Bariatric Foodie Play with your food
That is to say, my method isn’t the only method, just the one that works best for me. If you have another method, by all means share it with the Foodie Nation (in the comments section)!
Wait…let’s back up a minute.
If you’ve never heard of spaghetti squash, they look something like this:
When cooked the “meat” of the squash is stringy, much like angel hair pasta. Cooking one is probably about the easiest thing in the world. Here’s my four step process.
Place your squash in a cooking pan and fill it up to halfway up the sides with water. Cover it with aluminum foil and pop it into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. The photo I used is cut in half. I usually don’t bother to do that, though.
Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before handling it. Seriously. I theorize 99% of spaghetti squash injuries are a result of skipping this step! When it’s cool, fork test it. The fork should easily pierce the skin and go into the flesh.
Once it’s cooled is when I usually slice it in half length wise (and might I say it’s MUCH easier to do it at that point). See the center part that is sort of gooey with seeds in it? Yeah, scoop that out with a spoon, but JUST THAT PART.
Then run your spoon (or fork) just under the tough outer skin to extract the good stuff into a bowl. If you see any seeds, pick them out. Usually where there are seeds, there is more gooey stuff, so if you see it, get it. It’s not pleasant to eat!
Ok, so you’ve made your first spaghetti squash. Now what? You eat it! How? Tune in tomorrow to find out!
This was one of my favorite things as a kid. I love mine with just a tad of butter and some fried mushrooms. I can't wait to see how you make it!!!
I love 'skettie squash! I cook mine in the microwave. First I cook the whole thing for about 5-8 minutes, depending on the size. This softens it up just enough so you can cut it in half lengthwise, those things are hard as rocks! Scoop out the seeds, place cut side down in a glass dish like you show with about 1/4" of water in the bottom. Cook on high for 8-10 minutes, again, depending on the size. I totally agree about letting that thing cool! One of the worst burns I've ever had was trying to skip that part! Once cool I use a big fork to scrap from side to side, along the 'grain' of the fibers. You can scrape it down to nothing but skin. Once everything is out, I use a few sprays of ICBINB, then add whatever sauce is called for.
In addition to spaghetti dishes, one of our favorite dishes is to use it in place of rice in Granny's Rice Pudding recipe…some milk, SF pudding mix, cinnamon and SF syrup can do wonders!
Wow, I never knew you didn't have to cut it in half before you cook it. that's nice to know, cutting them in half when they are raw is not easy.
Dee,
Rice pudding! Mmmmmm…I'm going to have to try that!
I haven't had spaghetti squash since I've been banded, but I may try it again. I cook it in the microwave. I cut it in half, take out the seeds and cook half of one in a covered dish with a little water, maybe 4-5 minutes. The other half, wrapped up, keeps in the fridge for at least a week. I used to eat it like spaghetti. Thanks for the reminder.