I have a new vegetable love in my life…spaghetti squash. I was lamenting with some friends, about how I love pasta, but it doesn’t always love me. I need to scale back carbs and having a giant bowl of pasta doesn’t exactly fall in line with that. My friend looked at me and said, how about spaghetti squash? I looked at her somewhat blankly. It’s not that I had never heard of it, I had just never made it.
My friend laughed at my expression (it may have been a mixture of curiosity and outrage) and told me to hear her out. It seems that she had switched to spaghetti squash several years ago and was loving it. It’s not that she never has regular pasta, but she has found that she actually prefers the vegetable version.
I will admit I was intrigued. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home, grabbed a spaghetti squash and some other ingredients, and went home to start cooking. I cut my spaghetti squash in half and put it into the oven to bake. While that was roasting away, I started on my sauce. Fresh tomatoes, some basil and oregano, minced garlic, and some chopped onions and peppers. These all went into a skillet to sauté with a little bit of olive oil. The smells filling my kitchen were amazing. I was on sensory overload.
After about 40 minutes, my squash was ready to come out of the oven. I used a fork to score it and create my spaghetti strands. Now was my moment of truth. I loaded a plate with the fresh spaghetti squash, topped with the mouth-watering marinara sauce and a sprinkle of cheese, and sat down for my first bite. It was everything I could ever wanted and more. I could not believe the depth of flavor in this dish. As soon as I was done (I had seconds of course), and cleaned up the kitchen, I had to give my friend a call. She was right and I had no idea what I had been missing out on!
For the last few months, we have been eating this dish about once a week. I am trying to make up for all the time I missed, I guess. I will say that each time I am both astounded and pleased by how tasty it is and how I really don’t miss traditional pasta. It has been a great way to curb my carbs and introduce more flavor into my life.
Do you have any recipes that you have tried that you wish you had had sooner?
