Where did my motivation go?
Hmm...not sure how to answer that.
Recently, I've been a slacker with cooking and other things. I've been too lazy to cook. Is that really bad? I'm not bored of cooking but I'm just not in the mood. I also have a few things (unrelated to cooking) that I have to figure out and think about but the laziness pushes me away from doing that too. Have you ever felt like doing nothing? Where did my motivation to do things go?
It took me more effort just to make the marinade for the fish last night. Why didn't I do it the next day or the day after that, you ask? Well, I was "planing" to cook miso salmon on Monday so I bought fish from the market on Monday. However, I procrastinated on the task until Tuesday. If I didn't do it last night the fish would go bad. So, I did. At least it's a good start right?
Sigh.
Thanks for all the comments from the last post - The best pizza dough! As you know Denise's secret is bread obsession. She left me a comment with interesting information and I'd like to share. Denise said cold rise dough has a special flavor compared to normal rise dough.. If Denise who is an expert on making bread said so, the dough recipe is worth bookmarking! This information is new to me and I'm glad to know. Thanks Denise!
I apologize if this pumpkin sauce is too late past Fall. I'm not going to lie, this dish was made a few months back and hasn't gotten a chance to shine on this blog. I also made penne with the same pumpkin sauce for the New Year's Eve party I hosted. I used fresh homemade pumpkin puree. If you don't have it or are lazy, don't worry at all. Canned pure pumpkin puree works just fine.
Fingers are crossed that my motivation will come back soon (muah!)
Spaghetti Pumpkin Sauce
Yield: 4-6 peopleIngredients:
1 lb fresh or dried spaghetti pasta1 cup Pumpkin puree
6 springs of fresh sage, cut into chiffonade, divided.
1 fresh Bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaf
1 packaged Turkey Italian sausage, removed cast
1 cup cream
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock or broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 cup minced parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper for seasoning
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| Pumpkin sauce and sausage |
Directions:
- Boil water for pasta. Season with salt. Cook to al dente or follow packaged instruction. If you use fresh pasta, it will only take about 4-6 mins.
- Heat up a skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. Add shallots. Cook until shallots are getting brown, then add garlic and half portion of sage.
- Add sausage and cook until it's cooked through. Remove on a plate and set aside.
- With leftover oil, add the remaining sage and bay leaf. Cook for a few mins.
- Add wine. Cook until wine is reduced to half, then add chicken stock and pumpkin. Cook until it's mixed and heated. Put cooked sausage back in a skillet. Season with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Stir in cream. Cook for another 10-15 mins. Correct seasoning.
- Pour the sauce over spaghetti and mix well.
- Sprinkle minced parsley.
- When serving, top it with grated Parmesan cheese.
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| Do you like this bowl? I do! |
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| Yum |
24 comments:
"Have you ever felt like doing nothing?" - well, yes; actually since some time we're going through difficulties and very often I am not in a mood for cooking and taking pictures for the blog...
I like a lot pasta with pumpkin and sage; once upon a time in one of Krakow's Italian restaurants my favorite dish was raviolis stuffed with pumpkin, forest mushrooms - swimming in a lot of melted butter with sage leaves. It was delicious !
I'm sure every blogger (even non foodie bloggers) have been there done that. Sometimes you just feel like you don't want to cook at all and just have someone else cook for you and sometimes you want to make every recipe you come across. You're not alone, trust me. Your motivation will come back.
Your spaghetti with pumpkin sauce looks delicious. Definitely a wonderful bowl of comfort food right there. I have never tried any time of pumpkin spaghetti or pasta dish. You're making my stomach growl.
Totally know what you mean. I haven't cooked a single thing since I got back and I don't know when I'll have the motivation to do so. I'm still detoxing from my trip!
It's funny that you post this though, I have a can of pumpkin leftover from the fall that needs to be used. and it's ok that this dish took a while to post... I do that sometimes too. Usually i end up forgetting about them though, so it's good that you didn't!
Anyways, it's good to be back! I've missed you :)
Enjoy your down time, I'm sure your cooking mojo will be back very soon... :) I often feel the same way, but my beloved always assured me:"Don't worry, it'll come back to you". So I'm passing the same words to you.
I have to say I'm sold on the pumpkin sauce. Since I love pumpkin pesto, I really like the idea of pumpkin in my pasta. This is a must try for me! Thanks for sharing....
I hope you feel better soon my friend! We all go through uninspired times, it will come back to you.
your pumpkin pasts sounds quite interesting, I have never thought of pumpkin that way.....I would love to try it!
Cheers
Dennis
Your bowl is adorable. The recipe sounds so delicious, who cares if it was from a couple of months ago, we can still make it.
Oh yes I do feel like doing nothing, and cooking sometimes I just don't want to do. And forget about then blogging about food. But we all have those times and they do pass. I hope you get everything worked out, as long as it takes you know we will be waiting for you:)
I totally hear you about lack of motivation for cooking/blogging - i'm a bit out of ideas at the moment :) hope to recover this weekend. That is one delicious pasta bowl for sure - loving your pumpkin sauce, great with the sausage too!
Chip up Tanantha, we all have days when all we want to do is nothing. It goes away, comes back again after a while, i kinda got used. :))
i never had pasta with pumpkin but since I love pumpkin and winter squash i'm going to give it a try soon, thanks for sharing
have a wonderful Friday
Love this pumpkin sauce! So yummy, comforting and delish.
Taking some time away from the blogging world is actually pretty healthy. Enjoy your "not feeling doing anything" time!
Angie
Love the pumpkin sauce. A fantastic pasta dish that should be enjoyed at any point in the year.
Bravo!
Hi Tanantha, I have been trying to get over here all day and finally I make it! I love this pasta recipe, never enough pumpkin in anything and with the turkey sausage- sounds like a winner to me! I'm trying to figure out when I could see you this weekend because I would love to meet you:-) Don't give up on feeling the motivation, it will cycle back!
There sure are days when I don't feel like doing anything except that I have two boys to feed and that forces me to have to move. This spaghetti sauce sounds delicious and I do have a can of pumpkin leftover from fall in the pantry. I might just give this a try. Thanks for the recipe!
Tanantha - Rule #1, don't apologize for not posting :) I read this in someone's post following a blog seminar. Sounds like you have a lot on your mind and sometimes life gets in the way of cooking or blogging - my mom's been ill since October and I've been feeling the same way. Your spaghetti and pumpkin sauce sounds delicious - no matter that you made it a few months ago. I have lots of those and, unfortunately, I either end up forgetting about them or didn't write down the recipe. Hang in there! Inspiration will come :)
Love your pumpkin sauce idea. The pasta looks delicious.
My sweet woman...I completely understand how you're feeling. I've been lacking motivation too! But dishes like this make me want to get cooking. I still have quite a few cans of pumpkin in my pantry, so I look forward to trying this in the very near future. I know your motivation will return...but as for now...just relax and know that your motivation will return!
This is a great recipe! Sorry you are not feeling motivated, but a little bit of doing nothing can be good :)
Just don't get too lost...
Have a wonderful weekend,
Hugs
Hey Tanantha! It's A-OK to not feel like like cooking - it happens to everyone! I think you're allowed a break now and then ;) I find that the best thing to do when I'm feeling unmotivated is to take a break for a little while - usually I'll be interested in whatever it is soon enough (unless it's something I don't like, of course :) ).
This is a beautiful sauce you've made, and I don't think it's too late at all! Spaghetti sauce with pumpkin in it is just so creative! I think your bowl is super-cute, too :)
Have a great Sunday, Tanantha!
Hey Tanantha! I've been having motivation problems too due to family issues, so I understand. Anything can make one feel a bit lazy about things. I'm sure you'll snap back soon.
Oh, and this pumpkin sauce sounds so awesome. What a great and different recipe for pumpkin. I always feel like pumpkin can be eaten all winter too, so timing is no problem for this witch (smile)!
XXOO
Oh yes, I know what you mean about lack of motivation...this time of year I'm feeling that way myself too, lol! :) This looks really wonderful, I love the pumpkin in there. And it's really perfect since I have a lone can of pumpkin in my pantry that I've been hoarding...now I have the perfect use for it! :)
Tanantha, I am sure we all feel that way - I took a month long break from posting recently which I think you are aware of. Seriously, with everything we have going on in our lives, if we didn't wind down or even stop, once in a while, we'd all go nuts! I agree that there is no need to apologise for being human ;)
Thanks for the shout out - I'm glad you found the information useful and I hope to see you getting into breadmaking soon. What can I say, but I am obsessed and looking for breadhead buddies LOL
I feel a bit shamed that being the pumpkin addict that I have confessed to, I never thought of making a pumpkin based pasta sauce. Needless to say, I think it is brilliant and I wish I had thought of it first!!
I think it's easy to go through ups and downs in the kitchen. It's not as though life is suspended when you walk up to the stove and pull out a frying pan. I look to cook with friends when I'm in a kitchen rut. It's the perfect situation because it gets me back in the kitchen and doesn't force me to do a ton of work. If I want, I can just perch on the counter with a glass of wine and pretend I'm cooking.
You're Spaghetti Pumpkin Sauce looks great. Did you ever serve it on spaghetti squash?
Pumpkin Sauce, never tried that. Looks delicious!
love the pumpkin sauce :)Who cares in time or not ;) as long as it tastes fine by me :) I guess everyone has the days when it doesn't feel like cooking, and then days go by and it's still ok not to cook... I hope that bad days for you are over and your cooking mojo will be back :) Thank you for kind words over Chef's Dennis blog :)
Pasta in pumpkin sauce? Heard it for the first time but it looks really healthy and delicious. Love it!
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