Old dog learns new tricks...

That would be my headline for today. For years I have heard that spaghetti squash is a great alternative to pasta. Since I realize that angle hair pasta is one of my trigger foods (as in it triggers me to eat until I'm miserable), I decided to go ahead and buy a squash. I saw an excellent recipe in a magazine and went for it. The only type of squash I have ever prepared is crook neck summer squash and I really do like it and it's easy to slice and cook. I was totally prepared to follow the cooking instructions, and I knew I had to cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Sound easy, huh? Well, you better have what my family call a "butcher knife" and a lot of elbow grease. It took a few minutes, but I got it sliced and cleaned and didn't need any first aid . The cleaning of the seeds took longer than it might for you, because I had to stop and decide if I wanted to clean and keep the seeds to make jewelry from. But, I digress...

Okay, so the squash is cooked and cooled just a bit so I can handle it. For some reason I really didn't understand how it would come out in strands, but it does.

This bad boy yields quite a lot, about five cups. I took the contents of the first half and showed the hubby. I had mentioned a new recipe, which he already knew he wouldn't be eating, because he thought I was making spaghetti with squash in it.

Imagine his surprise when I showed it to him. Totally confused, he didn't know what it was, and said "what, does it come in a pod?" so I brought him into the kitchen to see what it look liked. He was completely aghast, ready to run. It apparently conjured up frightening images of scary things in pods and he was not impressed with my newly found food or the attack like method of using the fork to make the strands. He shivered visibly and retreated to the safety of the living room.

There was so much that I froze half, leaving plenty to use for the recipe I'll try later this evening. It's simple: reheat, add a bit of chicken broth, a table spoon of olive oil and some Parmesan cheese. It could be served chilled, like a standard pasta salad.

Well, that's it for today. Hope everyone is having a great week. Remember you're never too old to learn something new. For me it was cooking a squash, what will it be for you?

Take care and stay healthy.