I don’t know about you, but I hate it when people are obnoxiously happy on Monday mornings. When I walk into work at 7:30am and get bombarded with an amazingly chipper coworker (“Good morning Chelsea!! Happy Monday!! How was your weekend?!”) all I want to do is turn right back around and crawl my way back to my warm, cozy bed.
I mean come on, Mondays are the worst, there’s no denying it. Stop trying to infect my grumpy Monday with your happiness. Making Monday morning small talk while I’m still picking the sleep dust out of my eyes and half dreaming about the minutes before my alarm went off is a true test of strength.
Yeesh, sorry for the rant, I must sound like a turd. As you might be able to tell, it’s Monday morning and I haven’t had my strong cup of black tea yet (no coffee for me).
So to curb these Monday Morning Blues, let’s talk about food. What did you eat on the weekend? Was it spicy or cheesy? Salty or savoury? Healthy or indulgent?
Thanksgiving is this coming weekend (Yay Canada!) so I’m preparing myself for tons of delicious Turkey Day food. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, more stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, even more stuffing. And then the leftovers, oh gosh. Toasted turkey dinner sandwiches are the best kind of leftovers: toasted bread filled with leftover stuffing, turkey, cranberries, and covered in gravy….mmm mm MMMM.
That (and the stat holiday!) is what I’ll be looking forward to all week. A lot of our readers are from the states, meaning no Thanksgiving until November! You poor things! I’ve never really understood how you can have Big Massive Thanksgiving Turkey Day so close to Big Massive Christmas Turkey Day. I need at least two months to recover from Thanksgiving dinner before eating another!
Ain’t no party like a Thanksgiving dinner party. And the food coma that comes after.
I’m not quite sure why I’m talking about Thanksgiving so much, since this post really doens’t have much to do with the holiday, other than it being a quintessential Fall meal.
This pasta might be one of my all-time favourites. The butternut squash sauce has the consistency of Alfredo sauce crossed with mac n’ cheese, but is way healthier!
To make this incredible sauce, saute some onion and garlic in a large skillet. Add in chopped butternut squash, spices and vegetable broth and let it all simmer for about 20 minutes until the squash has softened. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth, then toss with cooked pasta and some cheese. Topped with some crispy fried sage, this dinner is a celebration of all things Autumn. The flavours are so simple but so complex at the same time.
I might just have to make this again tonight, as a celebration of getting through a long, gloomy Monday. This is a perfect weeknight meal, and if you’re lucky enough not to devour the entire pot, makes wonderful leftovers for work the next day!
| Butternut Squash Rotini with Fried Sage | Print |
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 5 cups)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
- 1½ cup vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 400g rotini pasta
- 1 cup Parmesan, grated, plus more for serving
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add sage leaves. Toss to coat with oil, and cook until crispy. Remove from skillet and set aside. Once cool enough, crumble leaves.
- Add squash, onion, garlic, nutmeg and red chili flakes to skillet. Saute until onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes until squash has softened. Remove skillet from heat and let cool slightly.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, transfer squash mixture to a blender. Puree until smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain pasta, then return to pot. Pour in the squash puree and Parmesan cheese, stirring well. Serve with crumbled fried sage and extra Parmesan cheese.
So easy to make! Such a good fall recipe. Cheers to “don’t talk to me it’s too early”!! People should really know they need to wait until lunch time to talk on a Monday.
Hahah I’m glad I’m not the only Monday grump!
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious! Thanks for the simple and healthy recipe!
Thanks Laura! Glad you liked it!
I have made this so many times and it always impresses! Thank you for sharing it!!
I’m glad you like, Chanda! It’s one of my faves!