Shhh... Don't Tell Them It's A Vegetable

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The long, oval squash in your box is a spaghetti squash.  If this is your first experience with this beauty, then welcome!  First off, yes, it will make long strands that can stand in for pasta in many dishes.  But no, you're not going to think you're actually eating pasta.  Spaghetti squash has a much milder flavor than other winter squash types, with some even calling it "bland."  When you've got a strongly-flavored gravy on your pasta, like a ragú, say, this is a great stand-in.  You'll cut more than 100 calories off of a one-cup serving over pasta, and it's very high in potassium and folate, which most of us don't get enough of in our diets.

How do you cook it?  There's two methods, the long way and the short way.  Both of them start off the same.  Cut the squash in half, cross-wise instead of length-wise.  This will make for longer strands.  This is a very firm squash, and you'll have to put some force behind the knife.  So watch where your other hand is when you cut.  Next, scoop out the seeds and loose pulp.  (You can roast the seeds, just like pumpkin seeds.  As a matter of fact, you can do that with acorn, butternut, and pretty much any other winter squash as well.)

Photo via The Kitchn

Next, put about a quarter of an inch of water in a glass or ceramic roasting pan.  Stand the squash in the water, cut side down.  Long way:  oven at about 350˚F for 45 minutes to an hour.  Short way:  microwave on high for about 10 minutes.  Take a fork and scrape along the grain of the flesh, and it will comes out looking like Asian cellophane noodles.  Ta da!

Photo via Wikipedia

As previously stated, use any sauce with a robust flavor.  I like to use spicy sauces with spaghetti squash, like Seafood Arrabbiata or Bolognese Alla Diavolo, or these spicy mussels from SeafoodWatch.org.  Even just a simple robust tomato sauce with some Parm grated on top would be great, too.  I'd avoid dishes that actually try to show off the pasta itself, though.  Save the carbonara or the Sexy-Time Pasta for another day.

Winter Hours

After Christmas, Nalls moves to winter hours through the coldest time of the year.  This means that there are shorter hours, and only on the weekends.  Remember to come by and pick up your crop share box, and stock up on milk and ice cream too since you wouldn't be able to do your mid-week Nalls run.  And daydream of the artichokes and asparagus we'll soon see come spring.

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto via Crop Share Member Deanna Freedlander

When Deanna sent me this recipe I was equal parts excited because I love it when folks use something that most people just discard as kitchen scraps and turn it into a dish, but also because this is further proof that CARROT TOPS ARE GREEN!  You don't have a red or ginger pesto, nope pesto is always green and so is this one because so are carrot tops.  Why the angst you ask?  Just ask little Tara...

Okay, yes, that is a wig, but what lies beneath it pretty much made it look like my head was on fire...especially since this is the era where my Mama thought it was a great idea to perm my already kinky, Celtic hair.  Think Merida from Brave, and you get the idea.  And for those of you have seen the unbridled Celtic afro running around at Nalls, then you know what I mean.  So yes, this oft teased, proud ginger is stating for the record that not only is this pesto dish from Deanna amazing, but it's further proof that the monkier "carrot top" is utter silliness...unless I'm queasy, and then I actually am green.

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto

Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting, seeding, baking and shredding  **SAVE THE SEEDS

Bake the seeds to use in the Pesto instead of Pine Nuts.

Pesto-
2-3 Tbsp of baked squash seeds
2-3 garlic cloves
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds
1 Cup of cleaned and rough chopped carrot tops ( no stems)
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds with seeds and garlic
1 tsp Sea Salt
Olive OIl (about 5-6 Tbsp)

Continue pulsing ingredients as you drizzle olive oil into the food proceessor.  Add enough Olive Oil to get a good pesto consistency.


Mix Pesto with warm spaghetti squash.  EAT!

For those in the crop share program, this was a fantastic box of veggies and this was considered delicious by all in my household.  The carrot tops give the pesto a different, but very satisfying taste from basil.

Deanna Freedlander  (A crop-share lover)

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Garlic & Butter

Let's just say spaghetti squash and I have an unfortunate history.  You see, my senior year in college I was taking this ghastly Flight class taught by a former NASA physicist (I was a political science kid, and as we can all plainly see from current events, those who focus on politics decidedly do NOT excel in maths and sciences), and on my lab days my roommate knew to have a cocktail ready for me when I walked into the apartment.  Yes, the class was really that bad, especially when you never actually took a physics class in your life.  So on this one occasion she greeted me with a rather interesting "cocktail" of Crystal Lite and vodka, and not just any vodka, but that Vladimir vodka that comes in the giant plastic jugs and is probably just straight kerosene or distilled windshield washer fluid. *shudder*  Then to top it all off, she'd made dinner, and it was spaghetti squash with marinara.  Oooo, I'd never had spaghetti squash before but as a vegetarian at the time I was excited for this new veggie to enter my life.  Well, I'm not rightly sure what she did to the squash, because I saw a baking sheet and yet I also saw a pot of water on the stove that looked like it had recently boiled up something.  But what was hiding under the marinara was a gelatinous glob of goo, so methinks it got boiled like pasta.  Eek!  Two sips of the cocktail and maybe 3 bites of the squash travesty and it was coming back up to greet me.  So needless to say, dinner was over and I avoided spaghetti squash for years.

But fear not, when done right, it is amazing!  One of the most common and tastiest preparations is to slice the squash in half lengthwise, and then pour olive oil or melted butter on each half and season with a generous amount of brown sugar and cinnamon, before baking till golden brown.  But if you're looking for something a little less sweet and a little more savory, or even something that can serve as the base for an entree, then doing a simple garlic and butter preparation is the way to go.  This would be great tossed with some sauteed chicken to turn it into a full meal, or simply use it as an alternative to a pasta side dish.

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Garlic & Butter

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
2 Tbsp butter (or Earth Balance margarine for dairy-free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley or basil, minced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (or Go Veggie! vegan parm for dairy-free)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pierce the squash a few times to allow for ventilation, and then place whole on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until a paring knife can easily be inserted.  Set aside and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Once squash is cooled, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seed portion.  Then using a fork, scrape out the flesh so you have stringy "noodles".  If it's hard to scrape, place back into the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or more until the squash will easily shred with a fork.  Set shredded squash aside and discard skin.

In a skillet, heat butter over medium high heat.  Add in garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Toss in shredded squash, parsley and seasonings, and toss to evenly coat.  After about a minute, add in your parm and toss to fully incorporate.  Cook for an additional minute and then remove from heat to serve.