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.

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.