Spaghetti Squash: what is it?

Spaghetti squash reminded me of a vegetable with an identity crisis. What is it? Squash? Spaghetti?  I had never prepared it, nor have I had it in my kitchen, as evidenced by this late August post. Well, I have been storing it for a few weeks in the kitchen (squash stores well for a long time) and decided with the recent cool snap, it would be a good time to prepare the spaghetti squash.

I found a simple recipe in Terry Waters' book, Clean Food.  One thing to realize, the skin of spaghetti squash is TOUGH. A chainsaw would have helped me cut into this sucker.  Once I was done fighting with the spaghetti squash, I then began my preparation:

• preheat oven to 400 degrees
• scoop out seeds and place each half face-down on a cookie sheet
• cook for 50 minutes (or when skin can be easily pierced with a knife)
• remove from oven, allow to cool
• scrape out flesh of squash into a bowl

Spaghetti Squash: the before and after

While I allowed the scooped spaghetti squash to cool in a bowl, I cooked up some green squash in my Le Creuset with garlic and fresh basil.  Once that was bright green, I added the spaghetti squash. I tossed in more basil, some good olive oil, and a touch of lemon juice.




When we sat down for dinner, I added some grated pecorino cheese and enjoyed. Things I learned from this dish: I should have added some chickpeas or cannelini beans for more "heft" to the meal. The mister and I were both hungry later. All in all, this first attempt at spaghetti squash was a success.

Fruit: I think this is my new currency!

Another great week of our Fruit CSA.  You MUST support North Star Orchard--chances are, they make appearances at a Farmer's Market near you! 

Here's what we received during mid-September. Just gorgeous. Peaches (yellow and white), apples (three types), and--our favorite--Asian pears!!!

Supremely Veggie Pizza on homemade dough

Several posts ago, I talked about the love I have for my Cuisinart food processor.  This is one of the best kitchen products I own and I use it so very often to make a myriad of recipes.  One of my favorites is homemade pizza dough. The Cuisinart came with a handy-dandy recipe booklet with an excellent pizza dough recipe. Of course, I don't follow the recipe to a T--I add my own spices and herbs.

It takes some time (gotta let the dough rise), so I don't do it very frequently. However, when I DO make pizza, I absolutely love it!

This night, I decided to make a whole-wheat and cornmeal dough and top the pizza with a ton of veggies. My own version of veggie supreme.  Here's a look at the process.



Letting the dough come together on the pizza peel before allowing to rise.


The dough, just hanging out in an oiled bowl waiting to rise.

While I was waiting for the dough to rise, I grilled up some zucchini and eggplant.  I didn't want to over-cook the veggies, since I was going to be topping the pizza with them.





The dough has risen!!

Because I had more than enough dough, I decided to make two pizzas that night. The veggie supreme and a traditional Margherita pizza.


Veggie supreme pizza: grilled eggplant, zucchini, roasted cherry tomatoes, basil, mozzarella.


Margherita pizza, waiting patiently for its time in the oven. 

Because we have only one pizza stone (a secret to my success of pizza cooking), I cooked the veggie supreme first and then put the Margherita in the oven. 


Veggie supreme cooling on the pizza peel.


Even though this doesn't look pretty, it sure tasted good!

Okra? What the heck can I do with Okra?

Last year, we received a bag of an unfamiliar vegetable in our CSA share. When I first saw this green, tube-like veggie, I had no idea what it was. I even posted a picture to Facebook asking for answers from friends. Turns out, it was OKRA.  Fried okra was the only recipe/preparation style that I was familiar with. But, I had never tasted the veggie.

I have several cookbooks--some really great ones--and they help to give me a good starting point for food prep. Especially when I am using a new ingredient.  Unfortunately, okra does not have many entries in ANY of these cookbooks.  I was able to find one on the information superhighway that included curry powder and tomatoes. Some GREAT flavors in there.

One thing to keep in mind is that okra can get slimy. Yes, slimy...  So, if you buy some, be sure to use it very quickly.

After cleaning, I sliced the okra--I used it ALL up!  I began sauteing it in garlic and onions.



I then added a large can of crushed tomatoes. I bet you didn't think it was possible to find local canned tomatoes, but I managed to get some at the Fair Food Farm Stand at Reading Terminal Market. These tomatoes are grown and canned in Jersey.



I let the tomatoes and okra simmer for a long time on very low heat. From there, I added a can of rinsed chickpeas.



The okra/tomato mixture was then served over basmati rice. Success!