When you read Portland what do you think of? Is it the big city in Oregon? Probably. But when I think of Portland, I think of the delicious restaurants that line the cobble stone streets in the waterfront city of Portland, Maine.
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My cooking style can be defined as all of the following: experimental, untrained, and in the moment. I don’t follow recipes often, and when I do, I take liberty with measurements and instructions. When it’s time to cook, I don’t make lists or plans ahead of time, and instead walk the aisles of the grocery store searching for inspiration. Lately I’ve been on a mission to cook at home more and eat out less, and last week I threw together a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make what I’m calling pumpkin alfredo pasta.
October is informally known as pumpkin spice season which, in conjunction with an Instagram post by @rachlmansfield, and the pumpkin filled aisles of Trader Joe’s, sparked the inspiration for a weeknight cooking spree.
Like I mentioned earlier, I take a lot of liberty when it comes to recipes aka I glance at them once and then do whatever I so please. This often gets me into trouble, but I like the challenge so I continue to wing it. After I posted videos of my creation on Instagram Stories, I received a number of messages asking for the recipe, but since I didn’t really follow one, this is the closest I can get:
Ingredients
Step 1: Remove sausage casing to create crumbles. Brown sausage and mushrooms in a pan
Step 2: Boil water and cook pasta until slightly underdone. Save about 2 cups of pasta water for your pumpkin sauce.
Step 3: Add underdone pasta, sausage and mushrooms to the same pot. Add pumpkin puree, pasta water, and about a cup of coconut cream (yes I know, exact measurements would be nice, but like I said, I was winging it)
Step 4: Turn on the burner to medium heat and bring your sauce to a simmer. This will help it thicken and finish the cook on your pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pro tip: If you find that your sauce is coming out a bit too thin, stir in a bit of flour to help thicken it.
Step 5: Serve on a bed of arugula and enjoy!
If you take a stab at this Fall dish, let me know! I’d love to hear what variations you tried as well, and as always, don’t forget to follow along on Instagram!
I am a big Upstate New York fan. Always have been, always will be. But when opportunity knocks, you’ve got to open the door.
The door opened east of Upstate New York and I am excited to officially announce the beginning of a new chapter in Boston! I am quickly adjusting to my new home in the city of Cambridge the only way I know how– through food!
At some point, what was once a word to describe a meal that combined breakfast and lunch, became a verb used across twenty-something’s everywhere to describe an afternoon of indulging in comfort food and day drinking. Although I’d hate to admit the term brunching is part of my vernacular, I am quite fond of the action myself.
Continue reading “When Did "Brunching" Become A Verb?”
My dad and I are very different, but one thing we’ve always had in common was our love of food. Now that I am older, and more adventurous, our shared love of food has been a great way to spend some quality time together. It also means dining out at restaurants I can’t afford. Thanks Dad!
