Well, Friday night our little guy slept through the night for the first time in almost a month. Six straight hours of sleep is a glorious thing. And glorious things deserve to be celebrated. So, I thought that Saturday was the perfect night to try our blog recipe for dinner. Put the babe to bed, feast on some delightful food, perhaps enjoy a movie or a game of cards. This was the type of celebration I was envisioning.
Enter the reality of this week's recipe: Moroccan Spaghetti Squash. Two words should have tipped me off that this was a bad idea: spaghetti and squash. My husband dislikes both, so why, oh why, would he like anything that resembles the two being...well...squashed together? The moment I mixed the whole thing together and took a look at the final product, I knew that this was not a celebratory dinner. "It looks kind of gelatinous," Dan said. Never a good remark when it comes to food other than Jell-O.
So, I put a little distance between myself and the spaghetti squash concoction and got Owen ready for bed. All the while, my mind was spinning, "How can I make this better?" Fry the whole mess up in a pan to give it a crispier, less wet texture? Add more spices to give it so much flavor that we are distracted from the gelatinous-ness? Throw in some additional, creative ingredients and change the recipe altogether? I didn't think any of these were good enough solutions. And then I had a remarkable idea....order take-out! I mean, is there really any better solution to dinner disasters?
I emerged from Owen's bedroom and announced to Dan, "we're getting take-out." Now, I am not one to spend extra money unnecessarily, so his eyes got a little wide, and he must have know in that moment that I thought dinner was pretty bad news. We decided upon Indian as there were plenty of delicious vegan options on the menu. The spaghetti squash went into the fridge to be dealt with on another day, and we dined on spicy Aloo Gobi instead. Curry makes any dinner into a celebration, if you ask me.
Now, to be fair to our little squash recipe, I did give it a second shot at lunch today. Dan decided that a second shot was more than this recipe deserved and toasted up some frozen waffles instead. I, however, tried my frying pan theory, served the squash over the recommended couscous, and found that it was not altogether terrible. The flavors were good, the couscous soaked up some of the leftover wetness than wasn't completely fried away, and I enjoyed eating it much more than I anticipated I would.
To sum things up, I've already thrown this recipe in the trash. Granted, this meal was far from the worst thing I've ever eaten. If you are a huge fan of spaghetti squash, then this would probably be a most enjoyable meal for you. But, I just know that I will most likely never make it again.
Still, I was glad to have the opportunity to cook a spaghetti squash. It is easily one of the most unique veggies I've ever encountered. Watching the squash shred into spaghetti-like strands was rather intriguing. Quite an uncharacteristic trait for a vegetable to have, if you ask me. Plus, I got an Indian dinner that I didn't have to cook out the deal. So, thanks, spaghetti squash. You're a pal. A pal who I may never invite over again. But, a pal nonetheless.
I've never made spaghetti squash and am not overly fond of squash, so its good to know that some things just don't suit me, as well as others. Randall does not like gooey food either, so it wouldn't have been a hit here.
ReplyDeleteBTW - when the girls were teething, I always kept this in mind, all this pain they are experiencing right now...thank goodness, they won't remember it when they're older! Hope Owen's teeth finally pop through, so you can all have a rest!