Pumpkinfest!

My word it has been a long time. My poor garden was left to its own devices for quite a while, but I managed to snag some small-yet-delicious ears of corn along with butternut squash, tomatoes, and yes, ridiculous amounts of basil. I have a red kale that has been going since spring and hasn't bolted, and the cool weather has made cuttings especially delicious. I also have a spring broccoli plant that is finally looking harvestable. Back to the nom nom nom of fresh veggies.

The air is whispering frost at me so my first job was to get all my basil out of the ground. Chop some up with a bit of oil. Freeze in cubes for fresh basil options later. Make oodles of pesto. Freeze in cubes for later. Checkcheck.

Anyway... pumpkins. I do not grow pumpkins (yet!), nor was I resourceful or patient enough to buy and "deal with" fresh pumpkins. I found a can in the pantry, and it was a perfect fall day, and I hadn't cooked in a while, and... well. Pumpkinfest.

Pumpkin baked ziti
(with caramelized onions and sage breadcrumb topping)
- probably my favorite fall pasta recipe
- a combination of many of my favorite flavors
- one of those "i can't believe it's vegan!" dishes
- and as is typical of amazing baked pasta, the leftovers keep getting better and better!

Pumpkin cookies
- my first pumpkin cookies ever, and they are knockouts

All served with apple cider... now if I only had my little container of mulling spices from that farm shop in Hadley... le sigh.

NEXT STOP: Butternut squash ravioli made from scratch.