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By Blue Sky Organic Farms

This week, we are keeping it simple with a short lesson in cooking hard squash. This season we decided to grow personal sized spaghetti squash. Yes, grown for personal size, but if you must share, your counterpart will be happy you did.

This personal spaghetti squash looks a bit different than the pale yellow, oblong spaghetti squash we have grown in the past. This year the squash has a darker yellow tint, and is almost perfectly round. If you already know how to roast a spaghetti squash, you would prepare this squash the same way.

For those who have never had the pleasure of preparing and or eating spaghetti squash, it is very versatile and can take the place of noodles in your….you guessed it, spaghetti! Less carbs, yet more flavor in my opinion. Below you will see the ingredients and steps required to prepare your first personal spaghetti squash, as well as some serving suggestions!

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Spaghetti Squash 101
Serves 2
• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This is optional but it makes for easier clean up
3. Cut spaghetti squash in half top to bottom.
4. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard.
5. Rub each half with 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. Place on baking sheet cut side down.
7. Roast in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Mine took 32 minutes.
8. Remove from oven let cool slightly.
9. With a fork scrape out the flesh of the squash and serve as desired. A fork works best to get the flesh of the squash to come out like noodles.

Serving suggestions:
• Serve as is with a bit more oil or butter ~ kind of boring but I have to admit my favorite way to eat it!!!
• Mix in parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese
• Top with marinara sauce
• Mix in caramelized onions and/or mushrooms
• Mix in fresh or sautéed spinach
• Mix in steamed broccoli
• Mix in your favorite fresh herbs
• Spaghetti squash can be a blank canvas so get creative.
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This technique for roasting can be applied to any hard squash like the delicata squash, acorn, or butternut, but instead of using a fork to scoop out the cooked squash, you can use a spoon.
We hope this short Spaghetti Squash 101, proves to be helpful in your future hard squash cooking endeavors. Happy, healthy eating!