The return of Rudolph

Rudolph is our small furry friend, whom I've never seen. He visited the kitchen last night while D was up late. I know this because:

1) A large sonic device is plugged in right in front of the crack between the oven and the wall. The sonic devices in the living room have kept Rudolph away from there, his previous hideaway. Apparently the cracks between appliances and the wall are harder to reach.

2) The mop has been moved from the hall closet to the kitchen closet. This means D tried to capture Rudolph.

3) A turtle magnet I haven't seen in a while is now on the fridge. That means it fell behind the oven and D found it during his interactions with Rudolph. (I am praying hard that Rudolph is a boy, since we don't want to find many small Rudolphs.)

What makes me feel better about this whole thing is that mice are apparently everywhere this winter; even my brother has had problems with them. And this little guy seems to stay behind the oven and only appears around 4 am (only D has seen him, ever). I wish he would find a new nighttime home!!! (The mouse, not D.)

In other news, I made a squash dish last night. It was quite yummy. Weirdly, though, the Pyrex dish I roasted the garlic in did not survive. After pouring the garlic out of the bowl, I put the bowl in the sink and it shattered in a million little pieces, like James Frey's reputation. I did pour some water on it, but that shouldn't cause breakage. I was a little scared!

Anyway, here's the recipe (adapted from Didi Emmons' Vegetarian Planet; I tweaked some amounts). And some trivia for you: it is her cat Henry's favorite recipe (or one of them). Henry weighs 17 lbs and loves to eat.

Ziti with Acorn Squash and Roasted Garlic

1 acorn squash
3 T olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 lb ziti or penne (I like to use less; the sauce goes further that way)
1/3 c white wine
1/2 t salt
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
1/8 c walnuts, lightly toasted in a small saucepan

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the acorn squash in half, remove the seeds, and place the halves on a baking sheet, cut side down. Bake the squash for 1 hour or until the flesh is soft. Let the squash cool, then spoon out the flesh from the shells, and chop it fine.

2. About 1/2 hour after the squash has begun baking, roast the garlic: toss together the oil and the garlic, and place them in an oven-proof dish. Bake the garlic, uncovered, alongside the squash for 15-20 min or until the garlic is lightly golden.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the ziti until it is just tender. Drain it, reserving 1/2 c of the drained pasta water.

4. While the pasta cooks, spoon the roasted garlic with its oil into a large skillet. Add the wine and the reserved pasta water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Let it boil for about 2 min. Add the chopped squash flesh, and boil the sauce 3 min more. Take the skillet off the heat.

5. Add the ziti to the sauce, and stir well. Add the salt, pepper and Parmesan, and toss. Divide the pasta among plates, sprinkle the walnuts over, and serve with additional Parmesan.

Update: I think he is coming in from the pipe behind the oven, so I'll put some steel wool on the pipe. According to Home Depot, they can't nibble through it.