Linguine with Pumpkin Sauce

Source: Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

Fall has come upon us, which means only one thing.. It's PUMPKIN TIME! I have never had pumpkin ravioli, but I heard that it's pretty amazing. After a long tiring Sunday of running errands around town, my tummy had the random craving to try this out. But of course I was lazy and thought, why not just make pumpkin sauce? And so I did... :-)

Ingredients

• 1 pound whole wheat linguine (or any pasta you prefer)
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15-ounce can of pureed organic pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon red chili powder
• 2-3 cups chopped spinach
  
• 2 pinches ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• Pepper to taste
• 7 leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Flour for thickening

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it and add a little bit of olive oil. Then add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2. Drain the pasta and rinse with cool water to prevent from drying out and sticking together.
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and red chili powder until softened. Then add the chopped spinach.
4. After the spinach starts to wilt and is cooked, stir in the vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
5. After this simmers for a few minutes, add the cream.
6. Lower the heat and let it simmer until it thickens to a desired consistency. (I had to whisk in about 1/3 cup of flour to thicken the sauce a bit.)
7. Stir in the sage
8. Serve the sauce over the linguine and top with shredded parmesan!
   

Kuty's Twist

I didn't have any "hot pepper sauce" so I went the predictable "kuty" route and added red chili powder. I also added spinach to add some more veggies into the recipe (I had a bunch of spinach which I knew wouldn't be used over the next few days.)

I also didn't have fresh sage, so I stirred in dried sage while I was cooking the onions.

I'm sure this would taste even better with ravioli or tortellini! But I was in a slightly healthy mood and felt like slurping up pasta :-) I am also LOVING this whole wheat pasta. It tastes great and is super filling.

Warning: This definitely is a dish for those whole like a combo of sweet and spice. Many people don't like that hint of sweetness to dishes. This didn't come out too sweet, but I would suggest adding more red chili powder if the level of sweetness isn't to your liking.

Spinach & Artichoke Omelet Muffins

Source: Foodalogue

It's time to post some weekend brunch ideas!

I seriously think I'm starting to dig myself into a dangerous hole. Recently I just don't have a taste for leftovers and have no desire whatsoever to cook something I've already tried to cook. I've basically become ADD (hyperactive) when it comes to cooking!

When it comes to breakfast vegetarian egg recipes (I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian), it gets pretty tough to think of creative recipes week after week. I do love making eggs for weekend brunches, but there are only so many versions of scrambled eggs and omelets one can make. But thankfully I came across Foodalogue's brilliant creation, which is part of her 5 small meals with BIG FLAVORS series. And wow.. did this have some big flavors!


Servings: 7-8 Muffins

Ingredients

Omelet Muffins

• 5 eggs
• 1 small jar of marinated Artichokes
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1.5 cups chopped spinach
• 1/2 cupPepper Jack Cheese
• 3 green chilies
• 1/4 cup corriander
• 3 Tablespoos milk
• 1-2 Tablespoons flour

Sauce

• 8-10 cherry tomatoes
• 1 Tomatillo
• 1-2 Tablespoons of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup coriander
• 1 Tablespoon pine nuts

Directions

Omelet Muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Blend together the green chilies, coriander, milk, and 1/4 cup of spinach
3. Whisk together the eggs, green chilies/ coriander mixture, flour, and salt and pepper
4. Spray the muffin pan with non-stick spray
5. Fill up each muffin cup 1/2 way with the egg mixture
6. Place 1 Tablespoon of onions, 1 Tablespoon of spinach, 2-3 small pieces of artichokes, and desired amount of cheese (~1 Tablespoon) in each muffin cup
7. Fill up each muffin cup with more of the mixture so they are 3/4 filled
8. Bake for about 20 mins, until cooked and fluffy

Sauce

1. Blend together tomatoes, chipotle peppers, tomatillo, garlic, coriander, olive oil, and pine nuts. (Note: The chiptole peppers can be quite spicy. Make the sauce iteratively, adding tomatoes and peppers according to your spice tolerance.)
2. Add salt and pepper as you desire

Kuty's Twist
As always, I added an Indian twist by adding green chilies and coriander. You can really vary this with any veggies.

I also couldn't find piquillo peppers, so I used chipotle peppers. I love the smoky taste of chipotle peppers! The original recipe also called for walnuts. I didn't have any, so I used pine nuts. This sauce really made the WOW factor of this dish. It is jam packed with flavor. I will definitely make this again just to use as a regular salsa to serve with chips and Mexican food. My friend even ate it with samosas the other day! :-)

The potatoes you see in the image are just sliced potatoes fried in oil, red chili powder, salt, and pepper.