Burnside Village.. Pasta with Pesto and Pumpkin!

went to Burnside Village with Miyuki today.. she's on 4 days leave starting from today and already she is feeling bored! she suggested Burnside Village when we were in the kitchen having lunch and all i was thinking was, "why not?".. since i've no idea where that is and would like to know.. really no regrets about going there.. it's really quite a nice place.. and it's more like a shopping centre!

http://www.burnsidevillage.com.au/

today i had a hard time trying to chop the pumpkin that i bought from Woolworths the other day.. while trying to slice away the skin, i asked myself why did i even bother to buy it! the answer that came back to me was that it was on a discount~ i wont try to cook pumpkin for a while..

at first i tried to bake the chopped pieces of pumpkin.. i oiled a baking tray and try baking it.. after about 15mins, i realised that the pumpkin pieces are turning a bit dry on the outside.. so i took them out and steamed them for another 10mins instead..

meanwhile, i boiled some water.. pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in and sprinkle some salt in it too.. when the water starts to boil, i put in about 200g of Spirals and cooked them till al dente.. and drained the water..

i scooped about 3 teaspoons of Pesto into the pasta and make sure that the pasta is evenly covered with pesto.. and finally added in the pumpkin pieces.. and then more tossing and more pesto.. i love pesto!

the pumpkin looked kind of mashed up..

i didnt make my own pesto.. this is the one that i used..

i finally topped the dish off with the Brussel Sprouts from yesterday..

recipe i am trying to mimic is this one here: http://www.cuisine.com.au/

i didnt make my own pesto and didnt use both the cheese.. i guess i deviated quite a bit! the next time i make another attempt with pumpkin, i'll make sure i get the cheese..