The Marvelous Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is amazing. Measuring 8 to 14" long and weighing about 4 1/2 pounds, little is known of it's history. It's taste is similar to summer squash, but that is the end of comparison. You cut it open, remove the seeds, bake or steam it and it's meat comes out in long strands that look like spaghetti, so it makes a wonderful visual replacement for our high carb, high glycemic old pal spaghetti.

Top a huge pile of spaghetti squash with one of the many pasta sauces out there and be ready to feast on a fresh, naturally al dente strand that let's you have 16 times as much of the lovely squash as you do pasta. In 4 ounces (100 grams) this marvel of nature has only 5 grams of carbohydrates as opposed to 1/8 cup of pasta. So instead of 1/4 cup (or 1/2 ounce dry) of cooked pasta for a single serving block, you get 7 ounces of cooked spaghetti squash PER SINGLE BLOCK. And as it is with all floppy kinds of foods, it is better to WEIGH your portion than to try to stuff it into a measuring cup.

COOKING

To bake it, split lengthwise and remove the seeds in the central cavity. While you CAN bake it whole, it is very painful trying to hold it still to remove the seeds when everything is 350 degrees and you are trying to dish it out to serve it hot. Bake it hollow side up. The riper the squash, the faster it will cook, but figure about 30 to 40 minutes for a halved squash to bake.

Check to see that it is baked by piercing the flesh with a fork. It should be soft and the flesh should separate into fat spaghetti-like strands. Avoid overcooking which will make the flesh become bland and mushy. It is best when still slightly crunchy, as it is 92% water.

You can also microwave it, preparing it by slicing in half, removing seeds and then cooking each half for 6 to minutes. Most cookbooks will tell you to cover it with plastic wrap to cook it like this, but don't you dare unless you are fond of adding plastic to your blood stream. Soft plastic especially will slightly melt and let off plastic toxins that will flavor your foods and mimic certain hormones when they get into the blood stream as xenohormones. Some scientists suggest that these plastics in our foods are the reason for larger feet, larger breasts and lowering the onset of puberty by 4 years across the United States. Instead, cook it on a microwave safe glass plate with the cut side down to retain the moisture inside the squash.

You can freeze raw, grated or cooked spaghetti squash, but be advised that it makes it less firm and pre-measured amounts will thaw out to smaller serving sizes.

Besides your traditional spaghetti sauce, spaghetti squash is also excellent with a buttery flavored olive or nut oil and grated cheese, a pesto sauce, a cream sauce or even an onion sauce where the onion is sautéed in olive oil until reduced down to strands of sweet, golden onions and served with herbs to flavor. A dash of nutmeg with olive oil and butter is also an amazing way to savor the delicate flavor of spaghetti squash.