Butternut Squash Festival, Day Two: Pasta Sauce

I'm cooking a few recipes from Red, White and Greens: The Italian Way With Vegetables by Faith Willinger. Today's recipe is Penne with Squash Sauce on page 305.


I took a day off of work. Because I haven't had a day off without being sick in so long I can't remember when that was. And the concept of taking time off for a vacation? I'm not really sure what that is, though I do dream about such things.

When I woke up in the morning, the house was cold. Seriously, it was 58. I'd been having ongoing issues with heat, and my landlord was aware. He'd even replaced the thermostat, hoping that would solve the issue. No go, and it was cold. I called the landlord, and then headed to the kitchen to keep warm.

I thought I'd finished with Red, White, And Greens by Faith Willinger, but I had a lot of squash left over so, well, why not? This is a deceptively easy recipe and it kept me moving around the house until the landlord called.

First I chopped up more butternut squash. This is from the same butternut you saw earlier - remember? While peeling the squash over the garbage can, the squash tried to escape and commit squash suicide - it dived into the garbage. I retrieved and washed, then chopped it to bits and retribution.

This is another recipe where patience in the first steps pays off. You saute the chopped squash in olive oil until tender. Wait as long as you can stand it before proceeding to the next step. Allow at least a half hour, if not 45 minutes.

While exercising patience, I chopped some parsley and garlic. I also threw in the last of the Aerogarden basil and thyme.

The pasta water went on to boil, and the penne rigate followed soon. Once cooked, I drained the pasta and reserved two cups of pasta water.

The chopped herbs went into the squash mixture, followed by cooked pasta and some pasta water. I took my time incoporating each bit of water. The objective is a sauce, but I also like to have some squash to bite into.

The end result is chunks of squash that virtually melt in your mouth, swaddled in a flavorful sauce, accompanied by penne pasta and parmesan cheese. Just perfect for a cold morning - or evening meal!

And, for those of you wondering how long it took for the heat to come back on, the answer is quite intriguing. It came back on that day, but was off again in the morning. In the end, there was a small sensor that needed to be replaced; once that was taken care of, and the weather outside turned sleety and snowy, my home was warm and toasty.