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| Cut the squash in half and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a knife can easily be inserted through the skin. |
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| Scoop out |
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| In the meantime, prepare a pasta sauce (I sautee sliced onions in olive oil, then add canned tomatoes, chopped oregano, salt and pepper) |
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| Combine squash and tomato sauce and top with goodies (I used goat cheese and olives here) |
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| Bon Appetit! |
How Zero Waste are my ingredients?
Spaghetti squash and onions: Purchased loose from the farmer's market (sticker free) or grocery store.
Olive oil: Purchased from bulk dispensers, filling a jar or bottle.
Canned Tomatoes: Opened one of the jars that I canned this fall; how-to right here!
Oregano: Grown on the side of our house; it's a transplant from a friend's plant. We water it with leftover cooking water.
Goat cheese and olives: Purchased respectively from the salad and olive bars, filling 1 quart and 1 pint jars.
I've found that boiling spaghetti squash whole (with fork holes) works much faster (only about half an hour; and far less energy used on the stovetop) and gives a better texture than baking. Either way, it's delicious! I live in Japan, where spaghetti squash isn't named for spaghetti, but a very similar Japanese pasta called somen. Somen squash! I get a kick out of it every time.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite pasta alternative is raw zucchini shredded with a mandolin. Maybe that can serve as your summer alternative to pasta :)
Great idea about boiling. I would have thought that baking (about 30min) would take less time that boiling a large pot of water to contain the squash on the stove, but I am definitely trying your method next time -and timing it;).
DeleteThanks for mentioning zucchini, I also slice them lengthwise and use them as an alternative to lasagna sheets in the summer.
Great idea! This is a much healthier, lower-calorie solution than I have been doing lately. I have a pasta and bread-making day each week. Fettuccine nests freeze well in glass containers with no loss in texture and taste. Same with frozen bread dough. Zero Waste is a fun and tasty challenge to me!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit skittish about cutting any big, hard squash in half with a big sharp knife! I use an ice pick to stab vent holes into them then bake them whole in the oven. Cool them a bit, cut open and scoop out the seeds and strings very easily. Love the idea of substituting squash for wheat pasta.
ReplyDeleteSpaghetti squash is healthier and I find that oven roasting it makes for a richer tasting squash, which goes well with the oven roasted tomato and red, orange,yellow bell peppers we then puree for the sauce. We also have steam cooked the squash and that works faster than boiling. Having a newer counter top convection oven makes roasting even faster.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, we live in a wee house under 400 sq feet and found having a new counter top convection oven and one counter top induction burner works better than using the traditional stove that the place had. Also saves on energy costs. Yes, even with solar these work well.
That's definitely a zero waste meal. I love spaghetti squash but it's hard to find here and when we do it's extremely expensive. I can't wait to get into the garden this year and start growing my own. Since I no longer have an oven, I have started preparing mine the same way you do but then putting them in the slow cooker to bake, it works well.
ReplyDeleteI like the cooking alternatives and will be interested to see which one seems to use the least amount of energy.
ReplyDeleteBea, do you save your cooking water for any length of time? If so, does it become a problem? (ie moldy?) We don't live in a warm enough climate to do this year round, but it's a great idea for summers.
JulieB
I only keep it long enough to cool and then pour on plants.
DeleteHowever I combine some of the water used for cooking pasta directly into my pasta sauce.
Béa, tu dois absolument lire "À boire et à manger" (Tome 2-Les pieds dans le plat) de Guillaume Long, je n'ai pas lu le Tome 1, mais c'est vraiment génial, et il parle avec beaucoup d'humour de la courge spaghetti !
ReplyDeleteI cooked my spagetti squash in the pressure cooker steam basket. It was a big squash so I needed to cut it into quarters to fit it all in. 10 min on high pressure and a quick steam release did the job. This may use the least energy of the other mentioned ways and it comes out great as well as being very quick!
ReplyDeleteFor those having trouble splitting winter squash, a simple trick is to use a cleaver, lining it up on your planned cut line, and take a hammer and wonk away at it until done. Try to have the top end of the blade extend beyond the gourd so it doesn't disappear into the squash.
ReplyDeleteI also live in Marin - did you know that United in San Anselmo and Good Earth in Fairfax both carry bulk pasta? I'm sure the San Rafael United probably does too.
ReplyDeleteThe United stores in San Rafael only carry orzo. I'd be happy to check out San Anselmo. However it's not much closer than Good Earth, which I much prefer since they carry other hard-to-get bulk items such as dishwasher and laundry detergent, and cooking oil. Good Earth is 25 minutes away from my house -it is the place I am referring to in the post;).
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