Monday, June 20, 2011

Spaghetti Squash- it's like pasta, but not!

Ian and I just spent a beautiful long weekend in California, and I must admit, we ate until we couldn't move.  Yesterday I started craving vegetables.  Weird, I know.  However, this is not completely random (as many things I do are).  My family decided to get a farm share from Angelic Organics and the first drop off was last Wednesday, the day before we left!  I had two delicious salads with some of the produce before I left and was eager to get home and use the rest of it.  So I did!

While the spaghetti squash itself was not in the box, some of the other ingredients that I used were.  Mainly spinach.  I loathe cooked, gooey spinach.  It feels like chewing string... gross.  BUT, I have decided to become a better person and eat it anyway.  It's a super food, so if I look at it really hard, maybe it will turn yummy un-gooey?  Anyway. Spaghetti squash.  Right.

Tah-dah.

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Cut squash in half.  Don't worry, it will look kinda like the inside of a pumpkin.  And smell like one too.  But it's awesome.


Put the squash face down in a casserole and fill the dish with about 1/2 inch of water.  I put a bit more since this is a largeish squash.


Let it cook for about 45 minutes.  This went for 50.  Take a fork and pierce the flesh (flip the squash so the inside faces up).  If the fork goes in easily, it's done.  If not, let it go for a bit longer.


Scoop out the seeds and white veins and throw away.  Then take a fork and scoop out the pulp.  Yummy.


Here is why I like spaghetti squash.  It's like pasta, but lighter.  You can eat more and not feel guilty because you aren't eating carbs.  There, I said it.  This is a low-carb meal.  But, alas, I am not a low carb eater.  I just like this squash a lot.  Usually I'm feeling fairly lazy so I just heat up some tomato sauce and throw it on and voila: "pasta."  However, today, as I said, spinach was in my head.  So I cooked some spinach in olive oil with lemon juice and added it to the squash.


And guess what?  I liked it.  Really, truly.  Loved it.  To top it off, my dad grilled some hot Italian sausages on the grill and simmered them in tomato sauce.  I had a couple of pieces with the sauce and topped it with fresh basil and had an absolutely, without a doubt, healthy meal.


Try this out!  It is so delicious and fresh.  And it is so easy to make with or without spinach!  Is anyone else doing a CSA?  Which one?

Also, garden update:

 The tomato is getting bigger!

 PEAS!
 More to come!

Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 link (or less or more!) favorite sausage
1 bunch cooked spinach with lemon juice and olive oil
fresh basil to taste

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