Veggie School Dropout
Guest Blog by: Midge
A few months ago, all I could think about was cooking new and unique veggies. My friend even dropped off a couple of artichokes at my house to challenge my cooking skills. Now, it is already almost the end of October and I have not cooked a new veggie in awhile! I feel like a Veggie School Dropout!
So, I went to the store and picked out a spaghetti squash. My friend Tara, who was the one to first introduce me to this wonderful vegetable, gave me a few words of wisdom and I was ready to start baking. I set the oven at 350 and began to cut the squash.
That squash was very hard to cut. Even though I used a very sharp knife, I had to literally saw it half. I then scraped out all of the seeds and extra squash tendrils until it looked like the smooth inside area of a pumpkin. I placed it on my baking sheet, put it in the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes. One hour and 15 minutes later (ha ha), my squash was done.
I took a fork and teased out the insides. The meat very gently tore away from the shell and it actually looked like spaghetti noodles. I added some butter to the squash then heated up some spaghetti sauce and topped it with parmesan cheese. Voila – Spaghetti “Spaghetti Squash” served with a smile!
It was actually REALLY good.
Now, it is time to get serious about Veggie School again… What should I cook next? What is the strangest veggie you have ever eaten?
Past Veggie School Blogs: http://econobusters.com/bok_choy/ & http://econobusters.com/midge_and_arti/
Here are a few odds and ends pictures from my latest trip to the Veggie Aisle at my local grocery store:
Tomatillos… have any good recipes?
Rutabaga? What planet did these come from?
I am pretty sure you can’t make a banana split with this banana squash… what do you use this for?
Rutabaga’s are one of my favorite dishes to make at Thanksgiving. I peel, chop into small pieces (smaller they are the less time to cook) then boil until tender. Reserve water when you drain them to add in as need during mashing. Mash them with a little butter and a few tablespoons of sugar (to taste)but note because of their texture it wont be smooth. MMM…. they are a comfort food for our family. My kids even love them. Oh, and if you have a pressure cooker… well it becomes a much faster side dish!
Honestly, I try to make this the day before and let sit in the refrigerator over night because I think they taste better the next day. Just reheat them when you are ready.
Midge Says: Thanks for the great idea for the rutabaga!! I did not even know where to start… I may just have to document my attempt at making them on the blog
Thank you!
Here’s and easier way to process spaghetti squash: Take the WHOLE, UNPEELED squash, put it in a pan, and place it in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Let cool. Then slide your knife through the skin (not as tough as raw!), cut in half, scoop out the seeds, then gently scrape the flesh out of the shell with a fork. It’s ready to eat at this point but I like to mix it with some butter, parm cheese, granulated garlic, and salt and pepper. Put it back in the oven at 350 for an hour and serve as a main or side dish. So yum with meatloaf.
Midge Says: That sounds like a much easier way to bake the squash!! My friend liked to grill hers on the barbecue but since it is not barbecue weather at the moment, I made mine in the oven… I should ask her if she still cuts her squash if she bakes it in the oven. Cutting the squash was definitely one of the hardest parts.
Use tomatillos for a salsa. They are a bit like small, firm green tomatoes. Peel the papery covering and wash well–they may be a bit sticky. I have a recipe for a green tomatillo salsa that goes over enchiladas..but alas it’s packed away at the moment. Tomatillos, onions, garlic, salt…try some!
Midge Says: That sounds really good… I will try to hunt on the internet to find a good tomatillo salsa recipe. Do I just substitute all of the tomatoes for tomatillos? Or does your salsa recipe take both?