Rigatoni with Pesto and Roasted Butternut Squash

Today was a perfect fall day in Portland, sunny and crisp. A few dear friends and I went to visit vineyards in Cornelius, and also went to the first pumpkin patch of the season to pick up harvest vegetables -- especially squash and sugar pie pumpkins!

To end the day, I cooked up a dinner of GF rigatoni, pesto, and roasted butternut squash.

Here's the recipe:

Roasted Butternut Squash

• preheat oven to 400 degrees
• peel, scrape out the seeds, and cut the squash into one inch cubes
• peel 5-6 cloves of garlic
• place squash and garlic in a roasting pan and coat generously with olive oil
• cook for 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned and tender

Pesto

• chop one bunch of fresh basil finely (approx. 1 cup)
• peel 2 cloves of garlic
• chop 1/4 cup of walnuts
• grate 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• puree all dry ingredients plus 1/2 cup olive oil and pinch of salt until incorporated

Cook the rigatoni according to instructions on package. After pasta is cooked, add grated Italian cheese (I used Toscano dusted with cinnamon) to pasta right after draining. Then add 2 tbs of pesto plus the roasted squash. For a bit of spice, add crushed red pepper. Mix well, and enjoy!

Austin, Texas

While visiting my hometown of Austin, Texas recently I was presently surprised by the amount of GF options available at many restaurants. Old standbys (Ruby's BBQ) and Guero's Tex-Mex (with new GF menus!) are encouraging for Celiacs like me and other people with gluten intolerances. Keep up the good work, Austin! As I left Austin, I had to have the required Amy's Ice Cream in the airport -- I went for Mexican Vanilla with Praline Sauce. Heavenly.

While in Austin, my mom bought me the Homesick Texan cookbook! I love it. The only recipe I've tried so far is the Texas Chocolate Chewie cookies, and they were awesome! The recipe itself is gluten free without any modifications needed -- I encourage you all to check it out! I made these cookies for a dear friend's birthday celebration -- and because I cooked, all of the dishes ended up being gluten free -- and I don't think anyone minded or missed the bread!

If you know of other great GF options in Austin, let me know.

Til next time!