds all over the kitchen floor (have I mentioned yet that I'm a bit of a messy cook? I clean up later but the in-progress stage is sheer mayhem given how tiny our kitchen is and how ambitious my projects are...but I digress).

So naturally I was thrilled to see that this week's selection for Tuesdays with Dorie was her Pumpkin Muffins, even though I've made them before. Twice. Or maybe 3 times. Because I'm just that way about pumpkin (and about Dorie's recipes!). But this time I decided to make a few changes.

I wanted to come up with a flavor that would remind me of a North African pumpkin curry. I was a little timid about going too far with those flavors, though. So I added about a cup of sweet coconut and 1/4 tsp of curry flavor, omitting the nutmeg and cloves. I thought about substituting coconut milk for the buttermilk but chickened out. I also cut the sugar down by about 1/4 cup and used 1 cup of white whole wheat flour instead of all white flour. The pumpkin and coconut go really well together, though I think I would try adding the coconut milk next time as the coconut was fairly subtle. I also would add double the amount of curry and see how it tastes - I could barely taste any spice at all.

It was so much fun to be back in the TWD groove after 2 weeks off! During those weeks, I was lazy about posting but I hope to be back up to speed in coming weeks.

p.s. I also entered an Apple Pie contest this weekend at a nearby Farmers' Market. I made two pies - Caramel Apple and Honey Lemon Thyme. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead when I got to the market so I have no photos but you'll just have to believe me on this one. I made the mistake of making them late at night when I was tired, so I don't think they were my best efforts but at least I tried two new versions. The honey thyme was a very intriguing flavor - maybe not for everyone, but definitely interesting. The first and second place pies were quite good but totally straightforward basic apple - the contest rules had encouraged creativity so I thought there would be more interesting winners but I have to admit they were good. Next year, I'll make one that is more classic, and not do it when tired and impatient. I have a year to work on it so I know I can win next year!