Things that taste nice.

Okay, so that’s a really random and uninformative title, but it’s what came to me. And Veganomicon’s Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping definitely tastes nice. I was a little intimidated by it at first—the title alone is exhausting—but then Voracious Vegan made it, and hers looked so lovely and she raved so fervently about its deliciousness that I had to try it. I am sketchy about recipes that involve two whole onions, but I bravely tossed them into a skillet and caramelized the hell out of them anyway. After Red sliced them, of course. After a false start with the cashew ricotta (needed to switch from the immersion blender to the mini-chopper because oily, lemony cashew bits sprayed me in the face), the rest of it was a bit time-consuming, but not hard.

The verdict? More work than I normally like to do in the kitchen, but worth it. The pumpkin mixes nicely with the cashew ricotta, and anything involving pasta is halfway to a keeper already. The onions didn’t bother me at all. My only gripe is with the breadcrumbs: sweet fancy Moses, that was a shit-ton of crumbs. I just kept spooning them onto the pasta, wondering why they weren’t gone yet. And they are yummy breadcrumbs, believe it. They just overpower the awesomeness of the pasta and make it seem drier than it is. Next time, I’ll make half the amount, or maybe a third.

Oh, and we joined a new gym. It’s more expensive than our old gym, but it has classes and a pool and a rock wall and other things that actually make us want to work out. Plus a nifty café that offers soy milk. I’m sore as hell from my first two classes, but I feel great.