Sweet Potato and GOAT CHEESE (yeah, chevre) Muffins

If you know me, you know I have a penchant for goat cheese (or chevre if we want to get fancy and French). I can't think of something that would not pair well - pears, bacon, chocolate, bread, veggies, you name it. Also embedded in my favorite foods are sweet potatoes - how can you not love a root vegetable that can whimsically switch from sweet to savory.

I made these muffins for a recent book club. I think I overdid the sage, which came fresh from a friend's garden (in fact, in the future I would substitute rosemary so the muffin is less like Thanksgiving stuffing). Overall though, they were delightful and the perfect accompaniment to a delicious arugula cantaloupe salad (see Today I Cooked) and a bunch of ladies talking books. The original recipe was in grams; I was too lazy/incompetent at the metric system to translate properly, so my measurement are imprecise (which is not ideal for baking or when baking at high altitude). The goat cheese saved the day - ensuring that these muffins were still moist and delicious.
1 large red onion, sliced
1 thick rasher bacon, sliced into batons (optional - Vegetarians at book club so I omitted)
4 sage leaves, shredded (go with the Rosemary)
150 grams sweet potato, peeled and shredded (I used two sweet potatoes)
50 grams hard Goat cheese, shredded (I used Haysteak Goat Cheese)
300 grams plain flour (I put in about 2.5 cups)
Handful of dried cranberries (my addition)
little bit of honey (also my addition)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 egg
3 teaspoons olive oil

Using a fry-pan, sauté the onion, bacon (optional) and shredded sage (or rosemary) leaves in a little oil until the onion has softened and the bacon has browned. Add the shredded sweet potato (cook them in a microwave if you don't have time for the oven and shred with a cheese grater) along with a good grinding of black pepper and toss through for about 30 seconds - remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Sift the plain flour with the baking powder and place into a large bowl (I don't own a sifter; I just mixed). Add the cooked mixture and stir through, breaking up any lumps that may form. Sprinkle over the shredded goat cheese and mix it through so it's evenly distributed.

Whisk the egg with the milk, then add the oil before pouring this into the dry ingredients. Stir through until just combined - be careful not to overmix. Here, add the cranberries and the honey, should you wish.

Spoon into your large muffin moulds and bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven until golden brown and cook through - this should take around 20-30 minutes (mine took about 35, but I modified the recipe and this is Denver - mile high city). I got twelve muffins, even thought the recipe said six (again, the faulty measurements or the size of my muffin cup).

Let the muffins cool slightly on a wire rack before eating (or just eat).

Delish.

xoxo

Theresa