Rigatoni with Summer Squash, Vegan Sausage and Breadcrumbs

Squirrels* are jerks**. First, in February, they ate all my cauliflower, just as the first one or two were starting to bloom. Then in  April, as soon as I set out my squash seedlings, which were also just starting to bloom, they ate those.  This after I let them eat their fill at the bird feeder and even give them popcorn and tortillas. Ingrates!

So, I was anticipating having way too much squash to deal with later this summer and looking forward to all of the creative things I was going to make with it.  I'll just have to try out all of my ideas with supermarket squash, which is cheap and in season right now.  I saw this recipe for crumbed zucchini in Vegetarian Planet and thought it would be a great way to use lots of zucchini or squash. And since I still had some homemade seitan sausage in the freezer, I added some, which turned out to be the right choice. This dish is great if you want pasta but don't want tomato sauce or a cream sauce with it. The toasty, garlicky breadcrumbs really pull the ingredients together.

*To be fair, my vegetables might be being eaten by one of the other creatures that lives in my yard, like a possum or a raccoon. Or a vegetarian chupacabra.

**What we actually say about squirrels I won't print here, except to say that it starts with an "s" and ends in "heads."

I'm sending this over to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Kirsten of From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours , and linking it up with Simple and in Season.

Rigatoni with Summer Squash, Vegan Sausage and Breadcrumbs

If you don't have homemade seitan sausage handy, 2 links of Tofurkey sausage will do nicely.

8 ounces/225 g rigatoni

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 fat cloves garlic, minced, divided

2 slices whole wheat bread, crumbed

1 pound/450 g yellow squash, cut into short, thin strips

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper

7 ounces/200 g vegan sausage cut into small pieces

Set a big pot of water to boil for the rigatoni. When water boils, cook rigatoni according to package instructions, drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add half the garlic and the bread crumbs. Sauté until crumbs are toasty and set aside.  Add the remaining oil, garlic and the squash. Sauté until squash is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the sausage and heat. Stir in the rigatoni and serve.

Makes about 3 servings.