How to Cook When You're Really, Really Manic

After my logic exam today I felt light as a feather and decided that I ought to either cook something extremely complicated or cut off all my hair. Because it was swelteringly hot, I decided in favor of the former.

We still had half a pumpkin left over from the pumpkin soup, so I wrapped the pieces in tinfoil and stuck them in the oven. I considered making this, since I am still on a quest for a good rice pudding recipe, but eight egg yolks? No way. Then I thought maybe the More With Less Cookbook's pumpkin custard, which only involves three egg yolks - much more reasonable. I'd also been considering some sort of pumpkin ravioli for awhile, though I don't remember how I'd come up with that - I've never tried such a thing. Anyway it seemed worth a shot.

While the pumpkin baked, I skipped off to the Co-op for cornstarch, ricotta cheese, semolina flour, and cream of tartar - since the custard used only egg yolks, I'd have the whites left over and I could make meringues.

When I got back the pumpkin was about done, so I unwrapped it and pureed it in the food processor. I thought better of the pumpkin custard somewhere along the line and, since we're out of bread, thought of pumpkin bread to tide us over until Sunday - but the only recipe I had called for shortening, which I didn't have, so instead I made pumpkin muffins. While they were baking, I mixed up a (slightly sticky) pasta dough with another couple of globs of pumpkin and stuck it in the fridge. Then I called everyone in my family, but could only get ahold of my mum, so I talked to her and ate pumpkin muffins until it was time to finish the pasta. I also ate the rest of the pumpkin puree right out of the food processor with a spoon - it was delicious!

My roommate came home to find me covered head to foot in flour, toasting walnuts to mix with ricotta cheese for the ravioli filling. I showed her how to run pasta through a pasta machine and then she wisely retired to her room.

Now I'm boiling some of the pumpkin linguine I made when I ran out of ravioli filling, and the mania is beginning to fade.

I've had a lot of beta-carotene today.

ETA: Pumpkin linguine is bloody DELICIOUS. I'm a genius.