Homemade Pumpkin Pasta with Turkey Sausage

The Kid's class decorated pumpkins for Halloween again this year.  Knowing that all the decorations were going to be on the outside (no carving), I bought a pie pumpkin with the intention of baking it after it returned from school.  Unfortunately, the poor thing had an accident on the way in to class and developed a crack, so I had to get a replacement.  All of which led to two sugar pumpkins, one cracked and one covered in paint and glitter, sitting on my counter.

They would probably still be hanging out there, inspiring incipient food wastage guilt, if Shellyfish hadn't posted her incredibly timely pumpkin roasting tutorial.  I waited until The Kid was gone to school, thanks to my new and improved work schedule, to wash off the tempera and disembowel the gourds.  The result was about 4 cups of mild, yellow pumpkin puree and a whole tray full of pepitas, which may be my new favorite snack and favorite word.  Pepiiiiiitas.

It's been a while since I've made homemade pasta, and the idea of a pumpkin version's been lurking in the back of my mind.  So this was the first creation from my pumpkin bounty.

Pumpkin Noodles

printable recipe

3 C all-purpose flour
large pinch of salt
grating of fresh nutmeg
3/4 to 1 C pumpkin puree
2 Tbs olive oil

Whisk together flour, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Combine 3/4 C pumpkin and olive oil.  (Note:  canned pumpkin will be denser than home baked pumpkin and will likely require the entire cup.  Use as little of the puree as possible to make the dough, since less moisture makes a toothier pasta.)  Make a well in the center of the flour, and scoop pumpkin mixture into the middle.  Gradually stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour, then knead dough for a few minutes, until combined.  You should end up with a dimpled ball of incredibly stiff dough.

Place the dough into a resealable baggy, close the bag, and allow to relax for a good hour at room temperature.  Remove from bag, cut into chunks of the appropriate size for your pasta machine, and chuck all but one back into the bag, which should be kept sealed.

Run the dough through the machine, starting with the thickest setting and gradually decreasing until it reaches the desired thickness.  (From number 7 down to number 3 for fettuccine on my hand crank model.)  Cut dough into noodles, either with machine or by hand.  Separate noodles onto a cooling rack, then place in freezer.  Grab another hunk of dough and repeat.

Once all the noodles have been frozen, they can either be moved into a gallon freezer bag or immediately boiled in a large pot of salted water.  Watch closely, since they will not take long to cook.  Serve immediately.

Originally I'd planned to make a mushroom sauce to go with the mildly sweet noodles, but lately my poor, red meat eating husband has started to get that look at meals.  That pitiful, "I want a steak" look.  Not that he doesn't like what I cook, just that he'd enjoy, you know, an occasional chunk of something bloody.

So instead I tossed my lovely vegan noodles with olive oil, peas and some nice savory turkey sausage.  On top I sprinkled a few pepitas, and everyone was happy with another schizophrenic meal at the House of Food Allergies.

I'm sharing my sweet and savory noodles with Presto Pasta Nights.  The long running event, begun by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast is being hosted this week by Helen of Fuss Free Flavors.  Be sure to check out Friday's round up!

Creamy Chicken Florentine (Growth Spurt Chicken)

Lately I've tried to become a little more organized with my meal planning:  checking the sales, using coupons and seasonal ingredients, knowing before I walk into the kitchen what I'm going to cook and that all the ingredients are on hand.

A few nights ago, I had a relapse.

There was a package of chicken in the fridge, and some scrounging around the kitchen produced a box of frozen spinach and a can of cannellini beans, as well as a big tub of soy yogurt that needed to be used.  Necessity, invention, and half a box of linguine later I nervously put a plate of my creation on the table in front of The Kid.  To my surprise, he quickly started stuffing spinach into his face.

Shocked, I asked, "So....how is it?"

"I love it!" he gushed through a mouth full of food.

Normally The Kid simply makes a verdict when he assumes his role as food critic.  Either he says "It's good." or "I don't like it."  He is firm in his decision, but rarely offers it with any sort enthusiasm or variation.  That's when I realized two things:  my thrown together meal tasted really good, and The Kid has begun another growth spurt.

It's a familiar pattern.  First The Kid spends a week or two eating everything that's not nailed down.  Then his clothes get shorter, which is followed by a call from the school nurse about a trip and fall (usually over his own feet) leading to a gash, bruise, bump or contusion somewhere on my child's body.

I really hadn't planned to post this impromptu dish.  It's far (very, very far) from photogenic and I wasn't taking notes or using exact measurements while cooking it.  What it does have is a lovely savory creaminess and some serious nutritional punch, perfect for a growing boy.

Creamy Chicken Florentine (Growth Spurt Chicken)

olive oil for skillet
paprika, garlic powder, and kosher salt to season
1 1/2 lbs chicken (I used skinless thighs)
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 C plain soy yogurt
1 can cannellini  beans, rinsed
pasta of choice (I used linguine)

Heat olive oil to medium high in a large skillet.  Generously season chicken, then brown it in pan.  Remove chicken and set aside.  Add onion to skillet and sautee until soft.  Reduce heat to medium low and stir in spinach, yogurt and beans.  Contemplate the paprika and garlic powder, and stir some more of them in, too.  When mixture is heated through, return chicken pieces to pan and nestle them into the spinach.  Cover pan with a lid, and allow chicken to soak up the goodness for 20 to 30 minutes until completely cooked and juices run clear.

Prepare pasta according to package directions while chicken is cooking.  Adjust seasonings if needed, and toss spinach mixture with pasta.  Serve in very low light.

I'm boldly sending my ugly chicken to Daphne of More Than Words for this week's Presto Pasta Nights, the always inspirational weekly round up organized by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Pasta Squidward

This wonderfully creative idea for inserting dry spaghetti into the hot dog of your choice (tofu, turkey, beef, whatever) then boiling them together wound its way across the internet from the original Russian creators, who named them "Hot Dog Strikes Back," to BoingBoing, where the commentators renamed them "Squiddlies" to the Lunch in a Box Forum, where I was immediately transfixed. Of course, we have a Spongebob obsessed five year old, so at our house they became "Pasta Squidward."

These are absurdly easy to assemble, and The Kid absolutely adored making them. Half a pack of turkey dogs and a handful of spaghetti broken into half (so it would fit into the pot) were all we needed. The combination of spaghetti and meatlike sticks deserves to become an instant kid cuisine classic, like S'mores. They bring together two foods that already have strong kid appeal with the opportunity to play with your food. All they lack is a universal and instantly recognizable moniker.

After we finished making our voodoo dogs, I started the pasta water boiling and made my sauce. It was my usual tomato based pasta sauce, except I substituted a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes for the usual huge can of tomato puree, so that it would be less liquidy and more goulash like. I like my squash a little blackened, or at least well done, so my veggies started like this:

And ended up looking like this:

Once they landed on the (poorly lit) dinosaur plate, they hitched a ride with the pincushion pasta to my son's tummy with no objections from him. Yeah!

I am shamelessly sending this unsophisticated dish to Kitchenetta at Got No Milk, one of the best looking food allergy/restricted diet foodie blogs around, who is hosting this week's Presto Pasta Nights, the long running weekly pasta round up begun by the always lovely Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.