Playing to its strength

Teacher, in a concerned voice: I'd like to talk about your son, Spaghetti Squash. He's, well, different from all the other squashes.

Mom Squash: Yes, he's so yellow!

Teacher: No, no. It's not that. He's strandy! Like a noodle! I think he needs vegetable reassignment therapy.

Mom Squash: Yes, his father and I know about his noodly orientation. But we believe that is the way he was made. If he wants to be served with sausage and red sauce, he's not hurting anyone. No squash should be changed into something he is not.

Yes, spaghetti squash is probably the spaghetti-est vegetable there is. I know it looks orange in the photo, but because the squash is yellow, and the sauce is red, well, you remember the color wheel.

Spaghetti (squash) and sausage
Serves 2-4 (depending on size of squash)

1 spaghetti squash
2-3 hot italian sausage links
12 oz. (half jar) of purchased pasta sauce
1 cup chopped parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. (God, how many times have I written that sentence this week?) Cover each half with plastic wrap, put on a plate, and microwave for 10 minutes or until tender. If you have a really small squash, you might want to go a minute or two shy of that.

Meanwhile, squeeze the sausage out of its casing, and brown it, crumbling it with a wooden spoon as you go. Add the sauce and parsley, and warm through.

Carefully take the plastic wrap off the steamed squash halves. Take a fork, and starting at the stem end, run the fork lengthwise down the squash, creating strands. Dump the strands in with the sausage and sauce. Keep the squash halves!

Divide the squash/sausage mixture amongst the empty squash halves and top with the Parmesan cheese. Put the halves in a baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes, and then broil for 1-2 minutes, until the cheese is browned.

If your halves are huge, cut them in half, and serve one quarter squash per person. If your squash is smaller, serve half a squash per person.