savory not sweet

Last year I got myself two pie pumpkins because ambitions took over and I wanted fresh pumpkin puree to do with whatever I please.  It was a disaster because I may or may not have acted like an idiot and neglected to refrigerate the roasted pieces...

Whatever.  New year, new me, new opportunity for redemption.

This time I didn't hack it into quite as many pieces.  Simply split the oversized berry in half, dig out the seeds to roast later, cover in foil, and stick it in the 400F oven for an hour until soft and ready to be scooped and pureed.

One precious pie pumpkin yields enough for two best friend dinners.
E: You should make a pie!
A: I don't really like pumpkin pie.
J: Yeah, me niether.
M: I don't really either.
J: What a horrible idea.
All jokes aside, savory pumpkin dishes are where it's at.  And if it's got cheese and cream... even better.

I stumbled across this pumpkin lasagna recipe for dinner number one.  We followed it to a T... until we got to the milk.  Amelia only ever keeps almond and/or soy milk on hand for baking, but Maxine does not approve.  So we decided to up the indulgence factor and use more of Julia's cream.

All orange and white with flecks of green.  I think this is my new favorite color of lasagna.

Brandon brought the ruffage from Trader Joe's, where they pumpkinfy everything including the salad dressing.  With arugula, excessively long tomatoes, expertly peeled pomegranate, and pear... ahem, Asian pear.
[B: Asian pear... but you probably just call it pear.]
And garlic bread from Jules because nothing goes better with carbs than more carbs.

I lie awake dreaming about this lasagna... and regretting not staging a full out photoshoot of the entire thing.

Morning after recovery omelet:

With leftover vibrant Swiss chard stems, sliced onion, mushrooms and topped with leftover arugula.
Three eggs beaten with 6-7 dashes fish sauce, small scoop of chili sauce, salt and pepper.
Makes for a beautiful start to a beautiful Saturday... spent in the halls of Babcock.