A couple of weeks ago I briefly scanned some article about called ‘Squash will save you, Anderson Cooper!’ Ok, I may have only read a few scattered words, but I think the point was that Anderson Cooper does not eat enough vegetables and the author was telling him to eat squash.
Then a week or so later, Lynne Rosetto Kasper (of The Splendid Table) answered a caller’s question about spaghetti squash, and she made cooking it sound so easy! “Bake it up, then treat it like an Asian noodle and marinate it in some delicious dressing…. doesn’t that sound fabulous?” Yeah, you’ve played that trick on me before, Lynne.
So I decided I should try to cook some squash. I am not a squash fan whatsoever, but Lloyd and I very rarely eat fresh vegetables, and a squash can sit out on my counter for weeks until I get around to experimenting with it – which this one did.
I tried cooking it on the first day that I felt ultra sick. That was my first mistake. I cut into it and the smell almost made me throw up. Bleh – so pumpkin-y.
Scooping the seeds was arduous, what with the smell, and then I put it in the pan wrong. I read that some people have trouble with it taking too long to cook, so put in in a baking dish with water so it will steam. I did that, but it should have been cut-side-down. Oops. After I put the pan in the oven I went to go lie down – for a long, long time. Subsequently, I don’t really know how long this cooked.
Then I pulled it out of the oven and went to go lie down again – for a long, long time. Cooked squash can’t go bad sitting out on the counter, right?
After tons of napping I went to pull it apart, and was duly surprised at the direction of the ‘noodles’ inside – they string horizontally!
Pulling it apart was very, very fun, but then I was out of energy and had no appetite for this. Not wanting to waste the squash I put a little in two bowls, adding Italian dressing to one and rice wine vinegar/sugar/salt/pepper to the other.
The Italian dressing version was horrible, the vinegar one less so. I tasted each one then went to lie down.
Does anyone have suggestions? I like the idea of trying spaghetti squash again, but it’s just so exhausting to make.
Amy says
you poor thing! I hope you feel better soon!!
Allison and I suggest Maple Syrup
My dad loves Squash with butter and browns sugar.
Allison cooks acorn squash in the microwave for 8 minutes (it turned out amazing) Just poke some holes with a fork. I imagine it would work just as well with a spaghetti squash
<3
Amy
Brad says
What if you prepared that spaghetti squash like spaghetti and put meat sauce on it? Isn’t that what people usually do with it?
Amused Lurker says
Spaghetti sauce, browned hamburger, LOTS of mozzarella and bake until it looks ready to eat. Much better that way. Plus, all that cheese takes away the healthy part, so it works for us.
Peggy says
Here’s my tip. Forget about the squash spaghetti. Try this instead:
http://www.deboles.com/products/organic-pasta.php
It is good! And good for you! (If you can’t find it in Nebraska, I’ll send you some)
And because I have a thing for Anderson, I went to look for the article you mentioned. I didn’t find it, but guess what the 1st listing is under the title?
(I already know all about his weird eating habits though. I think we’re related.)
Lauren says
Artichoke flour, eh? That sounds just crazy enough to work!
Ha -- I searched for the title, too. Do you think this is how I can lure celebrities here?
Marisa says
Here’s my favorite way to do spaghetti squash. Once you’ve baked and scraped the squash, toss the noodles with butter, parmesan cheese, a little grated nutmeg and lots of chopped fresh sage. So delicious. But wait to make it until you feel better, so you don’t have any bad associations with illness and spaghetti squash.
Lauren says
Yeah, I have a bad story involving Pepperidge Farms Chessmen cookies and the flu.
Lauren's mom says
Kinda reminds me of green eggs and ham. “I do not like them, Sam-I-am!
I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere.”
Stick to the good stuff, -- corn, peas and beans.
Jen says
Hi,
Stab it multiple times with a knife. Pop it in the microwave for four minutes. Flip over, wave for four more minutes. Take it out, cut in half, scoop seeds and you’re done. A 15 minute meal easy as one, two, three. Because I can’t have tomato sauce, I use olive oil and fresh Parmesan. Delish! Way easier than the oven.