Halloween Lovin' and Pumpkin Rigatoni

Following the theme of things that I love created by the last post, it's time to talk Halloween.

I grew up in a house where Halloween was the be all and end all of holidays - we're talking a Halloween tree (a black spray-painted fake Christmas tree), a 6 foot Frankenstein monster complete with all the appropriate moans and groans, and even a Halloween village. It's been so ingrained in me that the first sign of pumpkins instantly lifts my spirits and the plethora of Yankee Candle Halloween scents sends me into a dizzying spell of bliss.

So it's no surprise that I've decided to continue my family's tradition by buying as much Halloween crap each year as is humanly possible. It's gotten to the point where Seth has decided to limit my spending to "one Halloween item a year, dear" (at least that he knows about). This year he's been particularly generous and I'll admit to buying a lot of the newest Yankee Candle Halloween creations (Have you seen how awesome they are this year? I mean how could I resist!), but he was being rather stingy about when I could put our decorations up and my patience was running out!

Queue the genius idea of a Halloween themed potluck for some of my lovely coworkers - the perfect excuse to have to put up the Halloween decorations earlier than any normal person would ever do AND to get to create fun Halloween themed food! (*stay tuned for a post on the food for this event*)

And thus began the process of taking all of our decorations out of boxes.

I really can't imagine why Seth won't let me get more....

So with pumpkins on the brain, the mood was right to try to veganize a Pumpkin Cream Rigatoni recipe I had seen earlier on pinterest!

**If you don't already know what pinterest is, you need to look into it asap! It's the most addictive website for the crafty and a perfect way to procrastinate any sort of work**

So here it is - adapted from Espresso and Cream

What you will need

8 oz rigatoni pasta
1 tbsp vegan margarine (*I used Earth Balance*)
1/4 cup non dairy milk (*I used unsweetened almond milk to add to the creaminess*)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp thyme
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (*Unfortunately Seth was sent out to find this and apparently it was "make something with pumpkin" day because 4 stores were sold out. We ended up getting a sugar pumpkin, coring it and scooping out the guts, microwaving that sucker, peeling it, and pureeing it with two burnt fingers in the process. If you can find the canned kind, you are a lucky devil.*)
1 recipe Allison's Gourmet Alfredo
1/4 cup tomato soup
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chiles, rinsed and drained
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Nutritional yeast (optional)

How to get it done

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, drain and set aside making sure to keep it warm.

Drain and rinse the tomatoes and set aside.

Whip up one batch of Allison's Alfredo. Set aside and keep warm.

Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the non dairy milk, marjoram, thyme, and black pepper and stir until mixed. Continue cooking until the mixture is heated throughout, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the pumpkin puree and 1/3 cup of Allison's Alfredo sauce, stirring until mixed. (*Feel free to add more or less of the alfredo as you see fit depending on how creamy you want the recipe.*)

Stir in the tomato soup and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes until all the ingredients are heated through.

 Remove from heat and add the diced tomatoes, stirring just until mixed.

Spoon sauce onto pasta, only adding enough to coat the pasta lightly not smother it!

Serve garnished with freshly cracked black pepper and nutritional yeast to taste. Enjoy!

And because we had some homemade pumpkin puree left, we whipped up some pumpkin walnut bread from Hell Yeah It's Vegan.

And because sometimes I love spoiling Seth, I took one of our freshly picked honeycrisp apples and made an apple topping with margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon that we put over some So Delicious Purely Decadent vanilla ice cream with a graham cracker crumb sprinkle!

Is it October yet?