If it were any more -free, it would be made of air
I'm rather pleased with myself--I just made a delightful dinner AND CLEANED UP AS I WENT ALONG! So not only will I be well-fed (as soon as it comes out of the oven) but my kitchen will not look like some sort of culinary bomb crater!
I thought I'd post the recipe (which is about 50% improvised) because it makes a nice vegetarian/vegan centerpiece meal for the holidays, among other things.
PILAF-STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH
Cook until done-but-firm consistancy,
Bake until also done-but-firm
Saute in however much oil you like
By the time you get this all sauteed together and mix yourself a cocktail to sip while you cook, the quinoa is probably done. so add that in. If the quinoa is stlll a bit wet, don't fret, it has more cooking ahead of it. Better underdone than mushy. Introduce the quinoa to the other ingredients and let them socialize a bit.
Once the squash is done-but-firm (how you judge this is up to you--I poked it with a knife just so I could say I did, then arbitrarily declared it ready) take it out, cut it in half (lengthwise, of course, silly!) and scoop the guts out. Then fill the cavities of the squash halves with the quinoa mixture. If you eat cheese, you can sprinkle cheese on top. If you eat cheese-substitute, you could even try that on top. If, like me you are off the cheese for now and are frightened by your cheese-substitute options, you can just leave it be and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take it out and if the kitchen gods smile upon you, you can either scoop it out of the squash skin or serve it by the sort-of slice. It's pretty and yummy. If you know of a good cheese-substitute for me to try, let me know.
ETA: I just realized I forgot the salt and pepper bits in the recipe. Weel, needless to day, you should put in as much as you like, wherever you like, so long as there's enough.
I thought I'd post the recipe (which is about 50% improvised) because it makes a nice vegetarian/vegan centerpiece meal for the holidays, among other things.
PILAF-STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH
Cook until done-but-firm consistancy,
- 1 cup quinoa (or bulgur, or brown rice, or barley)
Bake until also done-but-firm
- 1 spaghetti squash
Saute in however much oil you like
- 2-3 shallots, chopped (or 1 leek, or 1 medium onion)
- Enough minced garlic to satisfy you (4 small cloves for me)
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp. oregano (or enough to satisfy you--you know how it is.)
- Chopped walnuts, (Again, enough to satisfy you. The recipe I was working from called for 1/4 cup but I went with closer to 1 cup.)
- 1 pkg. protein of choice, crumbled (I used Italian flavored seitan, but you could also just use chopped portobello mushrooms if you wanted to keep it wheat-free. Tofu would probably also work, but you might want to use the flavored kind. Or you could just omit this altogether, if you plan on having your protein elsewhere in the meal.)
- 1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped.
By the time you get this all sauteed together and mix yourself a cocktail to sip while you cook, the quinoa is probably done. so add that in. If the quinoa is stlll a bit wet, don't fret, it has more cooking ahead of it. Better underdone than mushy. Introduce the quinoa to the other ingredients and let them socialize a bit.
Once the squash is done-but-firm (how you judge this is up to you--I poked it with a knife just so I could say I did, then arbitrarily declared it ready) take it out, cut it in half (lengthwise, of course, silly!) and scoop the guts out. Then fill the cavities of the squash halves with the quinoa mixture. If you eat cheese, you can sprinkle cheese on top. If you eat cheese-substitute, you could even try that on top. If, like me you are off the cheese for now and are frightened by your cheese-substitute options, you can just leave it be and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take it out and if the kitchen gods smile upon you, you can either scoop it out of the squash skin or serve it by the sort-of slice. It's pretty and yummy. If you know of a good cheese-substitute for me to try, let me know.
ETA: I just realized I forgot the salt and pepper bits in the recipe. Weel, needless to day, you should put in as much as you like, wherever you like, so long as there's enough.