Pumpkin Potstickers with Sage Butter

Last night was Halloween, and I took some short cuts so I could wait for the Great Pumpkin.



They say there's a way for lazy people to make ravioli: use wonton wrappers instead of making your own pasta. I think that this is some sort of punishment for being lazy because wonton wrappers are for making wontons. Maybe other Asian dumplings. Not ravioli. Every time I have tried using this little short cut, I have ended up with some sort of failure. I believe the reason they recommend wonton wrappers to lazy people is to prove that if you want a good product, you have to put in the effort, so make your own pasta!

Luckily, I realized before my fragile packets exploded in a pot of boiling water that this was not going to amount to much. I reshaped my ravioli & decided to go more of a potsticker route. I kept the same seasonings (they were already in the mix) and I stuck to my plan of sage butter. I'm actually quite content with the results. They may have been a little greasy, but I think that's the problem with a butter sauce.

Pumpkin Potstickers with Sage Butter
300 g pumpkin, steamed until it falls apart
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
salt & pepper
20 - 24 wonton wrappers
oil
1/2 c water
3-6 leaves of sage, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 c white wine

Combine pumpkin, nutmeg, garlic, thyme & oregano until well mixed.
Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pumpkin mix onto a wonton wrapper, pulling together the sides & sealing with water as needed. They should form a little pouch.
When all potstickers are done, heat oil a pan over med-high heat. Add pot stickers for 2-3 minutes, covered, until brown. Add water, replace cover & allow to steam for a further 2-3 minutes. Add sage, and butter until butter melts, pan covered. Add white wine & allow the wine to evaporate.

I had these for dinner, sat back & waited to The Great Pumpkin to come. He didn't make it this year. Perhaps because I killed one of his kind. I'll know for next year.

Some Meals Fail

Being experimentative is good. Trying new things is good. Gathering ideas from other sources is good. Tonight, I have come to the conclusion that following recipes written by people who must produce new recipes every week might not be so good.

As an avid reader of The New York Times food section, I have appreciated Mark Bittman's writing style, as well as his ideas. They have inspired me to adventure on in the kitchen, making adjustments here and there to suit my palate and my pantry. Today, I decided to make noodles, shrimp & some sort of veggie. It just so happened that I had all the ingredients for the Peanut Noodles with Shrimp from last week's column. I thought that the addition of sugarsnap peas would be good. I am also believe that shrimp with the heads on add more flavour. These were my only 2 variations on the above recipe. The result: less than satisfying. Yes, we ate our dinner but it just wasn't that great. Maybe it's the concept of peanut sauce, maybe it's a lack of right spices, I'm not sure, but it wasn't a repeat for me. I think I'll just wing it next time.

There is no posted picture of tonight's production. Because no matter what you do to them, noodles in peanut sauce just don't look that good. And in this case, they didn't taste that great either.

Green Golf, Green Asparagus

I must have come across this recipe 10 years ago. I'm not 100% certain, but I think it as in a green VW Golf on the way to Berlin, from some Canadian magazine, but I don't know which one.

My Canadian girlfriend had her parents come and visit and we all spent a holiday Thursday together. I gave the parents my tiny bachelorette apartment for the night and we were all to drive to Berlin the next day in the green VW Golf they had rented. A very simple plan. There was a parking lot next to my building; they would park the car there, we would all meet in the morning and away we would go on the Autobahn for 8 hours. The parents even brough Canadian magazines for us to read - Chatelaine, Flare, Canadian Living; it was a little colony on wheels and we were prepared. The minor glitch was that Friday is market day on that square, and all cars are towed. We all met on a public holiday, a day with such a Sunday feel that we didn't think that the car had to be gone the next day by 5am.

Our departure to Berlin was delayed and the parents discovered another part of my city: the car pound. A few hours and a couple hundred Deutsch Marks later, we were on our way. Thankfully the parents saw it as a fun story to tell when they got back home. And they still talk to me when I go over to visit.

As I've stated, I don't know exactly where this recipe comes from, but I know that this is not the original. The original calls for smoked salmon (to which I am allergic), as well as cream (to which my thighs respond negatively). Nonetheless, you can use salmon instead of shrimp and throw some cream in to make the sauce saucier. I also threw some frozen kale in last night. It made me feel like I was doing something good for myself by eating a big bowl of pasta.


Tangy Farfalle with Shrimp and Asparagus
200 g Farfalle
150g shrimp
1 Tbsp minced garlic
olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp capers
1 lemon
1 cup chicken broth
200 g green asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
1/4 cup chopped prepared kale
1/2 cup cream (optional)
parsely or cilantro to garnish (optional)

Cook pasta.

Sautee garlic, add shrimp. Grate zest of lemon into pan, add chicken broth and asparagus. Squeeze lemon juice into pan and add cream or kale if using.

Drain pasta, toss with sauce, garnish with parsley or cilantro.