No Resolutions

Healthy dinner

Just to be perfectly clear, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.  I mean, really.  Has anyone ever in the history of New Year’s Resolutions ever followed through on one?  Go to any exercise class at the beginning of January and it’s packed.  It annoys the regulars but they don’t worry overly much because they know by February the resolvers will be gone.  So no resolutions.

I don’t diet either.  Well, I used to diet and a few years ago I lost a lot of weight on the South Beach Diet.  I looked good.  Really good.  Or good for a forty-something mother who’s spent way too much time in the sun.  But I went almost two years without pasta.  Two years.  I was a miserable old cow.  Who cared what my butt looked like in those jeans?  In my opinion, a life without pasta is a life half-lived.  And there’s a reason bread is called the staff of life.  Anyway, a(nother) failed attempt at quitting smoking put an end to South Beach and the skinny jeans.  Bad things happen when you replace cigs with chips and dip.

Add a few more years and a lot of wine and the end result is that my clothes don’t fit.  Audrey loves to dress me up but she’s not getting much joy lately because none of the good clothes will slide up over the hips.  And I have two weddings to attend this year (I have to wear a sari at one of them).  So something must be done.  Attention, as they say, must be paid.  Don’t worry, I’m not giving up the butter or cream or bread or pasta.  Or the lard.  The lard stays.  In fact, I’m not giving up anything.  No South Beach, no Atkins, no Weight Watchers, no Zone.

We already eat a pretty varied and healthy diet comprised primarily of wholesome, real food here at home.  I just need to eat less of it.  And cut down on the wine consumption (there certainly are a lot of calories in wine).  And, yes, I will exercise.  Blogging tends to keep your bottom placed firmly in a chair but I need to get up and move.  My favorite activity is sitting on the balcony with a good book and a glass of wine.  There are just so many things I’d rather do than exercise.  Have a mammogram, watch my fingernails grow, watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians.  But move I must.  And at least I can watch Anthony Bourdain on the telly while I’m on the treadmill.  Nothing like planning your next meal while you work off the last one. 

Wait!  Don’t run away.  I’m not going to use the blog to regale you all with endless calorie counts or my exercise digest or anything else similarly horrible.  If I have a resolution, it will be to not bore you to death with the dreary details of my attempt to fit into my clothes again.  Though I might occasionally point out how healthy, and yet utterly tasty, some of the recipes I post are.  Like this roasted pumpkin with lime.  Enjoy.

Pumpkin, thyme and lime...all from the island

Roasted Pumpkin with Lime

This recipe combines ingredients from two of my favorite places - the Caribbean and Italy.  The pumpkin I used was locally grown.  The lime and the thyme came from our garden.  And we brought the olive oil and cheese back with us from Italy this summer.  All of which makes me very happy.  The lime provides a tart contrast to the sweet pumpkin that I find appealing.  And, to answer the obvious question - yes, you can substitute butternut squash for the pumpkin (though it might need to cook for a little longer than the pumpkin).

2 1/2 pounds of Caribbean pumpkin (that’s the weight unpeeled)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

the juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)

2 sprigs of thyme, stemmed and minced

a pinch of salt

caciocavallo, pecorino or parmigiano cheese for finishing

Caribbean pumpkins are quite large and are usually sold already sliced up.  I had a 2 1/2 slice.  You can use an equivalent amount of butternut squash.

Ready to roast

Preheat the oven to 425°.  Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and stringy insides, and cut it into 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Put it into a shallow baking dish in a single layer.  Drizzle the olive oil and lime juice over the pumpkin and sprinkle with the thyme and a pinch of salt.  Mix it all together and place the dish in the preheated oven.  Roast until the pumpkin is soft and starting to brown at the edges, about 45 minutes.  Turn the pieces of pumpkin a few times so they brown evenly.  Remove from the oven and shave a little cheese over the top (not too much or it will overpower the pumpkin) and serve immediately.  Serves 4-6.

Roasted Pumpkin with Lime