I made pumpkin penne pasta last night, even though i haaaaaate cooking for only one person. it turned out alright though - i added asparagus to the original recipe. it's in season here and is yummy, delicious and bright green. the recipe is very simple and could easily be halved down. it could also easily be added to - I've tried shrimp before and that was excellent. the original recipe calls for an entire can of pumpkin, but i usually end up using half to three-fourths of a can.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine

1 pound penne pasta
2T butter
1 onion, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the pasta to the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, and toss. Stir in the parmesan; season with salt & pepper.

Top pasta with parsley and more Parmesan to serve.

in celebration of jennie's sister being in town we went to acme bar last night for a few drinks. i hadn't been there in a while and it's a really neat venue to sneak some pictures. lots of dark corners and red light. i've recently found out that a few friends from Iowa are visiting this week - i'm really excited! we've made dinner reservations for friday at the chez panisse cafe and on saturday there is a international chocolate fair in san francisco -
more on this later.