Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I remember trying spaghetti squash back in the days when I was on a gluten-free diet and it was just all too depressing:  this was meant to be a substitute for beautiful pasta?
 Now that I'm back into eating real pasta  I thought I'd try spaghetti squash again, and think of it as the healthy vegetable it is, rather than a substitute for something quite different.

This is a great recipe because it's basically a loaded half of a spaghetti squash that requires no cooking besides roasting the squashes themselves.  Considering that this only involves cutting them in half and shoving them in the oven, it really is a no-fuss meal.

 I did brush some olive oil on the tray, and after scooping the seeds out of your spaghetti squash you'll want to sprinkle them with some sea salt.  Then lay them face down on their tray and roast for 45 minutes at 375.
Once you've taken them out of the oven you'll want to carefully turn them over (they'll be hot and steaming as Hades) and gently pull the squash apart into spaghetti-like strings.

I then filled them with raw kale, finely chopped (place this in the centre of the squash, right down in the hollow where you removed the seeds, the heat will wilt the kale a bit) and a very satisfying mixture of julienned sun dried tomatoes and whole walnuts.

I topped this with pitted kalamata olives and a squeeze of lemon juice.

The original recipe came from a digital cookbook of "reset" recipes I bought from Simple Green Smoothies (you can see their website here).

The recipes are part of a seven day "cleanse" type program that is actually quite nice.  I'm not really doing the program (nothing comes between me and my morning coffee) but there are plenty of really terrific smoothie recipes and delicious plant-based dinners.

One recipe I will take away from the collection for sure is one for a "vegan cheeze" topping.  I used it to top this spaghetti squash, and it added some protein as well as flavour.
Basically you get out your food processor, add a cup of raw cashews, a cup of raw almonds, half a cup of nutritional yeast and a teaspoon of large, flaky sea salt (such as Maldon sea salt).  Give that several pulses in your processor until it looks like fine breadcrumbs and voila, a lovely topping for this dish and all sorts of grain dishes, soups and vegetable dishes that would benefit from a sprinkling of "cheeze".
I've got mine stored in a big jar (which you can see above on the left), and I'll keep it in the fridge to be sure it stays fresh.

This dinner was so good I'm going to buy more spaghetti squash today!
Hope your day goes as well as it possibly can,
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 I found these stems of kale with bits of gold spray paint while at the grocery store last week.  The colours are quite nice, and while I'm a bit tired of eating kale I don't mind decorating with it.

These days I just want to eat potatoes, must be the cold weather.

 This is currently my favourite easy potato dish because it's a one-stop shop, you've got your layers of vegetables, beans, some cashew cream thrown in with dried herbs and then a layer of potatoes on the top.

 I sautéed leeks, added a can of adzuki beans, stirred in a couple of tablespoons of cashew cream along with salt, pepper, thyme and basil, then added in great big handfuls of chopped spinach.

 Stir through until the spinach wilts, turn off the burner, and then start placing down a pleasing pattern of sliced potatoes.  Red potatoes work well for this type of dish because they hold their texture.

 Before this heads into a 325 oven I sprinkle it with some dried parsley, more salt and pepper, nutritional yeast and some olive oil.

Bake about half an hour with the lid on (or foil over top) until about the last ten minutes (might be longer for you, my oven is very hot).  The ten minutes at the end with the lid or foil off will ensure a nice browning up of the potatoes.
 The sight of potatoes cooked to golden brown perfection will make even the vegetable-averse run over to the dinner table.

Monday today, and it does feel like one too.  I've got laundry, mending, bill-paying and soup-making on my list today.  Also a trip over to the small market because our cupboards seem to be bare.
But first I have to get Lil Rascal to school on time, wish me luck!
Hope your week starts off as well as it possibly can,
xoxDani