I have a vegan fried sage pumpkin pasta recipe to share. It’s creamy, flavor-y, and is a great use of all those cans of pumpkin you impulse-bought at the grocery store. Oh, and in the spirit of flexitarianism, I suggest to all you cheese lovers out there to forget all that vegan nonsense I just said and add a boatload of parmesan.
Now, onto other business: I have reached a new level of maturity.
It’s fall marathon season (which is far superior to spring marathon season and everyone knows it). I see everyone training hard for their races or enjoying their tapering. I’m getting all these emails (way too many emails, I swear I’ve unsubscribed) from the Grand Rapids Marathon, counting down the days, the minutes until the starting gun goes off. And I’m not signed up for anything more than a distant 5K.
BUT, I’m totally cool with it.
See? Maturity!
Back in 2015, Jackson and I were planning on running a November marathon in Maryland. So when the Grand Rapids Marathon came around (a marathon I had run for the past two years), he had to be the nice guy he is and insist that we go to cheer on others.
I was absolutely terrified I was going to lose my mind watching other people run from the sidelines. It didn’t matter that I still logged an 18-mile run beforehand. It didn’t matter that I had my own race to run in a month. All these lucky jerks were running now, achieving dreams and setting personal bests while I was on the outside accomplishing NOTHING.
So I cheered and congratulated friends while comparing their performances to mine in my head. I made sure to tell everyone who even remotely asked that don’t worry, I’m not a slacker. I’m running a marathon in a month so yes, we are still equals. Then I went home and proceeded to feel sorry for myself the whole rest of the day.
I might be the only person in the world who thinks this way, but I like to believe that isn’t likely.
I’d like to assure you I’m not quite so awful now. Yeah, it’s a process, but I can honestly say I now have enough humanity now to be 100% thrilled for everyone I watch pass me by. Because why the heck wouldn’t I be? You are all brave enough to take on an incredible challenge. Not because you know you’ll succeed, not because it’ll be fun, but because it will make you stronger.
I am so proud of all of you. The ones chasing their dreams and the ones cheering them on. Each one of us is an essential part of this powerful community of runners. we inspire one another, we challenge each other, we push total strangers to become the best they can be.
So here’s to fall marathon season! I’ll be cheering like crazy for you all!
Vegan fried sage pumpkin pasta
Ingredients
- 1 box pasta (whole wheat)
- 1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp, divided
- 2 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped plus 8 leaves
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- shaved parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
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Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sage and cook a few minutes until fragrant.
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Add pumpkin, almond milk, salt and pepper and stir until combined. Bring to a simmer then lower heat, stirring occasionally.
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Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions.
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Add sauce to cooked pasta and wash pan. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in pan to medium heat. If a sage leaf simmers when it touches the oil, it's hot enough.
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Fry the sage leaves for about a minute on each side until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
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Serve pasta with two fried sage leaves and parmesan if desired.
