Darn timing

I had all this witty stuff that I wanted to write but LJ was down for maintenance. Of course, it comes back up at a time when we should really be headed to bed (or - gasp - actually in bed) but since daecabhir is still at his keyboard, I can bang on mine for a few minutes more.

This morning found us up rather early since daecabhir had an early (for him) meeting. While I was SO tempted to take a nap, I convinced myself that I had lot to get accomplished (which I really did). First up was sewing - fan pouches for a custom order, serging the side seams on a few skirts, a surprise for daecabhir and last, but not least, creating my ruana. Since I screwed up cutting the fabric for the surprise project as well as sewed the same piece of Velcro on backwards twice, I decided to skip the ruana for today.

Since the sun has been shining for two whole days, the lawn had finally dried out enough for mowing. There's something rather pretty about a freshly mowed lawn in the fall and once I did a little weeding and edging and ran the blower over the driveway, the place looks spiffy. Sadly since the sun was already down by the time daecabhir gets home he didn't get to enjoy it.

Tonight's dinner was an experiment with a newly found recipe (and one for which I turned into vegetarian-safe fare). It came out much better than I expected. Once all the flavors have a chance to blend, the pumpkin flavor is not very strong at all.

Pumpkin & (faux) Sausage Penne

1 box whole wheat/grain pasta (cooked according to directions)

12-16 oz faux sausage

2 tablespoons oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

1-1/2 cups veggie stock

1/2 cup evaporated milk

15 oz canned pumpkin

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon white pepper (use black if you don't have white)

10 oz fresh or frozen spinach

1/2 cup sour cream

salt to taste

 

Slice sausage in half and then into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil in a large sauce pan and brown sausage. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add broth, milk, pumpkin and spices. Bring to boil and then reduce to low heat - allowing liquid to thicken. Add spinach (stir until wilted if using fresh / stir until warm if using frozen). Mix in sour cream just before serving. Serve over pasta or just mix the pasta into the sauce. 

 

Serve with a sharp shredded cheese such as pecorino or asiago. 

5 things

• Trying a new recipe and being really happy with the result.
• Creating stuff on the sewing machine.
• Making the yard look pretty.
• Soaking up the moonshine this evening while waiting on daecabhir to pull in the driveway.
• daecabhir's soft beard.