Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake
I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I’ve posted on here. It’s been a crazy last 6 months both personally and globally. In January and February I poured all my energy into applying for postdocs. I got three postdoc offers in Chicago, accepted one with the intention of going back for a year with Frankie while Nate stayed behind in his current job. Crazy, I know. So crazy I ended up turning it down 12 hours later, doing lots of public sobbing on the lightrail, hating on my husband, and accepting that fact that I just needed to take a life pause to reevaluate things after internship ends.
My training director talks about how life is suffering (isn’t that true) but we can take our power back by choosing our suffering. So I made the intentional choice to try to reinvest hard in enjoying my time with my little family and take a pause on obsessing about future plans.
Three weeks later the pandemic hit in Washington and I found myself working from home and finally able to (physically) escape an internship I was really hating while spending more time with my girl whose daycare was closed for months. It was wonderful and hard and stressful and overwhelming.
In April I defended my dissertation, something that felt completely surreal and a benchmark I honestly didn’t know if I’d make it to only a couple months earlier. Then as the Spring crept on the idea of not having work lined up made me nervous. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, and I love spending time with her, but I don’t think I’d be happy being a stay at home mom indefinitely.
So here we are 6 months later. I have 4 weeks left of internship and I’ll officially be Dr. Nicole. So anticlimactic because graduation two weeks ago was cancelled. This fucking year, man. I’m interviewing for private practice positions and attempting to start studying for the EPPP to take this Fall. Oh and we’re moving to a better neighborhood in two weeks.
There were several months this past winter when as hard as I tried I could’t imagine a future. So being here now sort of feels like the world ended last winter and we’ve been living in this post-apocalyptic world. The pandemic has blurred time in such a weird way.
Anyway, I’ve done a lot of cooking the past few months. So much sourdough bread, so many $300 trader joes grocery runs. This has become one of my favorites, I love it for it’s simplicity. And Frankie loves it too. And considering she basically lives off of berries and milk, I consider this a huge win.
Hang in there friends. Take care of each other. Wear a mask. Address your internalized racism. Prioritize your mental health.
Serves 6-8
1 medium spaghetti squash (around 3 pounds)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 oz mushrooms, torn (I used a mixed medley but any kind works)
1 small bunch of kale, thinly sliced (spinach or chard work here too)
25oz jar of your favorite red pasta sauce
1 can of cannelini beans
10 oz mozzerella, sliced
parmesan cheese
fresh basil for topping
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice your squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the flesh side with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake the squash flesh side down on a sheet pan with parchment for about 45 minutes until a fork pierces through easily. Set aside. (Note: this step can be done well in advance if you’d like.)
Turn your broiler on high and let it heat up while you prepare the filling. In a large sauté pan heat a generous glug of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a generous sprinkle of salt & pepper and cook until softened about 5-7 minutes, add the mushrooms cook. Just before the mushrooms are done cooking add in your greens and cook until just softened. Scoop out the flesh of the spaghetti squash and add it to hot pan with the vegetables. Pour in the pasta sauce and beans and stir everything together to incorporate. Cook the entire mixture until warmed throughout. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the spaghetti squash mixture into a large oven proof casserole dish and top with thick slices of mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with parmesan and drizzle of olive oil. Place the casserole dish uncovered in the upper third of your oven under the broiler for 4-6 minutes. Watch closely so the cheese doesn’t burn. You want the cheese melted, bubbly, and just beginning to brown. Remove from oven, top with fresh basil, and serve.
Fall Harvest Bowl
I have been super MIA. This time of year I seem to get so sucked into laziness as the days get shorter and the sun and warmth disappear. This makes it particularly hard to snap a photo of dinner when dinner is a bowl of roasted veggies we eat at 9pm.
With my husband and I both in grad school (me full time, him part time) and both working (him full time, me part time) we often find ourselves home late only to look at each other and almost simultaneously say "wanna order sweetgreen". Maybe I am SUPER basic, but I freaking love sweetgreen. Something about being able to order a hardy, filling salad that's comparable to something homemade feels like such an easy satisfying choice.
And being the total creature of habit that I am, despite going to sweetgreen maybe 20 + times I order the same thing literally every time: The Harvest Bowl no chicken. Sometimes I add tofu, sometimes I add falafel, sometimes I add nothing but it's so damn good on it's own.
With thanksgiving coming, I knew I wanted to recreate my beloved salad at home. I spruced it up with pomegranates and used warm roasted butternut instead of the cold sweet potato slices and it is everything. Prepping all of the different elements takes some time - which is part of what makes sweetgreen so damn tempting for folks who are busy, but it is worth the effort if you have some extra time. And because kale is basically the most badass green you can totally eat the leftovers the next day without them getting soggy! This will for sure be on our thanksgiving table this year!
Serves 4 as a large meal, or 8-10 as an appetizer/side
1 small butternut squash
1-2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large pomegranate (or about 3/4 cup arils)
1 large bunch of kale (~10-12 oz), de-ribbed and thinly chopped
1 large honeycrisp apple, cored and diced into large cubes
3 oz goat cheese
1/3 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the balsamic vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425 and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Meanwhile peel the butternut, then slice in half and discard the stringy center and seeds (or toast them with olive oil and salt for a tasty snack). Dice the butternut and then toss the cubes with oil and a liberal amount of salt. Bake the butternut for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned, tossing halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly as you assemble the rest of the salad.
Make the rice. Bring water and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then add the rice, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 50 minutes (or per the instructions on your rice container).
Slice open the pomegranate and remove the seeds. I find the easiest way to do this is to quarter the pomegranate then submerge one quarter at a time in a large bowl of water. Underwater carefully tear away the pith, removing the rubies. The rubies will float to the top of the water and the pith will fall to the bottom!
Roast the almonds. Decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees (alternately you could roast the almonds in a small toaster oven - that's usually what I do). Toss almonds with olive oil and salt and cook for about 5 minutes until almond skins begin to crack and turn a dark brown color (watch carefully so they don't burn). You want to bring them right to the edge of burnt so they are crunchy and extremely fragrant. Roughly chop and set aside.
Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients into a airtight jar (I use a mason) and shake until combined. Pour about half of the dressing over the kale and using your hands, massage the kale and dressing together for a good 3 minutes until the kale becomes limp and the pile decreases in size. Top with the roasted squash, wild rice, pomegranate seeds, almonds, goat cheese, and apple. Drizzle on the remaining dressing, toss and serve!
Spring Panzanella with Creamy Avocado Pesto
I survived the hardest semester of my life. Seriously, this time last week I was an angry sad person hating the decision I'd made two years ago to do this whole grad school thing. Things are a bit better now. I found my way back into the kitchen and even made it to yoga tonight. Also, I've become increasingly aware of a feeling of airiness around my shoulders!
It wasn't until around this time last year that I first made a panzanella. I remember thinking whoever thought it was a good idea to take massive amounts of cubed bread, toss it into salad, and call it dinner was freaking genius. This panzanella is filled with spring vegetables and herbs. It's bright and green and somehow both hearty and light. I'm pretty obsessed.
Serves 4-6
For the Vegetables:
1 head cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch asparagus
juice of half a lemon
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 bunch sugar snap peas, ~ 12oz, trimmed
1/2 cup of peas
2-3 green onions, thinly diced
For the Croutons:
1 multigrain baguette
2 garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
For the Pesto:
1 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 cup walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium avocado
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the cauliflower into bite size florets and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes (I used 1/2 teaspoon for medium spiciness, but feel free to use less). Lay the cauliflower onto a bake sheet lined with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, trim and discard the tough ends of the asparagus then cut into 1 inch pieces and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt + pepper. Place the asparagus on a second sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Roast the cauliflower for 45-50 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, toss the cauliflower, then add the sheet pan of asparagus to the oven. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, toss the snap peas with the asparagus and along with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and pinch of salt.
While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the croutons. First, cut the baguette into one inch cubes. In a large saucepan over medium heat toss the croutons, olive oil, garlic, and a generous sprinkle of salt. Cook until the croutons are lightly browned on the edges, tossing regularly, about 10 minutes.
Lastly, prepare the pesto by combining the basil, mint, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, avocado and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Puree the mixture until smooth while drizzling in the olive oil. Adjust to taste.
In a very large bowl (seriously, like the largest bowl you have), combine the roasted vegetables, croutons, peas, green onions, and the pesto (I start with about half of the pesto then add more accordingly) and toss. Let sit for 5 minutes or so then serve!
Notes: Refrigerate any leftovers, then an hour or so before eating let it come to room temperature. It will not be good microwaved, but tastes surprisingly great eaten at room temperature on Day 2.