This Sunday was devoted to our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a customary family dinner of spaghetti squash, mulled cider, and front porch pumpkin carving. It was nothing short of divine. I love the pumpkin patch that we visit, because not only do they have more varieties of pumpkins than I’ve ever seen in one place, but they also have tons of winter squash. Last year we got a little one or two butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squashes and a few carving pumpkins. This year, however, I wanted to devote a considerable portion of my pumpkin patch funds to spaghetti squash because I loved it so much last year (other things I purchased: a pumpkin to carve, a pumpkin to turn into a pie, and some Indian corn–we’ll see how all that goes). The spaghetti squashes at the grocery stores around here, however, were almost $8 each, and I can’t justify paying that much for one squash.  Since they’re only 75 cents at the pumpkin patch I told myself all year that when I finally went back I would stock up, so that’s what I did.

Only 75 cents each!

One large spaghetti squash is enough for three to four people; we made two for eight people and that was plenty.  Spaghetti squash can be cooked a number of ways.  We chose to microwave one and boil one, partially to test which method was better, and partially out of necessity since neither my microwave nor my biggest stock pot could hold two squashes at once. 

To microwave: wash and cut the squash in half, and microwave until the flesh is tender and easily separated from the skin (20-25 minutes, though some sources I read recommended as little as 12-15; mine just wouldn’t cook in that amount of time). 

To boil: fill a large pot with enough water to completely cover the squash (it won’t stay submerged, though, so don’t worry about it) and boil for around 15-20 minutes, until the skin is easily pierced with a fork.  No matter what cooking method you use, tongs are helpful in separating the noodles from the skin (especially if you’ve got a bunch of piggies waiting on you and don’t have time to let the squash completely cool off).

Both methods took about the same amount of time, but in the end I felt that boiling produced better quality “noodles” that were more completely done and much easier to separate from the skin.

You can't really see the noodly texture in this picture...

My favorite way to eat this is covered in The Best Spaghetti Sauce Ever (I swear, it’s good on everything!) with garlic bread on the side.  To me they are a wonderful replacement for pasta because of their vitamin and fiber content, which regular pasta lacks.  I also think they just plain taste better.

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