Anne Can Cook

Sunday is always a strange day. It's the weekend, but I never feel like comitting to much because tomorrow is a work day. I generally end up watching the Bridezilla marathon and doing my laundry. Ho hum.
The leaves are starting to change here. I like Fall--it's not too hot, not too cold, it's aesthetically pleasing, and there is always a surplus of pumpkin...unless you're shopping at my local grocery store. Allow me to 'splain. No wait. Let me sum up:
Rachel Ray has this excellent pumpkin pasta recipe. I made said recipe last year with great success. Today I was thinking about pumpkins, and decided that pumpkin pasta would be excellent for supper. Here is the recipe:

1 lb. penne (I've never used penne for this recipe, nor have I ever used an entire pound of pasta. Last year I think I used wheat spaghetti, and this time I used about a half pound of fettuccine. It's really your call).
2 Tbsp. olive oil (EVOO if you're familiar with RR speak).
3 shallots, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, grated (or 6-7 cloves of garlic, pressed if you're me).
2 c. chicken stock
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 c. cream
1 tsp. hot sauce to taste
Nutmeg to taste (I've always used mace)
2 pinches ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook the pasta.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, saute for 3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock. Add pumpkin and cream. Season with hot sauce, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt & pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-6 minutes while the sauce thickens. Toss with pasta and cheese.

I also added about a teaspoon of garlic powder and a few heavy dashes of Penzeys pasta sprinkle. RR calls for fresh sage as a garnish, but the pasta sprinkle was a nice substitute.


Anyway. In order to make this recipe, I needed to pick up a few things-
Shallots
Pumpkin
Cream
Ok. Not too crazy of a shopping list, right? Maybe I'd have to use onions instead of shallot, but that's not a big deal.
I drove to the grocery store, on a Sunday at about 4:30 PM. I'm a genius. Of course the place was packed. Lucky for me, I found the shallots right away. Cream, no problem. Pumpkin?

Pumpkin?

Pumpkin?

No such luck. No pumpkin in the canned veggie aisle. No pumpkin in the canned fruit aisle. Pumpkin pie mix, sure. However, there was no pureed pumpkin to be found. I even asked one of the employees, who looked at me like I was crazy and told me it was probably in the canned veggie aisle. When I told him I did not see it there, he said, "Well, that's where it should be," and walked away.

A shining example of excellent customer service. Oh well.

I did eventually find pumpkin on my own in the organic food section. I rolled my eyes, checked out, drove home, and made delicious pasta. I have plenty for lunch tomorrow, too. Bonus!