Spaghetti Squash baked seeds

After cutting open the spaghetti squash I realized how similar this inside was to a pumpkin.  The recipe I was using to prepare the spaghetti squash said to scoop out the seeds and discard, but like a long tradition of using every corner of a napkin before you get a new one, I thought there had to be something interesting i could do with the seeds.

When we were younger while we were carving our jack-o-lanterns we’d take the seeds from inside the pumpkin, lay them flat on a cookie sheet, rub them in olive oil, sprinkle with lawry’s salt, bake for 20 minutes then enjoy.  We’d keep them in a cup on the counter and between my sisters and my mom they didn’t last long.

When you go to the store there’s always bags of pumpkin seeds baked, salted and sold $3 for 5 oz’s but you never see any squash seeds. The recipe I used for the spaghetti squash told me to throw the seeds away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

What a pleasant surprise.

I coated them in olive oil, sprinkled them with dried chipotle & smoked salt seasoning, baked for 20 minutes and ate them while they were tying to cool on the cookie sheet.  For what I can tell these taste just like pumpkin seeds.  So if you do find yourself using the spaghetti squash PLEASE don’t throw away the seeds.  Just bake them and eat them for a delicious snack! You could always turn them into a pesto if you really wanted…

INGREDIENTS
spaghetti squash seeds
lawry’s or other seasoning salt to taste
olive oil (or your preferred oil) to evenly coat seeds

Coat the seeds evenly with oil and seasoning. Bake for 25 min at 350. Try to let them chill but you’ll most likely eat them straight from the cookie sheet.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Seasonings

Another week with the glorious CSA, another vegetable I’ve hardly ever cooked.  This time it’s spaghetti squash.

Although I’ve eaten the stuff I’ve never actually prepared it.  It was somewhat difficult to cut it open, but with some love and a sharp knife I was able to make it happen.  The cool thing about spaghetti squash is that after warming it up in the oven (or possibly some other way) you can take a fork to it and pull the inside out like actual spaghetti (OH, that’s why they call it that!). Since I’m not entirely on the gluten-free band wagon but trying-to-cut-out-white-flour-to-help-cut-out-calories this was a delicious alternative to actual spaghetti.

Using this recipe from “and then I cooked” as a base, I basically prepared it similar until the spices and the discard part.  Please save your spaghetti squash seeds for a nice snack.

Since this was my first time cooking with spaghetti squash I wanted to get a good understanding of how it tastes, etc so I know what to do with it.  I nuked it for 8 min, baked it for about 20 min, forked out the spaghetti guts then sauteed it with butter, coconut oil & garlic.  Although she called for cooking it in only butter, I figured I’d just use about a tsp of it for flavor mixed with the healthier coconut oil.  If you’re gonna Paula Deen it up by all means use a half stick, I’m just trying to watch my calorie intake.

This kind of reminded me of tofu, where it has a fairly neutral although ‘gordy’ flavor, it takes on the spices very well.  I can see this used with taco seasoning or the like for some squash tacos, etc.  Hmm…

I had 2 squashes so I seasoned them differently, so, season to your liking, but below is what I did.

INGREDIENTS
1 whole spaghetti squashed.  Roasted, then fork out the guts
2 tbsp no salt seasoning to taste, mix all over
1 tsp butter for frying
1 Tbsp coconut oil for frying
garlic for frying to taste

First nuke in the microwave or possibly the oven for 8/10 minutes.  Scrape out the inside then scoop onto a skillet with coconut oil or butter if you’re into that sort of thing.  Saute until golden, golden brown.  Place on a salad or eat straight up.

*I’ll figure out the pictures soon enough.