Today I am thankful for pumpkins.

And holes in the space-time continuum.
See, I wrote this almost 2 weeks ago, after a 2-week-long pumpkin-cooking frenzy. But then I accidentally closed Blogspot without saving it.  Assuming I'd never see it again, I raised my skinny fist to the sky and cursed the heavens.

But lo, and behold! For here it is!
For once, Blogspot (or the heavens...you never can tell) actually did something right, and you (yes you!) get to reap the benefits!


***
13 November 2010
Toward the end of October, the pumpkins began appearing. They seemed harmless enough at first -- a couple butternut squashes in a bowl here, a pumpkin in the window there.  I liked how they made the house feel cozy in spite of the chill autumn air creeping in around the edges of our inefficient windows.  I also appreciated the opportunity they afforded me to break out of my little RBG rut.

And then November came and suddenly there were squashes everywhere. Bowls full of butternuts spilled over onto acorn-covered counters. Piles of asian pumpkins appeared in every corner. I began to resent them for blocking my access to the coffee pot. I cursed them for tripping me up when the lights were out.

Just as the abundance began to feel oppressive, however, potlucks and rainy days swooped in to save us from being completely overrun. Within 2 weeks, I got to make 2 big, tasty, pumpkin-y dishes to share with friends, and 2 big pots of squashy soup to share with my housemates.

The first potluck was Asian-themed, and was sort of a "coming-out" party for an enormous batch of kimchi a couple of friends and I had made the previous week. Since we had about 26 "asian" pumpkins, I decided to make Thai pumpkin curry.  I made several changes to the recipe, subbing zucchini for tomatoes, a regular potato for the sweet potato, and omitting the chickpeas altogether (mostly because they seemed a little out of place in a Thai dish).  The result was creamy, spicy, sweet, tangy -- all the things you want a Thai curry to be. Alas, I forgot to take pictures of it...I guess if you want to see what it looks like you'll have to make it yourself! (Which I highly recommend. But I suppose you can just cheat and look at the pictures on the link.)
***

And there you have it.
Now you can add holes in the space-time continuum to the list of things you're thankful for too!