My Dinner Experiment

If you know me well, then you know I don't like to cook. However, since it's cheaper and healthier to make our own meals instead of eating out, I'm forced to play in the kitchen a few times a week (Jason and I alternate cooking nights).

A co-worker told me that she and her husband eat spaghetti squash regularly, because it's a nutritious alternative to pasta (it gets its name from the fact that the insides look like spaghetti when you scrape them out). Anyway, I am always willing to try a new vegetable, because I need to expand my repertoire (there are a lot of vegetables I don't like, including tomatoes, onions, and peppers) - and sometimes I get tired of eating broccoli, carrots, and green beans.

So tonight I cooked a spaghetti squash, and thought I would document the process for those of you who have also never tried one.

I cooked it whole at 375 for an hour, because it was too hard to cut in half while still raw. Then I cut it in half with a large knife (very easy to cut once cooked), and scooped out the guts with a spoon. The guts contain seeds that look just like pumpkin seeds. And from what I understand, you can roast and eat them just like pumpkin seeds.

Then I simply scraped the insides with a fork - the strands of squash came out quite easily, and looked very much like spaghetti noodles. I mixed the strands with a tiny bit of butter, romano cheese, sage, and pine nuts.

It wasn't bad... the taste was pretty bland (just like pasta). The texture was not what I expected - it was crunchy, like I was eating shredded carrots. I'm not sure if this is normal, or if it needed to cook longer. If you've eaten spaghetti squash before, please let me know!

Jason and I decided that the next time we cook one, we'll add more flavor - top it with marinara sauce or something...