I’ll be up front: I’m no stealthy nutrient-pusher, a la Jessica Seinfeld. You remember Jerry’s wife, and her book about getting vegetables into your kids by lacing their mac ‘n cheese with cauliflower puree and their peanut butter cookies with carrot mash? Partly my objection to this way of cooking is my own sheer laziness: I hate fiddling with Cuisinarty appliances, even plain old blenders. And partly it’s principle: I think good food should speak for itself without concealment.
(I mean, I love peanut butter cookies and I adore carrots. But together? They’re no heavenly Reese’s-style collision waiting to happen! Chocolate chips in the batter, yes. Carrots? Yikes!)
That said, I have one sneaky dish that I make every fall just to see if anyone notices. Well, and because I adore it.
It starts with this humble, homely ingredient:
You "Schiacciare!" looks mighty tasty! I’ve never roasted one but I think I’ll give it a try! Love that you can start it in the am and come back to it in the evening…Now, what to do with those home schooled children of mine while I cook the squash behind their backs? Maybe I’ll tell them it’s our Science experiment for the day and we can eat it for dinner too! I love spaghetti squash cooked in the microwave, seasoned with butter, salt and pepper" too… yummy!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Deb
p.s. When reheating lunch leftovers (excellent!), I included chopped cherry tomatoes. Next time, think I’ll include them in the mushrooms-onion-celery saute. Yum!
I’m going to try this on my boyfriend…..he claims he doesn’t like most vegetables ~ lets see if I can trick him into eating squash!
That looks fantastic! I will definitely be trying this. Great story, too. Love your sense of humor! 😀
I am a Weight Watchers member. One of my leaders used half of her spaghetti squash for "spaghetti" and the other half for dessert. She mixed crushed pineapple, some cinnamon, and the squash together (you could add some sweetener of your choice if you’d like). A small salad on the side and you have a great lunch or dinner.
Dessert, wow…no telling what the possibilities are!
I remember this from my days as a newlywed (17 years ago)! It was the surprise recipe going around in our newlywed group. Definately not pasta, but very tasty; with a nutty kind of crunch. Thankfully, I don’t need to hide veggies as my son loves them. Now, potty training, that’s another matter…
Fantastic! I have always sawed the squash in half..you need some muscle. Plus it is hard to scrape out the seeds.
I love shortcuts :)…and will try your suggestion. Grazie!
Paula, You are a rare talent indeed! You can do anything.
You should have your own talk show. Your flow of writing is so comfortable and fresh. Thanks for your interpretations
on life and now cooking!
I have always wanted to try this but have always been alittle afraid! Your recipe and pictures have made it seem so much less intimidating…so tomorrows grocery shopping will include a great big yellow spagetti squash! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Peggy–pls do!
Love your daughter’s response. So cute! I do spaghettie squash with a sweet topping of butter and brownsugar. I haven’t been brave enough to try tomato sauce, but maybe I will. 🙂
I love to make spaghetti squash with tomato sauce. Delicious that way. Also with butter and brown sugar. Love your daughter’s response.
Say there Paula, isn’t life great! we can try all kinds of new inventive things – even eat some of them! this is a dish I’ve liked a long time … now to try the desert option. Kids are so interesting:)
"keep on goin’" fm Lou
you can boil a spaghetti squash also. Just be sure to knife a hole in it along the way to keep it from exploding. It is a little more energy efficient to not start up the oven for just one thing.
Have made this for awhile, but use the squash as a bowl. I serve the sauce with either chunks of grilled chichen or meatballs in it right in 1/2 of the squash. Just cut a little slice off the bottom of each half so your bowl doesn’t wobble. All you have to do it pull off a bit of the squash to make the noodles as you eat the sauce. With a salad and garlic bread, what more does one need? Could probably cut it in fourths to double the amount of servings.