Post sponsored by Sartori di Verona wines

Have I mentioned how pleased I am rom coms are back in style?

There’s something about the predictability of a good love story that fuels my basic life.

The very best is forcing my real life love to watch Hollywood love unfold.

We go to the movies like once every two years, as a rule. He just cannot handle sitting through two hours of a moving picture show while confined to the same chair. Plus, I am just not the best movie partner. I absolutely HAVE to sit in an aisle seat, in case of emergencies. I ALWAYS start a slow clap as the credits roll. I find it’s a real crowd pleaser. Additionally, I tend to throw rational perspective out the window when watching love stories. For example, after the last movie we went to, I left the theatre in tears (not unusual), but this time I was mute. I would not speak to Garrett. I was so angry that he even had the audacity to speak to me after such a moving tale. “I cannot be spoken to, I need time to PROCESS.” When I finally could form words, I spat out, “YOU DON’T LOVE ME ENOUGH,” and rolled over and went to sleep without smooching. Now that’s a love story you can hang your hat on, am I right?! IDK what that means. Lucky for muah, the peeps at Sartori Di Verona sent me a bottle of their Love Story Pinot Noir to perfectly complement our at-home movie nights. Plus, it’s like authentic and vintage Italian wine and I feel fancy as all GET OUT!

It’s really better this way – Garr can play musical chairs during the film and I can loud cry without the judgmental stares of strangers.

Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 package of pasta
• 2 shallots, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 can of pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup of raw cashews, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes + drained
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. of paprika
• 1/2 tsp. of turmeric
• S+P, to taste
• 1/4 cup of sage, chiffonaded

How to:

• Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a lil skillet
• Add shallots + some S+P, cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add garlic, cook another minute
• Meanwhile, process cashews in a food processor until totally crumbly
• Add in shallots + garlic, process together
• Add milk + nutritional yeast + red pepper + pumpkin pie spice + paprika + turmeric + S+P until combined
• Add pumpkin puree, process until smooth, adjust seasoning to taste, set aside
• Cook pasta to al dente, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water, + drain
• Add pumpkin sauce to empty, warm pasta pan + add pasta back in, stir well + add the pasta water if necessary to thin
• Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in the shallot + garlic skillet
• Add sage, cook 2-3 minutes or until fragrant
• Serve warm with sage + a glass of Love Story
• Serve to sweetie + hover over him asking whether or not he thinks any cheese is actually in this mac + cheese