Strawberry Lemon Buttermilk Muffins

I went to the store last week intending to get a quart of buttermilk.  On a side note, I should point out that when I say “I’m going to the store,” it means I am going to our usual grocery store.  No other place is referred to as “the store.”  Any other grocery store is called by its proper name.  It took awhile for Seth to catch on to this, but now I think he gets it.  According to him, any store can be called, “the store,” but that’s just ridiculous, right? Back to the buttermilk.  They only had half gallons of it, so I threw caution to the wind and said, fine, I will use this entire thing before it expires.  And I did!  We had buttermilk biscuits three times during the week ( I may have an addiction), we had buttermilk marinated chicken drumsticks, a buttermilk ice cream, and of course, these muffins.  I just love the way buttermilk adds that tangy moistness to baked goods. 

Ingredients
1 ½ cups chopped strawberries + 2 tablespoons flour
2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
zest of Meyer lemon
juice of Meyer lemon
½ cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
lemon curd, for serving, optional

Instructions
Heat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, gently coat the strawberries with the 2 tablespoons flour together and set aside.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk 2 ½ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.  In a large bowl, mix together lemon zest, lemon juice, egg, buttermilk, sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Mix the dry ingredients into wet, stirring until just combined. Gently mix in the strawberries that have been tossed with flour.  Line a muffin pan with liners then divide batter among the prepared cups.  Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve with lemon curd, if desired.