The other night due to some unexpected (and kinda strange) circumstances, I ended up with just me, my husband and our oldest son for dinner. That is a lot smaller crowd than normally ends up at the dinner table, so I decided not to make when I had planned on the menu. I even thought I could make something a little "special" since it was going to be just those of us (nearly) adults.
The thing is, I ended up finding out about dinner plans about and hour before dinner would need to be on the table. That means I didn't have time really to dig anything out of the freezer. So I decided to make an elegant pasta. I got the pasta out of the pantry - and then I started looking for inspiration... what was I going to use to make this fantastic dinner.
As I was thinking about dinner later during clean up. I realized I didn't vary from my plan with fear in my heart. I didn't stand in front of the pantry in a panic and wonder what in the world I was going to come up. I was actually looking for ingredients to inspire me and totally confident in my abilities. (Granted... it was just pasta)
I guess this makes me a Food $ense Creates success story in a sense. There I was 5 o'clock in the evening unexpectedly Creating and actually enjoying it.
I was using knowledge that I had gained mostly from the Creating a Skillet and Creating a Casserole. While I wasn't actually making either of those things, I was using my knowledge about making a basic sauce that I had learned from those lessons.
I know, you are saying. "Get to it Already!" - because this pasta was actually even More fantastic than I had hoped. It was really really good. I am going to put in on my list of things to be sure and add to the rotation of dinner dishes.
So I found a can of coconut milk and decided to use that. And as luck would have it... way way back in the pantry where cans of coconut milk end up, there was a can of pumpkin (a really small on) on top of it. It was like they had gotten together in some cute little can conspiracy and were inspiring me to make something delicious.
I knew that pumpkin was excellent used in savory dishes, and I also knew that it lent itself really well to using curry and that I really like to have a little heat ... so here is what I did.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg pasta
- 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- salt to taste
- Feta Cheese (See Story Below)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Combine all the ingredients except the pasta in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour sauce over cooked pasta and serve immediately.
I added some green onion for color and because my husband just loves onions. And then I took all these pictures so I could share with you how darn proud of was of myself.
Then i remembered I had some feta in the fridge.. and I remember how something cooling (like sour cream) is so good with things that are spicy, so I put feta cheese on it. Holy Cow!! or maybe Holy Goat (see what I did there? heehee) It totally made the dish.
I was too busy devouring it to take new pictures, so just trust me, it is beautiful and delicious.
So get out there.... get in front of your pantry and dig way waaay into the back. There is something fantastic and amazing lurking back there. Just waiting for you to use all your knowledge and skills and a hit of bravery and whip up something delicious. Happy Cooking!!
