Bunny Hop Pasta an inspired meal

(Baked Bunny Hop Pasta with Butternut Squash and Cheese is great served with Sesame Sugar Snap Peas)

This is a story, and a recipe, that have to do with a vagrant bunny and a pasta that looks like him — oh, and it's also about two kitties who don't seem to be doing their job patrolling the garden.

That's right, Baked Bunny Hop Pasta with Butternut Squash and Four Cheeses is a tribute to those little critters in our lives who inspire such things as stories and books, and even recipes.

(This bunny thinks he and his herd have the run of my backyard)

Bunnies are swarming around my yard, and my cats think it's a game to watch them scamper about.

A recent bunny visitor to my yard made me think of Richard Adams' "Watership Down" (Macmillan, 1972), which is one of my favorite books about, yes, bunnies, but certainly more than that. It is said to be one of the classic works of xenofiction, which is fiction set in strange cultures, real or imagined. It centers on warrens of rabbits in the English countryside, with its own language for the critters called Lapine.

The bunny you see above came out of the woods into my backyard recently to "silfray," which means to go above ground, or outside the warren, to feed. (He looks strikingly similar to the bunny that graces the cover of the book, don't you think?) That would be all well and good if I hadn't recently noticed a hole dug under the garden fence near the peas, which looked as though they had been someone's salad bar for dinner. Mmmmm ...



Now I know Giacomo knows something is up around the garden. I can sense his thinking, "That big critter back there sure doesn't look like my brother, Carlos the cat."



Yet, climbing to the top of the garden gate isn't going to help. Maybe if Boss would open the gate, I could get inside to scout things out. Hey, I'm trying here.

Anyway, back to the pasta ...


Bunny Hop Pasta, by the Pasta Shoppe, looks like little bunnies, sitting, squatting, eating Barbara's peas in the garden.
They are all natural, colored with tomato and beet powder to make them "pasta with personality." They were part of my Easter basket this year (thanks, Lenore!) and I have been saving them for a special recipe. The company makes all types of fun shapes, so your imagination can really run wild with these.

And here it is, inspired by the bunnies in the backyard and a recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger in Fine Cooking's Eat Smart magazine.

This dish is pure comfort food, which doesn't require a ton of cheese to make it so.
Pureed butternut squash is heated with milk to which you add the cheeses, making it creamy and substantial without a lot of fat.
It's also a good way to sneak in vegetables for kids who might be shy of them, but love baked macaroni and cheese; the rich golden color looks like a Velveeta meltdown, but it's not.
I used the last of my beautiful butternut squash from last year's garden crop to make this dish. I also had the last of my frozen leek slices to use, so I caramelized them in a little olive oil and tossed them in as well.



Served with Sesame Sugar Snap Peas, this Baked Bunny Hop Pasta is a satisfying meal, fresh from the garden and peppered with imagination.

Baked Bunny Hop Pasta with Four Cheeses

1. 1 14-ounce bag of Bunny Hop Pasta (OK, you could use 1 pound of elbow macaroni!)
2. 1/2 cup or so of sliced leeks, caramelized in a couple tablespoons of olive oil
3. 2 cups cooked butternut squash, pureed in a food processor with a dash of Tamari
4. A few sprigs of fresh parsley and chives, minced
5. 2 cups milk
6. 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
7. 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
8. 1/2 cup cottage cheese, whirled in the food processor a bit
9. Dash of salt and freshly ground pepper
10. Dash of cayenne and paprika
11. 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
12. 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
13. 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
14. 1 teaspoon olive oil

(The Bunny Hop Pasta holds up well after boiling)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; coat a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with a little olive oil.
Cook the pasta until it is al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Go ahead, give it a squirt of olive oil so it doesn't stick together. Add the leeks now and mix it all together. Sprinkle in the freshly chopped herbs.

(The pureed butternut squash and milk looks like a creamy cheese sauce on its own)

• Put the pureed squash in a pan with the milk.
• Raise the heat to a simmer and remove from heat.
• Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
• Pour the mixture over the cooked pasta and stir.
• Pour into the prepared baking pan.
• Mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and olive oil.
• Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top.
• Bake until bubbly, above 20 minutes; then broil for about 2 minutes to crisp up the top.

Serve with a salad or Sesame Sugar Snap Peas, both of which bunnies just love.

Food inspired by critters — does that happen to you, too? If so, share your tales of creature comfort food here.

I'm sure there are many other tales (tails?) to share out there.