Spaghetti Squash

This winter squash has qualities that remind me of a lot of different things--spaghetti, yes, and pumpkin, but also cantaloupe, bean sprouts, and rice noodles. In fact, I think the final product is a lot more like rice noodles than it is like spaghetti. Its stringy strands retain a little crunch, and have little kinks in them.

Spaghetti squash is a native of China, where it's called sharkfin melon; this one came from Rose's family's garden in Chico. I quartered the squash and steamed it--it took only slightly longer than actual spaghetti. It can also be baked. You have to clear out the seeds when you cut it open, like a pumpkin or a cantaloupe. Then you scoop out the insides. I used an ice cream scoop. Whee! Even a small squash will yield a huge pile of 'spaghetti,' since the inedible rind is so thin.

The normal thing to do is just treat it as pasta by adding sauce. Wikipedia recommends making mac and cheese out of it, which I'm going to try next. But there have to be lots of other fun things to do beyond the 1:1 pasta replacement concept.

My favorite alternate name is "squaghetti."