Eat Like a Rabbit

We only ate one spaghetti squash this year. Somehow, it didn't seem like a top priority with all the butternut squash around. Not to mention, cooking squash can be more time-consuming and my feet don't enjoy long stretches of use.

I got the idea for this recipe from a friend of my parents last year. What I appreciated was how simple it was to cook, plus with the simple seasoning, the leftovers had a variety of uses. In our case, we made spaghetti squash primavera. Basically, that's seasoned vegetables and sauce served over the squash instead of pasta. It makes a great gluten-free vegetable dish with lots of nutrients.

Cooking a Spaghetti Squash

Stab a few holes in the squash and microwave for 60 seconds to soften skin. Cut squash in half from stem to base. Seed the squash. Place face-down in a microwave-safe dish, add 1 inch of water, and cover with a dish towel. Microwave for about 8 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and the power of the microwave.

Let the squash cool upon removal from the microwave because it will burn your hands. Turn the squash over and scrape the inside out with a fork and scoop into an oven-safe bowl. The "strings" resemble spaghetti--hence the name.

In the bowl with the squash, sprinkle 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. sea salt (or more to taste), 2 Tab. unsalted butter (or margarine of choice), and 1 Tab. dried parsley. I only needed to "bake" my squash in the oven just after I turned it off from the 400 degrees it was heated at to cook muffins. You can cook the squash at about 350 until the garlic is cooked and the edges of the squash brown, which is great for color.

For the primavera, I cooked fresh and frozen veggies (like julienned carrots, sliced onions, broccoli florets, and bell pepper sticks) in oil and added the leftover spaghetti squash to cook through.

So much of this post should be about focusing on the great pictures. And it's not just about giving Paul all the credit for the fabulous photography. The last time we were at Seasons 52 would have been my birthday, and the restaurant still had roughly the same fall/winter menu with a few changes. In fact, the items from February's post were still available. I'm not complaining. As long as the quality is consistent, there are no issues for me. I suppose we don't visit Seasons 52 during the summer because there are so many options available for cooking at home.

Speaking of cooking at home, the butternut squash on the big vegetable plate is the inspiration for our choice of dish for PumpkinFest this Saturday night. Stay tuned for how it turns out.

This was a positively amazing salad that really is simple to make, and just as important to serve. Paul's Aunt Marsha is the angel behind this heavenly healthy creation. The greatest accent is that each vegetable is roasted separately but served together, which is good for picky eaters and highlights the great colors of the individual vegetables. Each vegetable is cooked the same way and are combined at the end. Brilliantly, this salad fabulous served hot, warm, or even at room temp, which means it can be made ahead. This was important as the dinner Marsha served was a large buffet for about 15 people. With that much work, a vegetable that can be room temp balances between a cold salad and a hot entree--and that doesn't hog the oven--is perfect. Roasted fresh beets yield a purple dressing that again keeps this dish as natural and simple as possible.

I hope my memory of the recipe is the way Marsha does it by her memory!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

From watching Marsha Bloom

• Select equal portions of fresh sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and beets.
• Cut the brussel sprouts in half, peel the potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces, cut beets as well.
• Place top rack in oven just above center and the second rack a notch or two below for space to get a second pan in and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Grease jelly roll pans with a light coat of spray. (Marsha had only two pans, and cooked the brussel sprouts first. Again, this is the beauty of a vegetable for a large group that doesn't have to be served hot.)
• Spread each vegetable individually and evenly over pan.
• Sprinkle olive oil semi-generously (although excess will not hurt) over the vegetable.
• Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper and salt evenly over vegetables.
• Top with three cloves each pan of chopped fresh garlic.
• Chop fresh rosemary (about 3 long sprigs per pan) and sprinkle around pan.
• Place pans in oven until bottom of vegetables are golden brown. The time varies depending on the veggie.
• Serve divided, but in the same bowl.